stepfamily dynamics Archives - Page 7 of 11

Stepfamily Life – Inside the April 2016 Issue

The Truth About Stepfamily Life: The Path to Peace Begins With Acceptance by Brenda Snyder LCSW

My job, as a writer and a stepmom coach, allows me to wear a few different hats. Most of the time I get to be an upbeat, cheerleadery type who encourages and assures clients that, “This is really hard, but you can do it!”

When we get down to work, I put on my coaching hat to help stepmoms and couples develop a new game plan. (Ya gotta have a strong defense!) The hat I find hardest to wear, however, is probably the most effective. It’s the one I wear when I challenge stepmoms to face unpleasant truths and then give them unpopular advice. Continue reading “Stepfamily Life – Inside the April 2016 Issue”

Stepfamily Life – Inside the March 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”

Younger Stepmoms – Inside the March 2016 Issue

The Younger Stepmom: Strategies for Women Partnered With Older Men by Brenda Snyder, LCSW

As if being a stepmom wasn’t hard enough, many stepcouples face another challenge—an age gap. And, while none of us is immune to the unflattering stereotypes heaped onto stepmoms (i.e., tramp, gold digger, trophy wife and evil homewrecker), those slurs are often hurled more harshly at younger women who partner with older men.

Those stereotypes don’t even hint at the fact that we love and are committed to our partners (be they young, old or somewhere in between). Continue reading “Younger Stepmoms – Inside the March 2016 Issue”

Stepcouple Strategies – Inside the March 2016 Issue

Successful Stepcouple Strategies: The Why and What of Putting Your Marriage First by Heather Hetchler, MA

Two people fall in love and decide to marry or partner for life. They make the decision together and enter the union with love, hope and a commitment to stick with it for better or worse.

Unlike a first-time marriage, children often come with the vows made in a remarriage. Those children, regardless of age, are part of the newly created family. But they do not make the choice to form a new family. Nor are they the reason for it. The reason for the remarriage is the love and commitment shared by the two people saying, “I do.” Continue reading “Stepcouple Strategies – Inside the March 2016 Issue”

Successful Stepmom Tips – Inside the March 2016 Issue

Successful Stepmoms: Is It Luck—or Hard Work? by Trisha Ladogna

With St. Patrick’s Day around the corner, I started thinking about all of the lucky stepmoms I know—the ones whose days aren’t filled with bickering with their partners about parenting or schedules. The ones who have positive interactions with their stepkids and actually look forward to spending time with them. The ones who spend time with their partners’ exes and whose partners spend time with their exes without forming knots in their stomachs. The ones who seem to have found the four-leaf clover of stepfamilies. Continue reading “Successful Stepmom Tips – Inside the March 2016 Issue”

Stepcouple Sex – Inside the February 2016 Issue

Getting It On: Sex and the Woman With Stepkids by Wednesday Martin, PhD

Let’s talk about stepcouple sex. Sex is different for stepmothers.

Let me explain. Sex is sex, of course, and in marriage it is frequently, well, vexed. Too much. Not enough. Too tired. Too stressed. Too worried. Too busy. But interviewing women with stepchildren and reviewing the psychological and sociological literature for my book “Stepmonster,” I found that women married to or partnered with men with kids face several very specific hurdles to a satisfying sex life. Continue reading “Stepcouple Sex – Inside the February 2016 Issue”

Stepcouple Relationships – Inside the February 2016 Issue

Stepcouple Relationships: Tips for Making It Work by Trisha Ladogna

It may be that the divorce rates for second and third marriages are lower than originally thought. Those statistics, which have been touted around for years, note that between 60 and 70 percent of those relationships end in divorce. But subsequent studies are showing that those numbers appear to be much more favorable.

In 2013, the Marriage Foundation (a U.K. relationship think tank) released a report showing that the divorce rate for second marriages is not any higher than it is for those who marry for the first time. Continue reading “Stepcouple Relationships – Inside the February 2016 Issue”

Interview with Jamie Tompkins – Inside the January 2016 Issue

Jamie Tompkins – TV Journalist—and Stepmom! The Seattle-Based TV Anchor on Stepmoms, Stereotypes and Media Shortfalls Interview by Brenda Ockun, Founder and Publisher of StepMom Magazine

To say Jamie Tompkins is confident is an understatement. Over the last 10 years, this Q13 Fox News broadcast journalist has taken every opportunity to share her stepmom experience with audiences from coast to coast—on live TV no less.

It clearly takes a lot to rattle an anchor who’s no stranger to A-listers, grills politicians like nobody’s business, steps into jailhouses to interview convicted felons and chases down tornadoes in the name of journalism … without the slightest hint of a stray hair! Yet, she says, nothing prepared her for life’s toughest assignment: being a stepmom. Continue reading “Interview with Jamie Tompkins – Inside the January 2016 Issue”

Your Stepchild’s Perspective – Inside the January 2016 Issue

A Stepchild’s Perspective on Forging Relationships – Understanding What Works and What Doesn’t by Trisha Ladogna

In February 2015, Todd M. Jensen, MSW, LCSWA, and Matthew O. Howard, PhD, MSW (both representing University of North Carolina’s School of Social Work), completed a systemic review of stepchildren’s views about what makes for a positive stepparent-stepchild relationship.

They said it wasn’t an easy task, as the majority of stepfamily literature over the past decade had focused on only adults’ opinions of stepfamily life. Jensen and Howard, along with the rest of us I’m sure, found this “odd and unfortunate because stepfamilies, by definition, wouldn’t exist without the presence of children.” Continue reading “Your Stepchild’s Perspective – Inside the January 2016 Issue”

A Stepmom’s Christmas Carol – 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”

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