STEPMOM

Since the stepfamily consists of two or more bloodlines under one roof, the issue of sexuality in the stepfamily can be a difficult one.  When you have unrelated teens living in close quarters, sharing a bathroom, etc. it is very important to set clear boundaries.  Here are some guidelines proposed by the National Stepfamily Resource [...]

I wrote the following article for Stepmom Magazine in June 2010, to address a very crucial question for stepfamilies: to what degree is the stepparent a parent? You will find that the answer depends on the family. Research shows that there are well-adjusted stepfamilies on both sides of the spectrum regarding this issue. I cover [...]

Another “Ask the Expert” Day will be sponsored by Stepmom Magazine this Thursday, July 29.  I’ll be on the expert panel along with a number of other top professionals in the field of stepfamily relations.  The last “Ask the Experts” Day was tremendously successful, and we received so many comments and “thank you’s” from stepmoms, [...]

A national adolescent conference is coming up in September:  Treating the iGeneration.  I’ll be presenting about moving from divorce to a healthy stepfamily.  The title of my talk is “Mine Yours Ours: From Divorce to Healthy Stepfamily”. The conferences is being sponsored by Ben Franklin Institute on Sept 15-17 at the Paradise Valley Resort in [...]

The stepmom’s husband (the dad in a stepfamily) experiences a unique set of emotions and challenges.  That’s why I wrote this article in Stepmom Magazine recently, entitled:  Open Letter to Dads I know it sometimes seems that no matter how hard you try, there’s no making everyone happy in your stepfamily – that whoever you [...]

This article appeared in the April 2010 issue of Stepmom Magazine, and is appropriate to reprint here, as you’ll be invited to a free webinar about The Cast in the Stepfamily Drama: Stepfamilies are conducive to all kinds of drama, to painful feelings that can tear us apart and wear us down: the sting of [...]

It can be really tough to become a stepchild.  The stepchildren don’t have the chance to pick their step-parent, and sometimes they wouldn’t pick the one they got!  Your mom or dad fell in love, and all of a sudden your life turns upside down and you have a stepparent! Here are some feelings the [...]

If you’re a father remarried, or a mother remarried, stop to take a look at your expectations.  Step families have their own version of a “happily ever after” myth – consider whether there’s an expectation that the remarriage will heal the family from the trauma of divorce.  My son was nine, and my husband’s daughter [...]

I made the mistakes most stepmoms make; my husband made the mistakes most stepdads make, and his ex made the mistakes most ex-wives make.  I’m guessing you made (or may be still making) the same mistakes.  These same mistakes have been going around and around and around… Wait!  Isn’t there something we can do about [...]

Couples in stepfamilies know that the challenges in their families can be more difficult and more complex than those of first families.   Since the bond between the couple is newer than, and less strong than the bond between the biological parent and child,  commitment towards one another sometimes takes a back seat to the unconditional [...]