The Dynamics of Step-Families

Being in a Step-Family situation myself I have realized that there are few resources for Step-Families wanting information, instruction or support. I will attempt to answer some of the questions, offer advice and most importantly, offer support. I will post on this subject once a week, every Tuesday, as time and information permits. If there is a question you have, that you would like answered, please leave me a comment. I will pull questions from the comments to base the posts on.

So this being the very first post on The Dynamics of Step-Families, I want to spend alittle time talking about what makes a Step-Family special.

1. You have children in your lives that have more than one set of rules. It is hard for them to remember or distinguish, which rules go with which home.
   
2. The newest and most fragile relationship in this case is the Marriage. The kids have been around for awhile. Your Marriage has not.
   
3. Emotional feelings are usually running high. Pain, Anger and Jealousy are very real and very strong.
   
4. Children have a new Adult figure in their lives and can be unsure of this New Person's place in the Authoritative Chain of Command.
   
5. Adults have new Children in their lives and can be unsure of where these Children expect them to be in the Authoritative Chain of Command.

It is a hard transition to make. There are alot of people involved with different personalities, different ideas of how things work and different opinions. Combining all these differences can lead to conflict and misunderstandings. Stay tuned to find more information and solutions on they Dynamics of Step-Families.