Managing the dynamics of a blended family can be rather challenging. This is new territory for everyone involved. For the first little while everyone may feel as if they are on an emotional rollercoaster. Some days may work out better than others; the important thing is that you keep at it and communicate often with your partner throughout the process. In the meantime, here are some important things to remember as you are embarking on this new journey as a step-parent. In the beginning it is best to let the child’s biological parent be the primary parent in charge of … Continue reading →

Ok, let’s face it, blending two families is never easy. There’s a reason second marriages fail more often than firsts. Adjusting to the new dynamics is hard on everyone, children and parents alike. There are so many different facets that have to be worked out. When should you discipline your partner’s children? What will they call you? What is expected of them? What is expected of you? It is important to discuss all of these issues with your partner and also as a family to alleviate some of the confusion that naturally comes with combining what once was two separate … Continue reading →

This week in preschool my son’s class is learning about families. Because it is a low-income preschool specifically designed to help single mother’s finish college, the majority of the children have never known what it is like to come from the traditional nuclear family. Most come from difficult circumstances and have had to deal with a lot in their young lives. Like many of them my son was very young when we divorced ; he will never remember a time when his parents lived in the same home, but we are certainly still a family, just a slightly more complicated … Continue reading →

Second marriages can be very rewarding, but it is no secret that second marriages are at a much higher risk of divorce than first marriages. That is a scary statistic for those of us that have been married before. The last thing we would ever want is for our children to go through the trauma of another divorce. So what can we do to help ensure that this marriage is more successful than the first? One of the most important things in a relationship is communication, we’ve all heard this a million times, but there is more to communication than … Continue reading →

I would like to be married again. I don’t often say that because I don’t want people to look at me with that pitying look. No, I’m not miserable and lonely but I would like someone to share my life with, someone to hold my hand and talk about the day. I’m sure I look at remarriage through rose colored glasses, the same way I looked at marriage once upon a time when I didn’t know how very wrong things could go. Now that I’m older, I wonder what exactly it means to be married now. When you are young … Continue reading →

I grew up in a blended family. Maybe that is why I’m a little leery about ever having another one. My mom was a single mother for several years. She had three children and remarried a man who had three children of his own, who happened to be the same ages. Some of us were happy about the marriage, some of us weren’t at the time, and others just didn’t have a clue what was going on. Those first couple of years were pure chaos. All four of us girls had to share a room, while the two boys shared … Continue reading →

I have been thinking a lot about the future lately. Thinking about how different the family structure will be if Logan is the only one of my children going to his dad’s every other weekend. This was one of my greatest fears when I first got divorced. I still remember calling my mother and crying to her that I could never get married again for this very reason. At the time I seemed to think that would be easier on him. I dated a guy a few months ago who was also divorced and had a three year old little … Continue reading →