Step Parents: Advice and tips to a happy family

As you bring new family members together, knowing ahead of time what situations may become problematic can help you to prepare. With an extra dose of patience and grace, should a complication arise you will be able to handle them.

Issues That Could Affect Your Relationship

Children may need time to heal before they can fully accept you as a new parent, of they are still mourning the loss of a deceased parent or the divorce of their birth parents Remarriage may mean the end of hope that their parents will reunite, for those whose birth parents are still alive. Even if it has been several years since the separation, kids even adult ones often hang onto that hope for a long time. However from a child's perspective, this reality can make them feel angry, hurt, and confused.

Other factors that may affect the transition into step parenting:

• How old the kids are. When it comes to adjusting and forming new relationships, younger kids generally have an easier time than older kids.
• How long you've known them. Usually, the longer you know the kids, the better the relationship. There are exceptions (for example, if you were friends with the parents before they separated and are blamed for the break-up), but in most cases having a history together makes the transition a little smoother.