Search Results for: blog step families tips for blending

Blending Can Be a Nightmare

It’s so very hard to be a single parent but I think that blending families has to be the biggest challenge. Second marriages fail at a rate higher than first marriages and I believe that is due to trying to blend families. You have your children and your hopes, dreams and insecurities about what it will mean for them to have a step father. You also have an ex husband who may or may not be involved in his children’s lives, if he is involved there may also be a stepmother to think about. Then your new husband has his … Continue reading →

Can You Survive? Stepfamily Holiday Stress

I don’t really care for the term stepfamily. I prefer blended family, even though I’m not usually given to politically correct terminology. The point is that stepfamilies or blended families can encounter some unique challenges, especially during the holidays. Time can be at a premium, especially when not only ex-spouses, but also ex-in laws, as well as your own family members hope to spend more time with your children. This can often lead to stressful and uncomfortable situations. It may also lead to resentment for your spouse. It is important to make sure that you try to keep everyone’s feelings … Continue reading →

Stepmoms Make Primetime TV!

This must be national Scared Straight week for potential future stepmoms and blended families! It seems like everywhere I turn, various popular TV shows are featuring some really scary stories about stepmoms-gone-wrong. In case the notion of the Wicked Stepmother wasn’t already burned into our social subconscious, this week will firm it up! Highlights from this week: Dr. Phil: On today’s show, titled The Final Ultimatum Dr. Phil features a stepmom who hates her stepdaughter. Yes, you read that correctly, she seriously hates the child. She refers to her as a “little thing” or a “monster”. Thank goodness that the … Continue reading →

Step-Families: Tips for Blending

Blending a family is, hands down, the most difficult part of re-marriage. Even if one spouse has children, the blending is usually difficult, sometimes painful, and occasionally impossible. Add kids from both sides and difficult ex-spouses and you’ve got your hands full! Here are a few tips for better step-family blending: Family meetings: hold a weekly family meeting when all the kids and adults can be present. Family meetings give kids an opportunity to air their feelings, focus on their accomplishments and feel like a family unit instead of just visitors. For more on family meetings, read this article. Family … Continue reading →

The Crafty Chica’s Art de la Soul – Kathy Cano Murillo

The Crafty Chica’s Art de la Soul: Glittery Ideas to Liven Up Your Life by Kathy Cano Murillo is a unique and fun craft book. The book has ideas for helping tap into your creativity and for getting inspired. Beginner crafters will find craft terms and supplies explained. More experienced crafters will be inspired by the wide variety of projects and materials. The projects all end with “Take it to the Next Level” ideas. The ideas may be ways to turn the project into a gift, to expand the craft into new projects, or to embellish the project even further. … Continue reading →

Helping Your Child with Hypersensitive Gagging

The gag reflex is designed to be a normal response of the mouth and throat, to prevent your baby from swallowing foreign objects or getting food trapped in the airway. When a child gags, the reflex pushes the food off the back of the tongue and forward out of the mouth. Infants usually have an automatic gag response when the back of the tongue is touched, as part of this natural protection nature provides. Yet ideally, as the child progresses from liquids to strained foods to solids, the gagging reflex diminishes. For some children with disabilities, however, the gagging continues … Continue reading →