Can you disengage from only one stepkid?
Can you disengage from only one stepkid? Or disengage from your stepkid when you’ve got other kids at home? Sure can! Let me explain…
4 ways stepparents can protect their own mental health in high conflict
If your partner’s not setting great boundaries with their high-conflict ex, here are 4 ways stepparents can protect themselves and their own mental health.
When should you walk away from your blended family?
Stay and keep fighting to blend your family, or call it quits and leave? This is the question I asked myself almost daily for a solid decade.
(Step) Love actually
Love in a stepfamily is different… so maybe it’s okay for stepparents to fake love till we feel love.
4 ways to support your partner after disengaging
What's a stepparent's role look like after disengaging? Here are 4 non-parenting ways you can still be a supportive stepparent.
How to survive stepparenting stress
Why is being a stepparent so much harder than regular parenting? And how can we survive the overwhelm of stepdad & stepmom stress and burnout?
Can stepparenting wreck your mental health?
Here’s a science-based explanation why stepparenting is stressful enough to negatively impact our mental health.
What makes stepparenting worth it?
Is being a stepparent really worth all the nonsense we have to put up with along the way??
How to find the joy anyway
Stepparenting can feel like you're stuck arguing in circles. How can we find joy when we're constantly coming up against a brick wall?
Even when stepparenting is hard, you gotta make time for fun
Don’t lose yourself so much in the stepparenting role that you forget to have fun! Walking on eggshells is never the best way to bond with your stepkid.
Becoming a stepmom gave me PTSD
Becoming a stepmom gave me diagnosable c-PTSD and massive anxiety after years & years of living under constant attack in a high-conflict blended family.
Why stepparents need a break too
Why does society think stepparents aren’t allowed to ever feel tired, ever feel ready for a break, or ever have mixed feelings? Stepparents, you deserve a friggin’ vacation.
The love/hate of stepparenting
It's okay (and normal!) to both love being a stepparent and hate all the complications that living in a blended family brings. Give yourself permission to grieve along the way.
The emotional labor of stepparenting
Stepparents take it upon ourselves to do all kinds of Shit That Goes Unrecognized, because we are the only ones who seem to realize that otherwise our stepfamily will not survive.
Stepkids and double standard parenting
Do stepparents have a double standard when it comes to stepkids vs. bio kids? They do and they should, but it’s not the kind of double standard you’re thinking. Sometimes, taking a more flexible approach to parenting is ultimately the fairest answer.
Can parenting less make you a better stepparent?
If you disengage from your stepkid and step back from stepparenting, could you actually become a better stepmom or stepdad? YEP. Disengaging can be an act of love that gives everyone in your blended family the room they need to blend.
The high road to nowhere
Does taking the high road as a stepparent feel like it gets you absolutely nowhere? Join the club! But taking the high road with the ex can be its own reward, even if you're not getting any points with your stepkid for it.
Make 2 cakes anyway
What do I do when my stepdaughter hates me, even after YEARS together? I keep trying, stepparents. Because this stepmom gig is the long con, and I am determined to rise above.