Have you ever wondered if living in a blended family is normal? Have you ever wondered why sometimes it feels as if you are all alone and that nobody understands what it is like for you? Do you feel like your whole world truly is in a blender set to high and everything just keeps going round and round? Yes. Most of us do in a blended family. In a startling figure, it has been revealed that an approximate 2100 new blended families are joined every day in the United States. Statistics also show that there are more than 20+million … Continue reading →

Blended families are certain my expertise when it comes to my role as a parent. I was a single mom for a lot of years to my two kids, but now I’m mom to five and we are happily living in our little blender. Don’t worry, the parents blog won’t always be filled with totally blended family articles, but it is a huge focus while we help to support those families that are in need. Here is a quick review. Step Mothers and Biological Mothers in the Blended Family were discussed, since there seems to be a need for that. … Continue reading →

Have you ever noticed how difficult it can be to be a blended family and deal with school activities, issues and conferences? Which parent attends what, and who isn’t involved? And how do you decide something like that anyway? First of all, all parents that wish to attend any event, conference or other school related activity, should be invited. Period. There shouldn’t be any rules set as to who can be at a school activity unless it’s something like a “mother/daughter lunch” or “father/son game”. And of course, the other thing you have to deal with in those situations is … Continue reading →

Some people believe there’s a truth to birth order, and some do not. If you study the effects that birth order has on the development of a child, you might be surprised at how much it does define who we are and our personalities. What is even more interesting is the combination of a family. When we blend two families, typically birth order changes a bit. When we have an oldest child, who exhibits all of the typical oldest child traits, and they are blended into a family where they suddenly become the youngest – this can really change a … Continue reading →

Gift giving in a blended family can be a tricky practice. Especially if there are several kids and several active sets of parents. Unfortunately it is rude to tell others how to shop for your children unless they specifically ask you what they might like. So how do you deal with gift giving in a blended family? It is important to recognize who the gifts are coming from. There will more than likely factor in many different people who will be shopping for your child or children. The other parent, grandparents, aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers and so on. It is … Continue reading →

Being in a blended family can be difficult when it comes to scheduling. There are so many different things to consider, so many variations of what can be planned and what cannot be planned and several different people to think about when making scheduled plans. So what do you do when a scheduling conflict occurs? Communication Communicating with all parties of interest is a key ingredient to effective parenting within a blended family. There are several parents that are involved and should be involved in the decision making process. Discussing situations that are conflicting can help warrant a quick resolution, … Continue reading →

If you are living in a blended family, you know that sharing is a huge part of almost every aspect of your lives. It would be nice if sharing came naturally for humans, but unfortunately this isn’t always the case. Whether it is the step-mother sharing her husband with his kids, the step-kids sharing dad with a new woman (or mom with a new man), or its just as simple as sharing toys, food, books and clothes, there just seems to be an enormous burden put on the blended family in which everyone must share. When it is a person … Continue reading →

A tricky subject is approached when we talk about step mothers and biological mothers. It gets even tricker when you add the step-mother and biological mother into a new family where both parents have children. To quickly dispel the myth, most step mothers never come into the role to replace the biological mother. It is not our job as their step mother to replace that maternal role that rightfully belongs to someone else. But then where do we stand in our role? It almost depends on the type of family you are involved in. If you are part of a … Continue reading →