Blended Family Parenting

If you are a stepparent, you may know how challenging a role it can be. It takes more than the will to make it work. Stepparents must apply a range of skills to keep their families together, and they have to be prepared to be flexible in the process.

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.

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.

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....

The 9-L model illustrated in Blended Families--Special Children explores the dynamics of stepfamilies caring for children with special needs and disabilities and presents the information in digestible nuggets ready for consumption by quintessential blended families juggling the demands of parenthood with caring for children with special needs.

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.

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.

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. 

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. 

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.  

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.

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.

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

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.

Ryan and Jess blended their families after losing their spouses to cancer in 2010. This has led to an unexpected and often hilarious journey. Blended with Grit and Grace invites you to walk alongside them and learn what it's like to have eight kids under one roof. With wit and wisdom, Jess offers fresh perspectives on managing different parenting styles, developing family traditions, and meeting the special needs of your family.

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.

With some expert guidance and God's help, you can have tremendous influence in your stepchild's life and grow in your faith along the way. Seasoned stepmom Laurie Polich Short understands and empathizes with the difficult job you face. Drawing on extensive research, biblical teaching, and her own real-life experience (including an insightful chapter cowritten with her stepson, Jordan), Laurie provides practical and spiritual advice to help you fully embrace and succeed in your role as stepparent.

This practical and efficient guide for parents of teenagers provides tried-and-true parenting concepts that are sure to help create a peaceful and happy relationship with your teens, and pave their way into a meaningful adulthood. Raising a teenager in the era of fake news, social media dominance, and social unrest is quite a challenge. Not knowing how to help your teenager avoid common mistakes, deal with new problems, and navigate the stormy waters of our modern society is common - especially since most of us parents have been raised in a different society 10 or 15 years ago.

Breaking Free from a Narcissistic Co-Parent is a practical guide for parents co-parenting with a narcissistic ex-partner. Drawing on innovative research and clinical experience, the book explores narcissistic personality disorder and its impact on co-parenting. It offers practical strategies to help parents manage difficult situations and minimize conflict.

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.