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Divorced with Children: Dating and Blending Families March 2, 2017 . 4 Comments
I have a memory of walking down the street with my mother, around the age of five, thinking about a conversation I’d had with some other children in the schoolyard a few days earlier. ... Read More
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Avoiding the (All Too Easy) ‘Wrong Turns’ in Stepfamilies May 5, 2015 . 17 Comments
Editor’s note: Dr. Patricia Papernow is a psychologist, an internationally recognized expert on stepfamilies and the author of Surviving and Thriving in Stepfamily Relationships: What ... Read More
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Help! My Husband Won’t Let Me Discipline His Children April 24, 2015 . 14 Comments
You have put your finger on one of the biggest challenges in blended families—the role of stepparents in discipline. There is no single right answer for this question; every family and ... Read More
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Transitioning into Blended Families: Planning Ahead June 4, 2014 . 11 Comments
When married couples transition into blended families, they face many adjustments. There are more relationships to navigate—not only does the relationship between the couple require skillful ... Read More
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Help! My Husband’s Teenage Daughter Says She Hates My Young Sons March 28, 2014 . 14 Comments
Thanks for writing. The first thing I am going to strongly urge you to do is get your family in to work with a family therapist who specializes in blended families. Many of the issues you ... Read More
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I’m Fearful Around Some of My Stepmom’s Family. What to Do? September 13, 2013 . 3 Comments
If you fear that you are in danger of actual physical harm, please get out of that house! Do not stay in a dangerous situation. Whatever your reasons for not extricating yourself from this ... Read More
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Dividing Family Loyalties When You Marry April 23, 2013 . 26 Comments
There is nothing like bringing home a close friend or partner to shine a spotlight on the unspoken rules by which every family, your family, lived and lives. Every family that lives with ... Read More
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Dr. Wisdom’s Tips on Stepparenting December 10, 2012 . 7 Comments
Dr. Diana Weiss-Wisdom is a psychologist who works primarily with blended families. The insight she has gained from working with families and couples over the past several years has come ... Read More
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Understanding Open Adoption October 23, 2012 . 9 Comments
When “Jeanette” and “Tom” began their adoption journey six years ago, they couldn’t imagine having regular contact with their future child’s birth parent. They had concerns ... Read More
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Should Step-Relationships Be Maintained After Divorce? October 22, 2012 . 153 Comments
What was once considered a rarity—step-siblings, step-parents, and step-in-laws—has become more common than not. When couples marry, there is a very good chance that one of them brings ... Read More
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Partner Support Can Minimize Stepparenting Stress September 11, 2012 . 6 Comments
Blended families are becoming more common every decade. Children who are raised in traditional two-parent, nondivorced families are quickly becoming the minority, outnumbered by children ... Read More
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New Study Looks at the Effects of Real Modern Families on Children August 21, 2012 . 9 Comments
Modern families are quite different from the families in which our grandparents were raised. Unlike the generations before us, single-parent households and blended families make a large ... Read More