Life Challenges - Focus on the Family Canada

How to protect your marriage when your child's marriage falters

There’s no easy fix for a broken marriage, but there are certain things you have to keep in mind to not only help you...

When you don't want to divorce but your spouse does

A rash reaction will do little to change your spouse’s opinion. The best thing you can do is to stay calm and not pus...

What makes marriages get better?

Another recent study found that about 60 per cent of marriages that ended in divorce were not bad marriages, but aver...

Life Challenges • Separation

The effects of divorce

Before you bail out of your marriage, look at what you’ll be diving into. Most people are not prepared for the challe...

Why and how to pursue a healing separation

A healing separation (also known as a trial or therapeutic separation) is temporary and structured time apart to help...

Rediscovering the heart of marriage in midlife

In the midst of my own midlife marriage crisis, I began trying to peel back the layers of misunderstanding and pain t...

How to respond when a friend reveals tension in their marriage

Suddenly, your friend’s divulging serious stuff about their marriage. So what should we say – and what should we not ...

Q&A: Boundaries in marriage: Helping others with problems

My brother and his wife are in the process of divorcing. My sister-in-law called my husband the other night to see if...

If you were considering divorce even before quarantine

For couples who were already wanting to separate before the pandemic lockdown, the temptation to divorce can be even ...

Common misconceptions about marrying again

Remarriage expectations are numerous, but here are a number of myths we hear most often before couples marry again.

6 things a child of divorce wanted her parents to know

Here are six things I wanted my parents to see – from my point of view – things I wish every separated or divorced pa...

The damage caused by ex bashing

We must give up the practice of cutting our kids in two by criticizing our estranged or divorced spouse.

Life Challenges • Grief (loss of spouse)

Grief during COVID-19: We're isolated but not abandoned

We’re not the first generations in history faced with the challenge of grieving alone, of finding closure without a f...

Q&A: Preparing to leave your child with a caregiver

When leaving children with friends or relatives for an extended period, it helps to do everything you can to remind ...

Fear and anxiety in children: What's normal, and what's not

As a child matures, old fears are overcome, and new fears arise to take their place. Interestingly, children of simil...

Monsters and mid-terms: Helping your child cope with anxiety

As parents, we need to be proactive. Whether we detect unusual anxiousness in our children or not, we need to teach o...

Life Challenges • Boundaries

Tough love in adult relationships: What it is, what it’s not and how to use it

The concept of tough love has been around for a long time – and it’s been misunderstood and misused for just as long....

Healing the wounds of emotional abuse

What follows are some general principles, gleaned from professional Christian counsellors, for breaking the cycle of ...

Navigating divorce: Your needs versus your kids' needs

Here are a few common compulsions, according to Hart, that you may be feeling right now, but that call for caution fo...

When a loved one dies: Understanding grief in children

Without understanding, we can mistakenly conclude a child is indifferent to the loved one’s death, or is inconvenient...