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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No the parents are not responsible for how their kids act as an adult. Whether or not they were taught right are wrong at home, they are now adults and are responsible for their own actions. Good or bad, even…
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Marriage quality is a trying thing to achieve when you add children to the mix. However, when you add children from a previous marriage, this becomes even more difficult. So, how do couples in blended marriages maintain their marriage quality?…
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There is no formula for a parent child relationship that covers every reciprocal responsibility. There may be generalities we consider to be decent and respectful choices, however, there are frequently mitigating circumstances that interfere with a storybook ending, where everyone…
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Although blended families are more common now than ever, it does not make being a member of one any easier. Here are some basic suggestions to help your blended family be as successful as possible. * Don’t badmouth your ex…
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What to talk about with Dad… First and foremost, a compliment of any degree will go a long way towards developing not just a healthy line of communication, but a good friendship. I learned from a good friend who can…
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When two families blend through remarriage, the children’s ages can drastically effect how well the transition takes place. A teenager and an infant are going to react differently to the situation. Infants and young children have the easiest time adjusting…
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How it feels as a child to be unloved by your parents? *Do you express love for your children?: Did you ever wonder about your parents love for you? Did you “think” they loved you but never had the time…
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Never! This just means never stop loving them. They promised you when you were born to take care of you. Now you need to take care of them. Our parents want us to figure out what is best for them,…
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Over the past three decades there have been immense change with regard to family structure. When people married in the past they often married for life. There were many reasons for this but perhaps some of the major ones were…
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It’s amazing no matter how old one gets, you still are a child for your parents. The fact that you live in a foreign country and do well in your life and have kids of your own does not prevent…
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Growing up, I was part of a blended family as my mother and father were divorced when I was two and my mother remarried when I was five. Later on in life, my mother had my two sisters, and I…
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Having a child deployed can be extremely challenging for even the most robust of people. It can be very scary for a lot of parents, especially since you might feel that it is your job to protect your child. There…
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