Par for the Stepfamily Course
Jennifer was worried about the different levels of openness her kids felt toward their stepfather of four years. She wondered if it was normal. Part of her problem was comparing her blended family to a first-family where it's normal for kids to generally feel the same about their parent. But in a stepfamily, this is normal. The kids don't have to feel the same; just let each relationship stand on its own. Yep, this is par for the stepfamily course which means you're doing okay.
Show Notes
About the Host
About the Guest
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Jennifer was worried about the different levels of openness her kids felt toward their stepfather of four years. She wondered if it was normal. Part of her problem was comparing her blended family to a first-family where it's normal for kids to generally feel the same about their parent. But in a stepfamily, this is normal. The kids don't have to feel the same; just let each relationship stand on its own. Yep, this is par for the stepfamily course which means you're doing okay.
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Ron Deal
Ron L. Deal is one of the most widely read and viewed experts on blended families in the country. He is Director of FamilyLife Blended® for FamilyLife®, founder of Smart Stepfamilies™, and the author and Consulting Editor of the Smart Stepfamily Series of books including the bestselling Building Love Together in Blended Families: The 5 Love Languages® and Becoming Stepfamily Smart (with Dr. Gary Chapman), The Smart Stepfamily: 7 Steps to a Healthy Family, and Preparing to Blend. Ron is a licensed marriage and family therapist, popular conference speaker, and host of the FamilyLife Blended podcast. He and his wife, Nan, have three sons and live in Little Rock, Arkansas. Learn more at FamilyLife.com/blended.
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You know, when you shoot par for the course, you’re doing pretty good.
Ron: You know, when you shoot par for the course, you’re doing pretty good.
Announcer: For FamilyLife Blended®, here’s Ron Deal.
Ron: When Stepfamilies ask me, “Is this normal?” what they are really asking is, “Are we doing okay?” Jennifer wrote to me worried about the different levels of openness her kids felt toward their stepfather of four years. She wondered if it was normal for the kids to feel differently from each other.
You see, part of her problem was comparing her blended family to a first-family where it’s normal for kids to generally feel the same about their parent. But in a stepfamily, “Yes, Jennifer, this is normal. They don’t have to feel the same; just let each relationship stand on its own.” Yep, this is par for the stepfamily course which means you’re doing okay. For FamilyLife Blended, I’m Ron Deal.
Announcer: To find out more visit familylifeblended.com.
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