It is that dreaded time of year for stepmothers everywhere -- Mother's Day. It is reasonable that children spend Mother's Day with their mother. Meanwhile, stepmothers are left to justify why they do not care about Mother's Day.
My mother and I grew up in divorced homes, and we endured the experience of having both stepmothers and stepfathers. This was, of course, a situation neither of us desired as children, and it caused us both to deal with a great amount of adjustment as adults.
Bubba's wife and son couldn't make the Masters ceremony. Instead they get the rest of their lives to have Bubba in his role as an adoptive dad. It's not as exclusive as being a Masters winner but in making any impact on the world, it's more important.
Mom was in her late 30s when I was born. In the suburbs of the 50s, that could have gone down in Ripley's Believe it or Not, but, it was dealt with directly -- she lied about her age.
Today, blended families are a dime a dozen, but the politics and etiquette of paying for stepchildren is still unique to each family. Which parent pays for what -- and for whom -- can be complicated.
Stepparents have bad reputations. Just ask Cinderella and Snow White. But from my arguably unenviable position of stepmother, I'd like to talk about the better side of stepfamilies.
English, in all its richness and intricacy, includes no safe vocabulary for talking about one's stepchildren, not, at any rate, if one is talking about one's stepchildren to their mother.
When I got married, at twenty-three, I became a stepmother to a seven-year-old-boy. I'd known Jonah since he was four, and his parents had divorced wh...
The greatest challenge to a second marriage is not usually direct conflict with the stepchildren, but rather, conflict over the parenting of the stepchildren, especially if the new husband suffers from Guilty Father Syndrome.
Dear AdviceMama,
My stepdaughter recently moved in with her mom because she disrespected everyone here, especially her dad. She hits him, curses at h...
Stepfamilies often experience extraordinary stress as the holidays--with their pressure cooker of "family" expectations--get underway. So, let go of the Three Big Myths of Stepfamily life.
Being a stepmother can be one of the most challenging roles in society, and one that often receives little support, understanding, and appreciation from others.
Many women suffer from what I call Stepmartyr Syndrome--embracing the notion that they are going to make it all better for everyone, whatever the cost to them personally.
Most of these exasperated stepmothers don't understand that children who turn them into stepmonsters often do it as a coping mechanism because their little hearts have been ripped out by divorce.
We're hearing a lot about the new U.S. Census these days and many might wonder what, precisely, is at stake. For stepfamilies, the answer is: quite a bit.
Being in a divorced household is like living in two countries, with two different sets of traditions, rules and expectations. Brokering peace becomes a necessity. And some do it better than others.