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Posts Tagged ‘stepfamily’

Insights Into Establishing A Harmonious Blended Family

Many adults are getting married with children already in the wings. The result – blended families – can be greatly rewarding, although not without conflict. This article highlights some areas of concern for blended families and how to deal with them.

It is not uncommon these days for couples to pursue remarriage with children already in tow. Blended family statistics show that at least one in three Americans is now a stepchild, stepparent, a stepsibling, or some part of a blended family.

Step Families need to find balance in the summer time

Your spouse is angry, the kids are fighting, crying- or both, and you haven’t gone to the gym in two weeks! You are out of balance in your stepfamily!

Creating balance in a blended or stepfamily is difficult – your family is a bit more complicated than a nuclear family- with one mom, one dad and kids who all live in the same house.

Sometimes your home may feel like a hotel, with a revolving door- as the kids come and go between their custodial and noncustodial parent’s houses. You may have a color-coded calendar, with each child assigned a different color. As you navigate these confused waters, you realize that everyone is important in your blended family- so how can you create balance? Is it really possible?

Making Changes in Your Step Family

Making changes in your step family

Our blended and step families are always evolving. We aren’t perfect. Becoming part of a blended family doesn’t come with a manual or set of instructions. Our kids find this new step family scary and unfamiliar. Our kids don’t truly understand what is happening, and how it’s going to affect them and their relationship with their mom and dad. New stepparents usually aren’t completely aware of just how hard it’s going to be to blend this new family. Months after a step family merges, parents are frustrated, at times, that the family still hasn’t blended together as one unit. Sometimes years later, a family is still experiencing issues.

So what’s a blended family to do? Do you need to make changes in your stepfamily? There are times, in your blended family when it’s easier to make changes. Examples of good times to make changes: right before the merge (otherwise known as the wedding,) at the beginning of a school year, the beginning of a new year, an anniversary of some type- such as the blended family wedding anniversary, or moving into a new home.

2012 Information Family Ties Network