Blended+Families

Blended Families

Description:

Blended families are those with step-parents and step-children. There can be many different types of blended families and each type is going to be unique. Stepparent: the spouse of your parent by a subsequent marriage Stepchild: A child born to your spouse before your marriage whom you have not legally adopted

Common Problems:
 * **Age Differences**- In a blended family the child who may have previously been the oldest may no longer be and may have a hard time adapting the the role change. As well as children may be closer in age then is possible with birth siblings. Some cases may even include a new stepparents being closer to the children ages then the birth parent was.
 * **Parental Inexperience**- Not all stepparents have been parents before and it will take time and learning for them to gain the confidence and experience in raising children.
 * **Changes in Family Traditions-** When two families blend together so do their traditions. It may be hard for the children as well as the parents to give up or compromise on these issues.
 * **Parental Insecurities**- a stepparents may feel insecure about parenting someones child who is not "theirs" as well as feel a sense of competition toward the other parent.
 * **Dealing With the Demands of Others**- Children and parents in blended families now have new schedules of other people to try and work their lives around now (especially when custody issues are involved). Parents and children may become annoyed having to deal with these new demands.
 * **Adapting to Different Parenting Styles**- Not all parents, parent the same way and children may not respond well to a new type of parenting. It is important that the birth parent and the stepparent communicate about how to parent and discipline a child. It is also important that new family also communicated with the child's other parent(s) on how to parent.
 * **Accepting a new parent or sibling**- If a child is not use to having siblings or more than one parent is may be difficult for them to accept new (more) people into their lives.

Statistics

As a Parent: As a Student: Tips For Teachers [|Video (Click me)]
 * 65% of remarriages include children from previous relationships
 * About 75% of divorced persons eventually remarry
 * 43% of all marriages are remarriages for at least one of the adults
 * Of American children under 18 years of age:
 * 52.1% live with two parents
 * 26.3% live with only their biological mother
 * 5.4% live with only their biological father
 * One of three Americans is now a stepparent, a stepchild, a step-sibling, or some other member of a blended family
 * By 2010 blended families are projected be the predominant family form in the U.S.
 * Take things slow. Although you may be excited to start your new life it is important to remember to give everyone time to get use to each other as well as the idea of marriage.
 * Limit your expectations. Don't become discouraged if you do not receive love and affection from your new step-child right away. Give things time and take things in stride.
 * Make parenting changes before the marriage.
 * Make respect a corner stone of your new family
 * Find ways to bond as a family
 * Have open communication
 * Let your teacher know you have "extra" parents and will sometimes need more then 2 copies of paper work, there will be more people for parents night, etc.
 * Communicate your custody schedule if it will present any conflicts. Also if there is an issue where a parent needs to be contacted the teacher will be able to contact the correct parent.
 * Try and keep the same study habits when staying with each parent
 * Attend any peer groups for students of blended families
 * Include all parents in class activities
 * Understand that students in blended families often have more to juggle
 * Attend workshops for teachers on the topic
 * Review the possible effects on children according to age, needs, and gender
 * Attend workshops on developing family traditions that strengthen families
 * Mail report cards, newsletters, and other class papers to both families
 * Offer books, articles, and lists of resources about step families and single parent families for parents and studentInclude stories about blended families in the classroom
 * http://www.blended-families.com/newsletter/
 * http://kidshealth.org/kid/feeling/home_family/blended.html
 * Be aware of when the student visits the noncustodial parent
 * Include noncustodial parents in school functions
 * Eliminate terms such as "broken home" in the classroom
 * Eliminate terms such as "broken home" in the classroom

Case Study Example: http://www.forefrontfamilies.org/content/view/7/1/ Sources: http://www.winningstepfamilies.com/BlendedFamilyStatistics.html http://www.helpguide.org/mental/blended_families_stepfamilies.htm __Parents as Partners in Education__, by Eugnia Hepworth Berger and Mari Riojas-Cortez http://www.forefrontfamilies.org/content/view/7/1/ http://www.blended-families.com/newsletter/ http://kidshealth.org/kid/feeling/home_family/blended.html Picture: http://www.google.com/imgres?q=blended+families&um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&sa=N&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=747&bih=325&tbm=isch&tbnid=6mfxHHJxxdit0M:&imgrefurl=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2008/04/blended-familie.html&docid=yMSK6Dt9KXVRJM&w=250&h=268&ei=XbR2TsPuIOKlsQKwzeCxDQ&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=300&page=1&tbnh=94&tbnw=88&start=0&ndsp=9&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:0&tx=33&ty=19