Tag: stepmom advice

Stepmom Resentment – Inside the February 2016 Issue

stepmom resentment
Inside the February 2016 Issue

Stepmoms Who Give Too Much: 4 Signs You’re Pushing Yourself Down the Path of Martyrdom by Claudette Chenevert

Stepmom resentment. As stepmoms, we sometimes sacrifice time with friends, extended family and even ourselves to cater to our partners and/or stepkids. We do this in part (and often subconsciously) in the hope that we’ll be viewed as the ideal stepmom—the one who’s there for everyone. Yet, when we’re finally exhausted and recognize we’re in need of help, little to none can be found.

Do you ever try to be all things to all people only to realize that no one truly notices or benefits from it as much as you thought they would? Continue reading “Stepmom Resentment – Inside the February 2016 Issue”

Stepmom Summit – Videos from The Steve Harvey Show

Stepmom Summit
Click here to watch all five Steve Harvey Stepmom Summit VIDEOS!

On Thurs., Jan. 21, 2016, StepMom Magazine Founder and Publisher Brenda Ockun was on TV, representing stepmoms worldwide, as a special guest of the “Steve Harvey” daytime TV talk show.

Brenda was asked to appear on Steve’s first-ever, televised Stepmom Summit, as the resident subject-matter expert. On that panel were two celebrity stepmoms—Steve’s wife, Marjorie, and Tameka “Tiny” Harris, a former member of the R&B group Xscape and wife of rapper T.I. Continue reading “Stepmom Summit – Videos from The Steve Harvey Show”

Steve Harvey Show Stepmom Summit – Watch it this week!

Steve Harvey Stepmom SummitWatch the Steve Harvey Show Stepmom Summit featuring StepMom Magazine Publisher Brenda Ockun THIS Thursday (Jan. 21).

Brenda was invited on as a subject-matter-expert guest star, to discuss stepfamily issues alongside Steve’s wife Marjorie and Tameka “Tiny” Cottle-Harris (a former member of the R&B group Xscape and wife of rapper T.I.).

Together, the women will discuss all of the challenges that come along with being a stepmom, like how to discipline the kids, battles with the biological mom, finding your place in the relationship and the ugly label of the “evil stepmom.”

Read more about the show at http://www.steveharveytv.com/its-the-stepmom-summit/
and find when and where the show airs in your area at: http://SteveHarveyTV.com/watch/

Inside the January 2016 Issue of StepMom Magazine

StepMom Magazine January 2016
The January 2016 Issue

The January 2016 issue of StepMom Magazine is HERE!

This month marks StepMom Magazine’s 7th anniversary! To celebrate, we’ve packed this special edition with information to make your life as a stepmom easier by revealing the truth about becoming a stepmom and sharing tips to help you succeed. This issue is full of candid admissions and insights from therapists, best-selling authors, lawyers, and stepmoms on the front lines.

Wednesday Martin, PhD, author of Stepmonster, shares what she’s learned in her research on stepmom resentment. Feel like you’ve lost yourself since becoming a stepmom? Heather Hetchler offers a few resolutions for reclaiming your old self. And Christina Roach explores the unique impact infertility has on stepmoms.

And that’s just a sampling. Here’s everything you’ll find inside this month’s issue: Continue reading “Inside the January 2016 Issue of StepMom Magazine”

Teenage Stepchildren – Inside the January 2016 Issue

teenage stepchildren
Inside the January 2016 Issue

Stepfamily Growing Pains – Tips on Handling Teens Who Don’t (or Won’t!) Come Around Anymore by Mary T. Kelly, MA

Have you and your partner heard these words from a defiant teenager who no longer wants to go back and forth between two homes and only wants to live with his mom? “I don’t want to live here anymore!” If so, the two of you are not alone.

Let’s be honest here. If you have stepkids who are difficult teenagers, for you this may be a blessing in disguise. But for your partner—their father—it’s devastating.  It’s tough enough for your partner to only have custody of his kids part-time. Finding out he has a kid who has no desire to live with him is like a punch in the gut. Continue reading “Teenage Stepchildren – Inside the January 2016 Issue”

Stepmoms and Infertility – Inside the January 2016 Issue

Stepmom Infertility
Inside the January 2016 Issue

Infertility – The Secret Pain Many Stepmoms Suffer by Christina Roach, LMHC, NCC, DCC

Being a stepmom has its share of ups and downs—as each of us know all too well. The experience can become devastating, though, when faced with infertility concerns.

Regardless of the degree to which children are desired, the inability to conceive dismantles the image of mother, father and child walking hand-in-hand. It has the crushing strength of a wrecking ball that rips through a building as it’s demolished, crumbling it relentlessly to the ground.

What’s left can feel like a barren wasteland. Empty. Dark. Hopeless. Continue reading “Stepmoms and Infertility – Inside the January 2016 Issue”

Understanding Your Stepkids – Inside the January 2016 Issue

understanding your stepkids
Inside the January 2016 Issue

Tips for Understanding Your Stepkids – Start the New Year off Right! by Claudette Chenevert

Being in a stepfamily is no walk in the park for any of us. There are times when things are great and everyone is getting along— even having fun together. Then there are other times when being in a stepfamily is a nightmare. As stepmoms, we know this only too well, but it’s also true from the children’s perspectives.

While living through the separation and eventual divorce of their parents, our stepkids experienced a lot of insecurity. Where would they live? Who would they live with? And for how long? At the time, they were (and probably remain) understandably scared, unsure, angry and distraught at losing control over nearly every aspect of their lives. Continue reading “Understanding Your Stepkids – Inside the January 2016 Issue”

Interview with Jamie Tompkins – Inside the January 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”

Stepmom Resentment – Inside the January 2016 Issue

Stepmom Resentment
Inside the January 2016 Issue

Stepmoms and Resentment: What It Means and Why You’re Not Alone by Wednesday Martin, PhD

In the course of researching my book, “Stepmonster: A New Look at Why Real Stepmothers Think, Feel, and Act the Way We Do,” I was reminded time and again that there are a handful of emotions that are just too taboo for those of us married to men with kids to admit having.

Often an interview with one of my subjects would have to go on for 30 or 45 minutes before the woman speaking with me felt she could express feelings she feared I might judge her for having. More than once, I had to pave the way to disclosure by going first: “There were days I was so angry at my husband and his daughter for shutting me out that I wanted to leave.” Continue reading “Stepmom Resentment – Inside the January 2016 Issue”