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Helping Stepkids to Thrive
A stepfamily is a fundamentally different structure upon which to build intimate relationships than a first-time family. The familiar phrase “blended families” does not prepare stepcouples for the...
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From Enemies to Intimates
Becoming a stepfamily is a process, not an event. It takes time, counted not in days or months, but years. My experience, corroborated by the research, is that even “fast” families take a couple of...
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Insiders and Outsiders
Stepmother: When your kids are here, I might as well be a piece of furniture. Dad: But they’re my kids, what do you expect? Stepmother: I expect you to treat me like I’m your wife! Dad: How many times...
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Parenting and Discipline in “Blended Families”
Parents and stepparents feel differently about kids. Stepparents, even if they care about their stepkids, do not begin with a deeply established heart connection with them. Furthermore, habits,...
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Meeting the Challenge of Becoming a Team
As I said in last post, parents and stepparents do have different roles. However, they do still need to become a team, supporting each other, helping each other, and working together. Parents do need...
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Holidays in “Blended Families”: Making Holidays Ties That Bind, not Ties That...
Scheduling, Scheduling, Scheduling. What Are We to Do? Stepfamilies include at least one parent in another household. This fact can make holiday scheduling daunting. Because both mom and dad want to...
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