Building Stong Bonds In The Blended Family

The new blended family faces many challenges in the beginning. Blending two families and building strong familial bonds requires a lot of effort on the part of all involved. In the beginning, the family members have no shared family history or shared ways of doing things. This can be especially hard for children who are trying to adjust to a new stepmother and stepbrothers or sisters.

Below are a few tips for building strong bonds with each family member:

• Support one another by being willing to listen and validate each other's feelings.
• If the children are mourning the loss of their old family until, acknowledge that loss and allow the child to mourn.
• Come together as the biological parent and stepparent on such issues as discipline and shared family activities.
• Encourage each member of the blended family to develop positive, nourishing relationships.
• Always encourage and nurture each child's relationship with the other...post continued