Expert Stepfamily Advice for Any Woman Whose Partner Has Kids
Stepmoms Who Disengage: Stepping Back Gracefully Isn’t Easy (Here’s How to Do It!) BY ERIN CARELESS, PHD
As a stepmother, you’ve probably heard these phrases more than once before:
“JUST LET IT GO.”
“STEP BACK FOR NOW.”
“DISENGAGE WITH LOVE.”
Being a stepmom comes with its own unique set of challenges and, very often, not a whole lot of support. Continue reading “Stepmoms Who Disengage: Inside the February 2018 Issue”
The Lonely Stepmom: 6 Tips for When You Feel Ignored, Rejected or Alone BY MARY T. KELLY, MA
Think of your earliest memory of feeling excluded. For most, those thoughts take us back to grade school. Maybe you were on the playground watching the other kids interact, as you stood back alone. Maybe you weren’t invited to a birthday party for someone you considered a friend. Surely you didn’t escape middle school or high school without feeling like an outsider. Continue reading “Tips for Lonely Stepmoms: Inside the February 2018 Issue”
StepMom Interviews Karyn Turk
This Social Media Maven Is the Real Deal
BY STEPMOM STAFF
Karyn Turk is one of social media’s most authentic personalities, as evidenced by her impressive following. The host of Ethos Media Network’s “Eye on South Florida” and former CBS exec is known for her high-energy interviews with major celebrities. She’s also a resource of information on issues which matter to modern women. Continue reading “Karyn Turk: Inside the February 2018 Issue”
There’s No Place Like Home: Advice for Stepmoms Who Experience Outsider Syndrome By Mary T. Kelly, MA
It doesn’t matter how old you are: “There’s no place like home! There’s no place like home! There’s no place like home!” For most of us, these pleading words are as familiar as the sun rising in the East.
In “The Wizard of Oz,” Dorothy was lost and had to find her way back home. This was no easy endeavor. She went through trial after trial, faced perilous odds, came up against deception and, ultimately, found redemption. Oh, the roads she had to travel first to get there! Continue reading “Feel Like an Outsider? Inside the December 2017 Issue”
Fighting Parental Alienation: Filmmaker Ginger Gentile Aims to Educate and Reunite #Erased Family Members By Kristen Wilkinson, PsyD
We all have our guilty, reality TV pleasures. I mean, how exciting was it that Meghan King Edmonds of Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Orange County” was featured in StepMom Magazine in March 2016? Those of us who then watched the show over the summer saw one of its other stars open up about the impact of divorce, as Tamra Judge spoke at a gala in support of the documentary film “Erasing Family.”
Judge talked about her experiences—as a child of divorce, Continue reading “Erasing Family: Inside the December 2017 Issue”
Happy Holidays? A Stepmom’s Guide to Finding Magic in the Mess By Kate Chapman
There was a time in my life when I believed in the magic of the winter holidays. Tinsel and candlelight. Snow falling softly outside. Loving families sharing time together, as children played happily inside. All was calm. All was bright. Joy and peace ruled the day.
Then I became a stepmom.
My first Christmas as a stepmom looked nothing like what I saw on TV. My days were filled with schedule shenanigans, kid shuttling Continue reading “Holiday Tips for Stepmoms: Inside the December 2017 Issue”
“I’m Jealous of My Stepdaughter!” 5 Ways to Make Peace With Your Feelings By Brenda Snyder, LCSW
Stepmoms have it rough. You would be hard-pressed to come up with even one fictional, famous or literary stepmom character who’s portrayed in a positive light. Yet, when the title is preceded by “evil” or “wicked,” dozens quickly come to mind.
It’s no wonder that, with such a reputation to live down, it’s really hard for stepmoms to open up and admit to the less admirable feelings which commonly infiltrate their experience. Continue reading “Stepmoms and Jealousy: Inside the December 2017 Issue”
Disciplining Your Stepkids: 5 Tips to Help Stepmoms Handle Day-to-Day Situations By Stacie Nielsen Bortel, MA
A young voice shouts, “You’re not my mom. You can’t tell me what to do!” A door slams. Feet stomp across the floor. This is an all-too-common situation stepmoms everywhere can find themselves in. There’s no way around it. Disciplining stepkids is a complicated prospect—one that can make you feel as if you’re trying to cross an emotional minefield—but it doesn’t have to be!
Experts like Deborah Duley, MSW, offer a wealth of advice. Continue reading “Disciplining Your Stepkids: Inside the November 2017 Issue”
Holiday Traditions: The Stepfamily Investment That Yielded Unexpected Returns By Jonelle Jones
When I first became a stepmom, the word “tradition gave me the same fuzzy feelings it always had. It wasn’t until we’d traversed our first few important events and holidays before the word began to make me feel uncomfortable. I realized—unwittingly—that traditions, in a stepfamily, weren’t as simple or as magical as they had been my whole life prior.
A bit of back story is in order. I’ve been in the stepmom role for more than six years. Continue reading “Stepfamily Holiday Traditions: Inside the November 2017 Issue”
The Self-Doubting Stepmom: Feel More Confident and Less Confused By Mary T. Kelly, MA
You doubt, chide, question, worry and ruminate over what kind of person you are. It doesn’t help that those closest to you naively aid and abet your critical self-examination. Take, for example, the two voices inside your head. One is reasonably sane: “You’re not a terrible person. You’ve never been a terrible person. You’re a good, conscientious person who cares about others.”
The other one (that little devil who pokes you in the shoulder, when you least expect it) shouts: “You’re selfish! You’re not trying hard enough! You’re imagining all of this drama! Continue reading “The Self-Doubting Stepmom: Inside the November 2017 Issue”