Tag: stepmom support

Stepchild Relationships: Inside the August 2017 Issue

Stepmom Stepchild RelationshipsGame On! How Plan Can Improve Stepmom / Stepchild Relationships by Stacie Nielsen Bortel, MA

His look was so determined.

“Stacie, you’re not invited to my birthday party,” my stepson said. “Just mommy is.”

I hid the pain but it wasn’t entirely surprising. He also didn’t want me to look at him, ask him questions or do things as simple as bring him a napkin when he had a bloody nose. In other words, my 5-year-old stepson was having a hard time attaching to me. Continue reading “Stepchild Relationships: Inside the August 2017 Issue”

Inside the July 2017 Issue

StepMom Magazine July 2017The July 2017 issue of StepMom Magazine is HERE!

This month we’re talking about:

→ The Advice All Stepmoms Should Ignore
→ Why Marrying a Man With Kids Is Harder Than It Looks
→ 8 Things Moms Want Stepmoms to Know
→ Our Top 15 Recommended Resources
→ The Benefits of Finding Your Stepmom Tribe
→ Tips for Your Stepfamily Summer Vacation
→ And more!
Here’s a look at what’s inside: Continue reading “Inside the July 2017 Issue”

Lies We Tell Stepmoms: Inside the July 2017 Issue

Lies we tell stepmoms4 Big Lies We Tell Stepmoms: How Ignoring Bad Advice Can Save Your Marriage—and Your Sanity! by Wednesday Martin, PhD

Excerpted with permission from “Stepmonster: A New Look at Why Real Stepmothers Think, Feel, and Act the Way We Do.”

Books for stepmothers tend to perpetuate certain myths. The myth of the blended family and the myth of the maternal stepmother are the most glaring examples. These books’ relentlessly upbeat tone can make stepmothers feel as though our own occasional negativity and impatience regarding his kids are freakish. Other books on stepmothering are so lighthearted, so insistent that we see the humor in our situation and in our responses to it, that reading them feels suspiciously like being told that our concerns don’t matter and that we just need to lighten up. Continue reading “Lies We Tell Stepmoms: Inside the July 2017 Issue”

Stepfamily Resources: Inside the July 2017 Issue

Stepfamily Resources

by Mary T. Kelly, MA

It’s so much harder than you expected it to be. Hell, if you’re gonna be really honest, it’s so tough you spend inordinate amounts of time wondering if it’s even worth it. What is this “it” that’s causing you—and others like you—to feel so much consternation? It’s the experience of being, or the thought of becoming, a stepmom.

“I’ve been living a sad tale for 16 years,” a reader recently shared on the StepMom Magazine Facebook page. “I wonder now if it was worth it.”

Continue reading “Stepfamily Resources: Inside the July 2017 Issue”

Moms and Stepmoms: Inside the July 2017 Issue

Moms and StepmomsExclusive! What Moms Want Stepmoms to Know: 8 Ways to Make Stepfamily Life Easier on Everyone by Blythe Ward, MEd

In my years as a therapist working with stepfamilies, many of my female clients expressed anger and frustration over feeling as if their stepkids’ mothers were making life very difficult for them. But not only was I a therapist. I was also a biological mother to two young boys. After my marriage to their father finally collapsed, my ex-husband remarried a woman who did not have any children of her own. Continue reading “Moms and Stepmoms: Inside the July 2017 Issue”

Being a Stepmom: Inside the July 2017 Issue

Being a StepmomIs Being a Stepmom Harder Than You Ever Imagined? The Major Challenges of Having a Partner With Kids by Brenda Snyder, LCSW

Practically every mom everywhere says, “Parenting is the hardest job you’ll ever love!” I am a mom and I am completely on board with the loving-the-job part. Yet, to be honest, the stepmom in me wants to add an asterisk (*) followed by the words: Insert eye roll here. Because, as we steps know, being a stepparent is the hardest job. Period. Continue reading “Being a Stepmom: Inside the July 2017 Issue”

Inside the June 2017 Issue

StepMom Magazine June 2017The June 2017 issue of StepMom Magazine is HERE!

In honor of the men we love, this month’s Father’s Day Special Edition is designed specifically to cater to Dad’s needs.

Written “For the Men!” in our lives, it helps you and your partner team up to tackle a variety of topics divorced dads, repartnered dads and stepdads struggle with most often.

Stepmoms worldwide tell us they look forward to this annual edition because it’s a great conversation starter—an issue you can both read (and enjoy) together! Here’s a look at what’s inside: Continue reading “Inside the June 2017 Issue”

Inside the May 2017 Issue

StepMom Magazine May 2017
The May 2017 issue of StepMom Magazine is HERE!

This month we’re talking about:

→ Tips on how to plan for (and survive!) Mother’s Day
→ 4 Ways being a stepmom can make you a better mom
→ How to set yourself free from stepmom guilt
→ Mother-in-law trouble? We can help!
→ Advice for stepparenting a grieving child when mom’s not around
→ The importance of financial planning for stepmoms
→ And more! Continue reading “Inside the May 2017 Issue”

Stepmom’s Guide to Mother’s Day: Inside the May 2017 Issue

Stepmom's Guide to Mother's DaySecond Sunday of May: A Stepmom’s Guide to Mother’s Day by Brenda Snyder, LCSW

My mom likes to spend Mother’s Day with my sister and me. We love spending it with her, too, because she gives us presents. She started this even before we became mothers ourselves. Her explanation: “If not for you guys, I wouldn’t be a mom.”

My first few Mother’s Days as a stepmother were pretty torturous. Continue reading “Stepmom’s Guide to Mother’s Day: Inside the May 2017 Issue”

Stepmoms and Motherhood: Inside the May 2017 Issue

Stepmoms and MotherhoodLessons in Motherhood: 4 Ways Being a Stepmom Made Me A Better Mom by Melissa D. Day, MS

A year and a half ago my husband and I welcomed an ours baby into our family. My adjustment to motherhood has been anything but seamless. For a decade we have balanced raising my four stepdaughters with my own graduate studies in sociology, my unpredictable college teaching career and my husband’s out-of-state job.

Add a newborn to the mix and there are sure to be some bumps in the road! Continue reading “Stepmoms and Motherhood: Inside the May 2017 Issue”