Family Friendly, Friendly Family.

Through my experience as a step mother I feel I was able to master the relationship's with the kids.  I would like to dive into my experiences and hope it helps others!  Rule #1 Don't try to be mom or dad.  Although you might be confused on what I mean if you are actually the step parent but despite the situation the child is going to have two places in his heart already accounted for which is 'mom' and 'dad' therefore this role is already taken.  If the child is old enough to understand you can sit down with the child and tell them you are not "here" to replace mom or dad but simply add one extra person in their life that will be there for them.  By doing this, you automatically ease the threat of taking one of those accounted places and the child will feel more at ease knowing you are not a replacement person.  If the child is not old enough to understand than you are in a good place to show with your action that you are here to simply care, love...

First off, I am not a family therapist, nor am I shaming that line of work because they have helped many people, families and children cope with new changes.  However,  I am here to tell my story from my perspective living in the world of a blended family in order to help someone else with this situation.  *Disclaimer- this article is not to insult anyone or pour salt on the wound if you are guilty of doing any of these rules.  We are all adults here, so lets get real and be real and shift perspective in order to have the best co parenting and blended family life.* Let's dive into the STORY in order to start somewhere! Long story short, I met my husband in 2008 and he was recently recovering from a nine year relationship and had two children with his ex.  Growing up I did not imagine myself finding someone who already had a family, I always imagined my life would be with someone who "started" a family.  Little did I know, this would be the most amazing...