Expert Stepfamily Advice for Any Woman Whose Partner Has Kids
The August 2016 issue of StepMom Magazine is HERE!
This month you’ll receive:
→ Advice for stepmoms who don’t like being disliked
→ Help for those times when you feel invisible and left out
→ Tips to ease the stress of being a 24/7 custodial stepmom
→ A guide to forgiving others (even if it’s not deserved!)
→ Information on why stepmom stereotypes still exist
→ And much more!
Here’s what else you’ll find inside:
Continue reading “Inside the August 2016 Issue of StepMom Magazine”
Sticks and Stones: A Stepmother’s Guide to Being Disliked by Wednesday Martin, PhD
No matter what I did, they didn’t like me. His kids didn’t like me. And his ex hated me. I turned myself inside out trying to please the kids. They still hated every cookie I baked, every meal I cooked. Some days it felt like they hated me for breathing. Meanwhile, I bent over backwards to show his ex I was a good and kind person she could trust with her children. Continue reading “Stepmom Help: Inside the August 2016 Issue”
Step Aside, Stepmom: Sharing the Spotlight With Their Mom by Claudette Chenevert
During the cycle of life, we encounter many major milestones that transform our families. They force us to interact with people we may not be excited to stand alongside, including mom. Stepmoms sometimes dread the most significant milestone moments, in which the occasion is inevitably shared with their stepkids’ biological moms: graduations, weddings and babies. Continue reading “Stepfamily Events: Inside the July 2016 Issue”
Grieving Stepmoms: Recognizing and Reconciling What You’ve Given Up by Brenda Snyder, LCSW
Lots of stepmoms show up in my counseling office because their family doctor prescribed an antidepressant and recommended therapy. Admittedly showing signs of depression (i.e., irritability, sadness, changes in appetite, difficulty sleeping, fatigue), these women readily agree with their doctors that something is not right. What both doctor and stepmom fail to consider, however, is that the symptoms of depression are stunningly similar to signs of bereavement. Continue reading “Stepmom Grief: Inside the July 2016 Issue”
Taking the Stepfamily Plunge: Add Value to Stepfamily Life by Being Vulnerable by Mary T. Kelly, MA
You met a great guy—the kind of guy you’d been waiting for. He had so many of the qualities you wanted that you couldn’t believe your good fortune in finding him. Sure, he had kids. But he was worth the extra effort. You had no idea (nor could you possibly have imagined) that partnering with this wonderful guy would take you down a road of vulnerability like no other.
And, at some point, you were not only sharing your life with your new partner. You also started sharing it with his children. Continue reading “Stepfamily Life – Inside the March 2016 Issue”
How Jealousy Affects Stepmom-Stepchild Relationships: It’s Not Easy Being Green, by Wednesday Martin, Phd
It has been said over and over: Children, even grown ones, feel threatened, displaced, hurt and scared when dad remarries. Less often do we hear how the stepmother experiences this reality: Hurt and threatened stepchildren are also frequently angry and jealous—and they want us gone.
A stepmother’s “vengefulness and jealousy” toward her husband’s powerless children may be something other than what it seems. Often, it is a fantasy and a projection, one that allows stepchildren of all ages to disavow a deeper, more disturbing truth. Continue reading “Stepmom-Stepchild Relationships – Inside the March 2016 Issue”
Stepmoms Home Alone: Avoid Feeling Like an Outsider This Holiday Season by Mary T. Kelly, MA
Do you remember the movie “Home Alone,” in which the harried parents of several children leave one of them behind while rushing out to catch a plane for a Christmas holiday trip?
The 8-year-old kid who’s left behind, Kevin (memorably portrayed by Macaulay Culkin), is stunned to find out he’s home alone. But he ends up being quite resourceful, avoiding unwanted intruders who were initially after the family goods and then shifted their focus to doing him harm just to get even with him.
You may be able to relate to that forgotten kid. You anticipate the holidays with dread, Continue reading “Feeling Like an Outsider – Inside the December 2015 Issue”
A Stepmom’s Christmas Carol: Lessons From the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future by Christina Roach, LMHC, NCC, DCC
The holidays are one of my favorite times of the year. Decorating the house, baking Christmas cookies, sipping hot cocoa while snuggled together watching snowfall … throw in some carolers and you have the makings of a picture-prefect celebration.
Whether your style is to go over-the-top during the holidays or take a more laid-back approach, there are most likely traditions you’ve carried with you from your childhood. They’ve become part of how you define the holidays. Without them, the festivities would seem a little less merry and bright. Continue reading “A Stepmom’s Christmas Carol – Inside the December 2015 Issue”
The October 2015 issue of StepMom Magazine is HERE!
The statistics on stepfamily failure rates are enough to frighten the pants off of anybody!
In this month’s edition, we face some of the most common fears experienced by stepmoms full on: feeling like an outsider, dealing with the ex and acknowledging that life, as a stepfamily, may not feel anything at all like you’d hoped it would.
In the end, we hope you realize this: Whatever stepmom problem scares you the most, the fact that you’re willing to feel the fear means you can overcome it. Because you? Are strong, brave and courageous. And we’re here to help you every step of the way.
Here’s what’s inside the October issue: Continue reading “Inside the October 2015 Issue of StepMom Magazine”
Stepmoms and Outsider Syndrome: 7 Ways to Ease the Pain of Feeling Left Out by Claudette Chenevert
Your partner is sitting on the floor, playing with his kids. It’s been a few weeks since they were last together and they seem to be having a good time catching up. Here you are, looking at them, when an empty feeling creeps up inside you.
You try as hard as you can, hoping you’re making all the right moves. You sacrifice your time and space to make sure your partner’s kids feel at home, as if they belong. All the while, you are battling your own demons about what your place is in this relationship. Continue reading “Stepmoms and Outsider Syndrome – In the October 2015 Issue”