All Articles for Stepparents

It is rare for a couple to meet, fall in love, marry, and parent their children the exact same way. It is even more uncommon in stepfamilies.

Romance easily gets pushed out when we’re juggling the overwhelming emotions and hard-to-navigate circumstances in a blended family.

Among the hectic schedules and between-home dilemmas, stepfamilies can have fun memory-filled holidays, too. It just takes some extra work.

Holiday seasons aren’t always merry for blended families. The season can resurrect grief from divorce, death, or another tragedy.

It’s likely your holiday season will include tense moments. Don’t fret. Holidays can be joyous and memorable even if they’re not perfect.

Rejection shows up at some point in most every stepparent’s life. If you’re not a stepparent yourself, you might wonder how to help. Here are a few ideas.

You may not find quick-and-easy answers to all your questions when you marry into a stepfamily. But with God’s help, you can lead your stepfamily well.

Co-parenting, jealousy, and stepsibling conflict can chip away at a family’s future. But five changes can create a lasting impact on stepfamily dynamics.

Being a stepdad on Father’s Day can be a tricky, often overlooked, role. But here are a few ways to show your appreciation.

A mixed bag of emotions comes with being a stepmom on Mother’s Day. A day set aside to honor moms, where does that leave a stepmom?

My heart grieves as friends describe new struggles and blended family stress during the pandemic. It feels like too much to manage some days, doesn’t it?

Advice on seeing both the stepmom’s and biological mom’s perspectives.

These practical strategies will give you tools for a peaceful and effective interchange.

There is endless capacity for a loving relationship between a stepdad and his stepchildren.

From widow and single mother to second wife and stepmom, my soul suffered an identity crisis.

Ten ideas that helped (or would have helped) my family during our first blended year.

Jesus told us to love our neighbors as ourselves, but that requires first knowing who we are in Christ.

Strengthen bonds between kids and stepparents by going on a trip that doesn’t fit into the status quo.

When the world is telling you to blame your ex-spouse and embrace bitterness, you can work on turning your thoughts toward a peaceful working relationship.

Three helpful hints I use to navigate the holidays in my blended family.

At Christmas, decisions for an adult child of divorce become especially difficult, with both parents vying for your loyalty and attention.

Your blended family may have another river to cross and a few more battles to face, but don’t give up—significant rewards lie ahead.

Even though the legal rights of a stepparent over his or her stepchildren is limited, love is not limited.

God showed His love for us by bringing the outsider in, and that’s how Christians should love the “extended” members of stepfamilies.

Divorced parents should constantly evaluate themselves and ask if their behavior is helping or hurting their children.

Biological parents who find themselves caught between their spouse and their child should step out of the conflict as often as possible.

I like to use cooking as an analogy to identify some integration styles that stepfamilies attempt to utilize.

Adolescence is a natural time of turmoil in nearly every family.

One of the most menacing dynamics attacking the health of a stepfamily is a destructive parent in the other home.

When you have a new marriage and blended family, it's important to build a respectful working relationship with your ex.

If you are planning to have an ours baby, here are some suggestions to consider for preparation.

Practical suggestions for stepmoms.

Every time David successfully put off another conflict, he stored up resentment toward his wife or stepchildren for “controlling him.”

Blended families live in a different land than first-families.

She did her best to turn our four sons and small community against me.

The world I thought I had perfect control over had turned upside down. But that's when God started teaching me how to walk by faith.

Many couples think that their blended family will flow and function like a biological family, only with different people involved.

When one of the two partners feels like an outsider, it doesn't just affect the family dynamics.

Stepfamilies are hard no matter what your circumstances were before remarriage. Here are seven practical steps for healthy relationships.

Your special needs stepfamily can find peace and stability with time and the right tools and perspective.

For stepfamilies, family meetings can build much needed family traditions, create memories, and establish a working family identity.

Many couples travel to the “foreign country” of stepfamily living with little or no preparation.

We’ve all done it: We’ve all unjustly taken our anger against one person out on another. The question is, what do we do about it?

The terms used to define and describe the blended family experience vary from person to person.

Helping adult stepchildren transition into a stepfamily

I’m convinced that God uses the stepfamily experience to teach His children about choosing love.

When is it time for stepfamilies and stepparents to graduate to the next stage of life? When is it time for them to stop viewing their relationships as new?

Everyone agreed that stepparents should be acknowledged, but doing so was often awkward for the entire family.

Developing a good relationship with a spouse and a stepchild

Stepfamilies are especially vulnerable to parental favoritism

You cannot afford to be a vanishing father to your biological children.

Sharing experiences of Mother’s Day.

It's common for stepfamily kids to spend weeks at a nonresidential parent’s home during the summer. Here are some tips for managing the challenges.

Issues for second-half stepfamilies to consider.

Making assumptions about your spouse’s thoughts, feelings, and motives is a risky endeavor.

The difference between premarried hope and stepfamily reality

When you and your ex-spouse fight, it's your children who suffer.

How do you deal with a child who is sharing private information with an ex?

After a divorce, part-time parenting is challenging. Take the risk of acting like a parent and perhaps your children will respect you as one.

Children who have one parent not living a Christian life will need "spiritual inoculations" to help deal with an environment that's hostile to their faith.

How stepfamilies can curb conflict and tension during the Christmas season.

With healthy expectations and a specific strategy to build a relationship, a satisfying bond can be nurtured.

Children in blended families are going to feel like they don't belong, and they often take it out on the stepparent. But there is hope.

If they work together, divorced parents can help their children adjust to differences between homes.

The normal stress of the holidays is multiplied for stepfamilies.

Stepchildren often feel caught between their biological parents.

What to do when remarriage destabilizes a child’s world.

The difficulty of seeking the respect and acceptance of a stepchild.

The first two years of stepparent-stepchild relationships tend to be tense and stressful for everyone.

Stepparents must develop a secure bond with their stepchildren.

A delicate balancing act for blended families.

Remember Hebrews 12:2 as you look forward to a future payoff for your parenting efforts.

Problems arise when a biological parent continually tries to guide, guard, and direct the stepparent’s every step.

Divorced parents who fight with each other are trampling on their most prized possession—their children who have to live in both homes

Finding an effective stepparent role is a challenge.

Improving your relationship is a challenge, so be intentional.

Sarah and Michelle alike found themselves jealous of their stepchildren.

It hurts to watch a child suffer rejection from an uninvolved parent. Or from an inconsistent parent who promises time together and repeatedly breaks the promise.

Learning to put away childishness when dealing with a previous spouse.

Though stepfamilies may look like traditional nuclear families on the outside, the dynamics on the inside are very different.

The spiritual struggle of many Christian stepfamily adults.

Suggestions from experienced stepfathers on conquering Stepdad Mountain.