Planning any event in a blended family can be challenging enough, let alone planning a holiday or other large celebration. There are some tips that could make the planning process a little smoother. When needing to plan an event, keep…
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A blended family can be either be a wonderful experience or a total disaster. It is not always easy to feel the same way about your step-children as you do your own. It is not because you cannot love them…
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SHUT UP!…And mind your own business. This is the best suggestion and comment to keep your family from meddling in your personal affairs. They obviously have no time to come to this conclusion on their own, because all of their…
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Rivalry among children is a very common occurrence. Children living in the same household tend to compete for attention and affection. They are constantly trying to out-do the other sibling or put the blame on one another when something goes…
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Every blended family has their own stories of how they got to become a “real” family. Along the way there are many obstacles to overcome and the gender of the children can make it more or less of a challenge….
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In a perfect, fifty’s TV show society, every husband would be Ward Cleaver. His “June” would waiting at home with his pipe and slippers waiting for the pot roast to get out of the oven. “Wally” and “Beaver” would wash…
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BLENDING FAMILIES: PREPARING CHILDREN FOR THE CHANGE “I wanted a dad,” my then-nine-year-old son told the psychologist, “but not this dad”. Al had no memory of his biological father, who’d turned out to be a clinical melancholic given to periods…
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A relationship with the mother-in-law can be challenging, especially if she is the domineering type and you are married to her son. It can also be tough, though, if she is super close with her daughter, who just so happens…
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Blending a family successfully is much like making a stew. You have some ingredients that will always define your dish as a stew, usually meat and potatoes, but there are many additional items that when added make it unique and…
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Children are fragile creatures. They often wear their hearts on their sleeves, which unfortunately is easy to break at times. When you are about to merge families, this is a time where your child’s feelings are of utmost importance. There…
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Brothers and sisters have a hard time cooperating from the get go. Add the detail of siblings being step-siblings and the rivalry gets even bigger. The following tips should help soften the blows. 1) Stay out of it until it…
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Children have a major force leading and directing them through the course of their lives. That force is their parents. What if those parents are a combination of biological and step? Children have expectations from the adults in their lives,…
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Getting married is one of the biggest decisions a person can make in one’s life. Granted, marriage is not all about love for the most part. Love alone cannot keep a marriage afloat. There are plenty of times in which…
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Marriage is a ‘bed of roses’ before getting into it. We all think that we will get our prince charming or dream girl and will spend life together. Life will be heaven. Wow! Our imagination is all this is about….
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A successfully blended family is a consequence of dedication and commitment from everyone involved. This success is determined by how much a family is willing to work together. The parents involved in a blended family situation will be responsible for…
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Disciplining your stepchild is something that a stepparent is going to have to do even though it may be uncomfortable. No child should be left to do whatever they want and discipline and rules should be a part of every…
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Step children pose a unique disciplinary strategy. This is due to in part by having multiple sets of parents. If you are the step-parent it is best to hold a meeting with the biological parents and make sure you all…
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When my dad married my mom, he was walking into a man’s worst nightmare. She had four out of control, authority flouting, rude, experimenting with everything known to teenagehood, teens that weren’t about to let my dad, or even my…
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Divorce rates continue to hover around fifty percent, although with the falling economy, that has stabilized. Marriage can be a difficult task with bills, communication, intimacy differences, children to raise, health issues, and stressors from our jobs. Divorces occur, many…
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No matter the family structure, there will always be sibling rivalry. A blended family, with step, half and full siblings is a breeding ground for feelings of resentment between siblings. While it is nearly impossible to prevent it, there are…
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Befriending a step child implies behavior for the purpose of creating a closer relationship. This can also imply manipulation, going the extra mile, and over-extending one’s self. Friendships with anyone takes time to develop, a sharing of gifts, these gifts…
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The effects of favoring your own child over your mate’s will have disastrous effects on your blended family. Favoritism is the kind of behavior that can tear a family apart. Not only will your stepchild be negatively effected, but so…
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Creating trust in a new blended family can take time. The children involved have already lived a very painful situation that has made them afraid and feeling insecure. You go into your new marriage with the thought that this time…
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Being married for the first time makes it a bit tedious to plan out holidays and celebrations. There are a ton of factors that one needs to consider for the most part. This is in regards to your first marriage….
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With divorce statistics so high creating trust in a newly blended family may seem almost unrealistic. Family trust is going to be whatever you as a family create. There are many ways to create trust in a family though and…
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Are Adult Children Responsible for Their Elderly Parents? If adult children are responsible for their elderly parents, when does it take precedent over their responsibilities for planning for their own family’s future? The ideal situation is to take care of…
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Marriage can sometimes be a challenge in itself but when you add his children and your children then it really becomes a challenge. Keeping your marriage strong and healthy while you attempt to adjust to being a stepparent takes a…
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Sibling rivalry is alive and well no matter what the family unit structure is. Whether you are from a large family like the Walton’s where no divorce or death of a spouse has occurred, or a blended family like the…
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I suppose we all realize that Wally and the Beaver with white picket fences and their neatly set table for dinner were an illusion on the silver screen. Family conflicts do exist, are very real, and can become more intense…
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A child’s responsibility to his or her parents outweighs the responsibility to his or her own future more often than either children or parents may choose to let on. Evolution has largely removed selfish parents from the gene pool –…
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