The post Why Stepfathers Have it Easier than Stepmothers appeared first on stepmomhelp.com ..read more

The post When Stepmoms Judge Other Stepmoms appeared first on stepmomhelp.com ..read more

The post Three Steps to Dealing With Stepmom Guilt appeared first on stepmomhelp.com ..read more

The post Dig Up the Root of Your Stepmom Guilt and Find Your Real Truth appeared first on stepmomhelp.com ..read more

I’ll never forget the first time I laid eyes on my stepsons. They were 9 and 12. I walked into my husband’s apartment after our third date, and they were in the living room playing video games. They barely glanced over. I don’t think I even got a “Hi.” They were definitely more interested in my dog than me. It should have been a sign, right? Kids, who don’t by nature acknowledge someone who just said hello to them, and a parent who doesn’t make them?  ..read more

If you have an already stressful stepfamily situation (and let’s be honest, who doesn’t?), dealing with a difficult ex can make it 10 times worse. In fact, everything is harder when your partner’s ex is aggressive or challenging to interact with.  ..read more

You wouldn’t think it would be so hard to ask your partner to have their child pick up his dirty socks. Or to not leave a pile of crumbs on the couch. Or to turn down her music at a decent hour so you can get some sleep. Yet somehow, a simple ask is often ..read more

I was at a wonderful retreat this weekend where Renee Trudeau spoke about four of our needs: To be seen To be heard To connect To belong When I look at those, it’s very obvious to me why so many stepmoms are suffering from depression, anxiety and sadness. Stepmoms are often exactly NOT heard, NOT ..read more

Sometimes I really want to take the court system by the neck and shake it. Judges in particular who just don’t understand that when you’re dealing with certain personalties, co-parenting isn’t possible. And no amount of “court ordered” therapy or co-parenting classes will make it so. All it does is waste precious resources and in many cases causes more harm than good ..read more

Let's talk about the stress associated with feeling like an outsider during the holidays. This is probably one of the most challenging stressors to deal with, especially if you still have some lingering childhood insecurities.  One of the reasons it can be difficult is because being around an already-formed family, before you've really bonded, can feel very much like rejection ..read more