FamilyLife Blended® Minute

Link to the Past

with | January 27, 2023
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Knowing family history tells us who we are and what we're made of. Here's the blended-family trap: Sometimes, the adults are so focused on the new family they inadvertently step on the children's past. Like when a stepparent demands a child call them Mom or Dad, it feels like they're erasing the family tree. Or when a family tradition is pushed aside by new stepfamily members, it squashes something in a child. To be a bridge to the future, your stepfamily needs to honor the past, not erase it.

  • Show Notes

  • About the Host

  • About the Guest

  • Knowing family history tells us who we are and what we're made of. Here's the blended-family trap: Sometimes, the adults are so focused on the new family they inadvertently step on the children's past. Like when a stepparent demands a child call them Mom or Dad, it feels like they're erasing the family tree. Or when a family tradition is pushed aside by new stepfamily members, it squashes something in a child. To be a bridge to the future, your stepfamily needs to honor the past, not erase it.

  • Ron Deal

    Ron L. Deal is one of the most widely read and viewed experts on blended families in the country. He is Director of FamilyLife Blended® for FamilyLife®, founder of Smart Stepfamilies™, and the author and Consulting Editor of the Smart Stepfamily Series of books including the bestselling Building Love Together in Blended Families: The 5 Love Languages® and Becoming Stepfamily Smart (with Dr. Gary Chapman), The Smart Stepfamily: 7 Steps to a Healthy Family, and Preparing to Blend. Ron is a licensed marriage and family therapist, popular conference speaker, and host of the FamilyLife Blended podcast. He and his wife, Nan, have three sons and live in Little Rock, Arkansas. Learn more at FamilyLife.com/blended.

Family: A link to the past and a bridge to the future.

Link to the Past

With
|
January 27, 2023
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Ron: Family: A link to the past and a bridge to the future.

Announcer: For FamilyLife Blended®, here’s Ron Deal.

Ron: I hear a lot of people talking about their family tree these days. The internet has made exploring our ancestry a lot easier. Knowing our family history tells us who we are and what we’re made of.

Now, here’s the blended-family trap: Sometimes, the adults are so focused on where the new family is going, they inadvertently step on the children’s past. Like when a stepparent demands a child call them Mom or Dad, it feels like they are erasing the family tree. Or when a family tradition that is shared by some is pushed aside by new stepfamily members, it squashes something in a child. To truly be a bridge to the future, your stepfamily needs to honor the past, not erase it. For FamilyLife Blended, I’m Ron Deal.

Announcer: To find out more visit familylifeblended.com.

FamilyLife Blended with Ron Deal is a production of FamilyLife.

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