Blended Family Parenting

Blended families face unique challenges, and sadly, good intentions aren’t always enough. With so many complex relationships involved, all the normal rules for family life change, even how you apply something as simple as the five love languages. That’s why Gary Chapman, the best-selling author of The Five Love Languages and national expert on stepfamilies, Ron Deal, join together in this book to teach you how the five love languages can help your blended family.

Divorce has devastating effects on children. Yet for divorcing parents who carefully consider and manage the intricacies associated with this difficult time, both parents, as seen from the child’s perspective, can remain as loving and supportive as they ever were. Parenting through Divorce concisely lays out the specific emotions and reactions parents need to anticipate from their children while going through separation, divorce, and its after-math.

The Happy Stepcouple is a comprehensive, practical self-help book designed to help couples with children from prior relationships thrive despite the complexity of stepfamily life. More than two thirds of stepcouple relationships break up within the first few years of committing to each other. With these terrible odds, every stepcouple needs an arsenal of tools necessary to sustain a loving relationship. The Happy Stepcouple gives them everything they need to navigate complex stepfamily dynamics with confidence and kindness, allowing them to build a happy, fulfilling life.

Surviving and Thriving in Stepfamily Relationships draws on current research, a wide variety of clinical modalities, and 30 years of clinical work with stepfamily members to describe the special challenges stepfamilies face. The book presents the concept of "stepfamily architecture" and the five challenges it creates, and delineates three different levels of strategies - psychoeducation, building interpersonal skills, and intrapsychic work - for meeting those challenges in dozens of different settings. 

George Glass, MD, a board-certified psychiatrist, has designed an audiobook to help parents understand the challenges of beginning new lives with blended families, and to help their children make the necessary adjustments. He explains how to approach unavoidable dilemmas when they occur and offers invaluable lessons about the link between divorce and issues of self-esteem, depression, substance abuse, and relationship failures that often result from the breakup of a family.

Leading stepfamily expert Ron Deal offers a revised and expanded edition of his signature resource, which addresses key concerns and practical issues facing every stepfamily.

In There's No Such Thing as 'Naughty', mum to two young children, journalist and children's mental health advocate Kate Silverton shares her groundbreaking new approach to parenting under-fives that will make life much easier for parents and an awful lot more fun. Kate's simple and unique strategies, easy-to-follow techniques and scripts will equip you to manage those tricky everyday challenges with ease - and help to ensure you enjoy the strongest bond possible with your child, both now and in the years ahead.

What makes stepmothering so hard? And why are we, as people and a culture, so hard on stepmothers? How can we make it easier? Stepmonster is a truly unique and groundbreaking book for women with stepchildren, men with kids who repartner, adult stepchildren, and anyone who cares about them. It is a comprehensive, cross-cultural, research-based reconsideration of stepfamily dynamics - from the perspective of the stepmother.

You've met the partner of your dreams and have gotten your happily ever after, but now you've taken on a new role: stepmom. And you have no idea what you signed up for. Or maybe you've been a stepmom for a while now, but things are getting you down. Who do you turn to for help? Who actually gets how hard being a stepmom can be? We do. Written by stepmoms for stepmoms, these tips, anecdotes, and words of advice will help you find success and support within your new family. We are the Stepmoms' Club—your club—and we're here to help you.

Blended is beautiful. But, as one of the 1,300 new stepfamilies forming in the US every day, you know that there are always obstacles to overcome. Our Modern Blended Family can help you - and your partner - create a happy, healthy blended family. Together....

You’ve met someone! And they have a kiddo (or a few) and you’re wondering what that’s going to mean for your relationship. Or perhaps you’re the one with a kiddo (or a few), and you want to be sure you get this part right for both your dating partner and your child. The Stepfamily Handbook: From Dating, to Getting Serious, to Forming a “Blended Family” provides essential guidance to parents who are dating and to those who are dating a parent. From those very first dates to including the kids to progressing to that big step of living together - this book is for you!

The Step-Dad Playbook is a motivational and practical guide for step-dads woven together with an analogy men will understand: sports. From bonding with your partner's kids to combining your finances (or not), you'll learn everything you need to know to establish yourself as a strong, dependable head of household.

In Not with My Daughter!, Terry Vaughan gives dads vital information on how to decode the gestures, facial expressions, and verbal statements of all prospective boyfriends. With two daughters of his own rapidly coming of age, Vaughan realized he couldn't water-board every new boyfriend who came through his door. He came up with strategy that all dads can use to effectively "interview" and accurately assess the new men in their daughters' lives

The Manager Mom Epidemic is the first book that not only acknowledges the fact that moms are burning out, but shows you how to transfer responsibility for daily tasks from yourself to your partner and also (gasp!) your kids. Clinical psychologist and child discipline expert Thomas W. Phelan, PhD, walks you through real-life situations and shows you how to step back from the things that are dragging you down. 

When I started out on this journey, it all seemed pretty simple: I thought that love would be enough to see me through. I had no idea what it would take to create a fully blended family - just how many factors and emotions would be involved or how deep it would all go. How to Build a Family is the nurturing handbook I wish I'd been given. In it you'll find my experiences, as well as those of other blended families (because every family is unique), along with advice and tips from the experts who have guided me.

Stepparenting with Grace offers a soothing salve and a holy nudge of daily encouragement for anyone navigating the unique dynamics of a blended family. These devotions provide companionship, encouragement, understanding, and biblical insights from a veteran stepmom. This trusted resource will help you gain strength, wisdom, and comfort as you navigate the rocky terrain of creating a blended family.   

Whether you have an established step family or are in the early stages of a blended family, you can find value in the information presented in this audiobook. Also included is a chapter of real-life case studies from stepparents caring for disabled children. The experiences they share hold valuable lessons on issues that may arise and how they handled them in their endeavor to maintain a happy stepfamily.  

A response to all those grandmother books with flowers and puppies on the cover, Grandma Rules is a book for the hip, baby boomer grandma who realizes that after all the work she put into her own kids, she can take a break and have fun with her grandkids. A perfect gift for the greatest grandmothers you know, this book is laugh-out-loud funny while offering useful insights and tips on how to embrace the world’s greatest job.

Fourteen years ago, Mike Milligan learned he would become a grandfather for the first time. He was surprised to find that there was little or no information available on what it means to be a grandfather, how to make the most of the experience, and how to be the best grandfather possible. Sure, there were shelves of books dedicated to grandmothers - all with cuddly covers depicting spring bouquets or gentle little lambs. But there was not a single book that spoke to him, a 64-year-old grandfather-to-be. It struck him that there were countless other grandfathers out there experiencing this same feeling of neglect.

Eating is an innate skill that has been overcomplicated by marketing schemes and a dieting culture. It’s time to leave the dieting culture behind for the whole family. It starts with the baby’s first bite! When babies show signs of readiness for solid foods, they can eat almost everything the family eats and become healthy, happy eaters in the process. By honoring self-regulation (also an innate skill) and focusing on a whole-food foundation, we can foster healthier children, parents, and families.