by Shadra Bruce | Stepparenting
I do not remember whether or not I was one of those kids who had trouble sharing when I was younger, but I certainly have found something I do not enjoy sharing as an adult: my kids. My husband had full custody of his three children when we married. We raised our...
by Shadra Bruce | Stepparenting
Our mom’s parents divorced when she was 11 years old. Her mom remarried a few years later, and my mom and her three brothers were joined less than a year later by a new baby sister. Theirs was not always an easy adjustment, having a step dad and a new sister who...
by Shadra Bruce | Stepparenting
It wasn’t until the envelope came in the mail that it was even real to me, and even then I wanted to deny it. I had known it was coming, and had tried very hard to put it out of my mind – but there it was, addressed by hand to Mr. and Mrs. David Bruce. I thought...
by Shadra Bruce | Stepparenting
The most common response I get when introducing my children is behind-the-scenes calculation while they try to figure out just how young I was when the oldest was born. Depending on who it is and how much time I have, I sometimes just let them think I was a mere...
by Shadra Bruce | Stepparenting
PublicDomainPictures / Pixabay There were times when my husband would call his ex-wife and tell her how much the kids wanted to see her. He would beg her to see the kids. She only lived 20 minutes away; sometimes she would come pick them up for an hour, but quite...
by Shadra Bruce | Stepparenting
No matter how much you try not to, sometimes when you’re a stepparent, you feel a bit of resentment. It could be resentment at having to share your spouse with the other people he loves, even if they’re just kids. It could be the relationship he maintains...
by Shadra Bruce | Stepparenting
Child support is a topic that is often not discussed as a part of stepparenting, but having just raised three children for whom my husband and I were responsible for meeting every need, I can tell you that child support is something that should be discussed more. In...
by Shadra Bruce | Stepparenting
Unfortunately, no matter how hard we try, our blended families may not always blend the way we’d like them to. It is extremely difficult to take so many varied personalities and throw them together – sometimes for only a few days at a time – and expect them to...
by Shadra Bruce | Stepparenting
I was not the greatest “mom” to step into the role of mother – when I inherited my step kids, I was 26 years old. I had been used to being single, to being able to go wherever I wanted – whenever I wanted to go. I had never been “tied down” by...
by admin | Divorce, Stepparenting
One of the biggest challenges facing kids of divorced parents is attempting to live up to the expectations of all of the adults in their lives – moms, dads, stepmoms, and stepdads. When the adults use the child as a weapon or a wedge, the person who loses the most is...
by Shadra Bruce | Stepparenting
I’ve had several people ask me how we handle chores in our house given the fact that we have a blended family. To be honest, that was probably the first place where I stepped in as future step mom and put my foot down (gently, in a private conversation with my...
by Shadra Bruce | Stepparenting
by Shadra Bruce There are certain parts of step parenting that do not come into the light as often as they probably should. While most blended families have struggles or issues – and some blended families have more than their share of additional stresses –...
