Stepfamily Zone Australia

With the divorce rate so high today, it is not uncommon for a parent to marry and have children from a previous relationship. Step parenting is a little more complicated than parenting your own biological kids. There are other parents involved, but building a successful blended family is possible with a little work and effort. [...]

The media seems to have a love affair with the designation "blended family." "Blended" is like hearing chalk screech on a chalkboard. Stepfamilies are not blended! Healthy ones recognize that children from prior relationships have two families and do not blend solely into one family. Stepfamilies that try to ignore this reality are typically doomed [...]

Blending a step family is hard, but there are ways to unite the family. One way is by creating guidelines. As much as we’d like to give our children everything they want, parents later on realize that there has to be a limit and playing favorites is something any parent should avoid. No one likes [...]

When families “blend” to create stepfamilies, things rarely progress smoothly. Some children resist the many changes they face, while parents may become frustrated or disappointed. Blended families have the highest success rate if the couple waits two years or more after a death or divorce to remarry, instead of piling one drastic family change onto [...]

All brothers and sisters “fall out”, so don’t assume all family arguments are the result of living in a blended family. Beware of favoritism. Be fair. Don’t overcompensate by favoring your stepchildren. This is a common mistake, made with best intentions, in an attempt to avoid indulging your biological children. Communicate, communicate, communicate. Be sure [...]