Expert Stepfamily Advice for Any Woman Whose Partner Has Kids
“… Love Languages” Stepmom Style! Use This Best-Selling Strategy to Connect With Your Stepfamily By Jessica Leon, PHD, LCSW
Go to the “Self-Help” section of any brick-and-mortar or virtual bookstore and you’ll find selections on just about every topic there is: eating disorders, depression, anxiety, self-esteem, childrearing, etc. Continue reading “Love Languages – Stepmom Style: Inside the April 2017 Issue”
Stepmom Blunders: 6 Mistakes Nearly Every Stepmother Makes by Mary T. Kelly, MA
The hundreds of women I’ve worked with have more than a few things in common. For one thing, they’re nearly all stepmoms. For another, at some point in their stepfamily journeys, nearly every one of them has become discouraged, gotten burnt out and found herself feeling hopeless about the future. Continue reading “Stepmom Blunders: Inside the March 2017 Issue”
The February 2017 issue of StepMom Magazine is HERE!
→ Advice for stepmoms who feel shunned by their stepkids
→ Tips for dealing with the ebb and flow of stepfamily life
→ How to keep the passion alive in your relationship
→ Creative ideas for celebrating Valentine’s Day
→ How shifting your perspective can make you happier
→ What it’s like when child support ends
→ And much more!
Continue reading “Inside the February 2017 Issue”
The Stepmom Mindset: If You Want Peace of Mind, Shift Your Perspective by Brenda Snyder, LCSW
The way you look at your life makes all the difference.
In my work as a therapist, I spend a lot of time helping people understand how their interpretation of events impacts their reaction to what is happening in their lives. Continue reading “The Stepmom Mindset: Inside the February 2017 Issue”
The January 2017 issue of StepMom Magazine is HERE!
→ Why Stepcouples Must Present a United Front
→ 4 Rules for Ditching Anger and Negativity
→ Protecting Your Assets During Your Stepkids’ Teen Years
→ Teaching Your Stepkids to Respect Personal Boundaries
→ 6 Ways to Combat Loneliness in Stepfamily Land
→ 10 Tips to Make 2017 a Banner Year
→ And much more!
Continue reading “Inside the January 2017 Issue”
Financing Your Stepkids’ Teen Years: Protect Yourself—and Your Savings—From the Teenage Money Pit by Mary T. Kelly, MA
Teens have been known, throughout the ages, to be reckless and careless with their possessions, their lives and those of other people. Some 2,300 years ago, Aristotle wisely said: “The young are heated by Nature, as drunken men by wine.” He should have added that their antics could end up costing a hell of a lot of money. Continue reading “Teen Stepkids and Money: Inside the January 2017 Issue”
Dad’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Days: Ways to Help Your Partner Parent Better by Mary T. Kelly, MA
“When I got out of bed this morning, I tripped on the skateboard and, by mistake, I dropped my sweater in the sink—while the water was running …. I think I’ll move to Australia.”
—excerpt from “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day,” by Judith Viorst
The opening excerpt is from a wildly popular children’s book that kids can relate to because, in truth, kids have bad days of their own. And, though your partner may not admit this, he has definitely experienced a slew of terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days, too—as a dad—and he doesn’t feel very good about it. Continue reading “Parenting Advice: Inside the December 2016 Issue”
StepMom Magazine’s Round Up of the Year’s Best Expert Tips and Stepmom Advice
Oh, dear, what a year! From the fate of the U.S. presidency to the Chicago Cubs’ first World Series win in 108 years, every aspect of life seemed to hang in the balance. Yet, none of it kept our contributors from sharing sound advice that helped us stay the course.
This month we round up 2016’s best expert tips for stepmoms and their stepfamilies, followed by excerpts from this year’s prior issues of StepMom Magazine. In sifting through them, we realized how ready we are to leave all the other drama behind. How ‘bout you?
Yeah, it’s time. Read on, reboot and get ready for 2017! …To read the rest of this article, log in to your account and download the December 2016 issue. Don’t have an account? Click here to subscribe.
The Parentified Child: When Stepkids Are Forced to Grow Up Too Fast
by Brenda Snyder, LCSW
When an intact family system reorganizes by death or divorce, every family member makes adjustments to the new structure. Unfortunately for the children, the adults are often so steeped in their own emotional pain that they are oblivious— through no real fault of their own—to the unhealthy accommodations their kids wind up making. While this is certainly not optimal for the adults, it can be devastating to the emotional health of their children.
It can be quite common, in one-parent families, for a child to hear that he or she is now the man or woman of the house. Continue reading “Parentified Stepchildren: Inside the November 2016 Issue”
Stepmom Leah Shafer Is in the House: Can We Get an “Amen!” for This Amazing Woman? Interview by Brenda Ockun, StepMom Magazine Founder & Publisher
Leah Shafer is one amazing stepmom—and mom. She travels internationally as a gospel recording artist. She works with the Denver Broncos, singing the U.S. national anthem at the team’s playoff and AFC Championship games. Continue reading “Stepmom Leah Shafer: Inside the November 2016 Issue”