Tag: stepmom support

Inside the April 2016 Issue of StepMom Magazine

StepMom Magazine April 2016
The April 2016 Issue

The April 2016 issue of StepMom Magazine is HERE!

We know you’re going to love this month’s edition! The articles are designed to help you tackle the specific challenges that come with loving someone who has kids. This month you’ll learn:

* how to deal with a high-conflict ex
* 4 secret power moves to help you become a happier stepmom
* what to expect if you’re expecting
* tips for parenting his kids and yours (together!)
* the differences between custody and residency
* how to accept the universal truths about stepfamily life
…AND MUCH MORE!

Here’s what’s inside if you subscribe: Continue reading “Inside the April 2016 Issue of StepMom Magazine”

Stepmom Sanity Savers – Inside the April 2016 Issue

Stepmom Sanity Savers
Inside the April 2016 Issue

Stepmom Sanity Savers: 4 Secret Moves to a More Empowered You by Iishana Artra, PhD

A hallmark of sanity is possessing good judgment when faced with real life circumstances. As renowned expert Patricia L. Papernow, PhD, says, in stepfamilies, “What works is not intuitive.” In other words, good judgment here is largely a matter of stopping ourselves from stepparenting by reflex.

Seven years, according to Papernow, is the average time it takes to get the hang of stepfamily life. If we’re lucky? Four years. For some, surviving the learning curve is like climbing a 3,000-foot cliff in the rain, in winter, without shoes on and while dodging falling rocks. One sudden move could lead to all sorts of ruin. (That’s how I felt the first time I gave it a whirl.) Continue reading “Stepmom Sanity Savers – Inside the April 2016 Issue”

Stepfamily Life – Inside the April 2016 Issue

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”

Inside the March 2016 Issue of Stepmom Magazine

StepMom Magazine March 2016
The March 2016 Issue

The March 2016 issue of StepMom Magazine is HERE!

Being a stepmom is a job no one gets right in the beginning. No one. That’s why we explore and offer solutions to some of the most common challenges faced by all stepmoms in this month’s issue.

From learning how to prioritize your relationship to stepfamily estate planning to finding ways to improve your relationship with your stepchild, you’ll find it inside this month’s edition.

AND we talk with Meghan King Edmonds: stepmom and Real Housewives of OC star. She dishes about her life in front of the cameras, her homerun-hitting husband and what she’s learned (the hard way!) about being a stepmom.

Here’s what’s inside if you subscribe: Continue reading “Inside the March 2016 Issue of Stepmom Magazine”

Stepfamily Life – Inside the March 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

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

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 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”

Stepmom-Stepchild Relationships – Inside the March 2016 Issue

Stepmom Jealousy
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”

Inside the February 2016 Issue of Stepmom Magazine

Stepmom Magazine February 2016
The February 2016 Issue

The February 2016 issue of StepMom Magazine is HERE!

In this month’s edition, we address lots of different sources of struggle and frustration.

Are you having trouble making time for sex? Read Wednesday Martin’s tips for “Getting It On!” (p. 11). Got a mini-wife in your midst? Mary Kelly helps you remedy that situation on p. 16. Think you “should” have mastered this gig already? Christina Roach sets you straight on p. 32. Rachelle Katz even weighs in—on thorny Valentine’s surprises (p. 5).

Most importantly, The February 2016 issue of StepMom Magazine offers advice on how to work together with your partner to keep your relationship strong for the long haul!

Continue reading “Inside the February 2016 Issue of Stepmom Magazine”