Marriage With An Extended Family

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Having a marriage with children from a previous marriage can be an added stress to the marriage.

Having a marriage with an extended family can also include nieces and nephews, or any child that is not biologically both of yours.

Sociology of the family examines the changing roles of family members. Each member is restricted by the sex roles of the traditional family, these roles such as the father as the worker and the mother as the homemaker are declining.

The mother is becoming the supplementary provider and she retains the responsibilities of child rearing.

Therefore the females role in the labour force is compatible with the demands of the traditional family. This is something that can you can easily overcome with patience and time.

Everything about this situation can and will be sensitive, so watch how you introduce your children into this new type of lifestyle.

The safest way to go about this is by talking to the children individually. Sit them down and ask their opinions. Kids feel important when you ask for their opinion.

It lets them know that you are thinking of their emotions. This gives them a security that most kids miss out when going through a divorce with their parents.

You should never withhold information from you children concerning a new marriage within reason, of course. Let them know that you and your new spouse are also adjusting.

This will help your children to be understanding and empathetic. Try doing fun family activities and exercises together.

Start new family traditions together for the holidays. Do something that sets your family apart from your previous marriage. Make it fun and comfortable.

Share the responsibilities and never jeopardize your step Childs well being because your afraid that child will not like you. A lot of stepparents try and become a friend instead of a parent.

This can cause more harm than good. When you become your Childs friend and it comes down to punishing them they will be more hurt if their friend is punishing them rather than a parent.

Be straightforward right up front from the very beginning. If you follow the simple rules of being a good stepparent the rewards with be worth all of the time and energy you put into it.

They will grow to love you as another parent. This will cause less stress in your marriage and will inevitably make you both happier and healthy as an extended family.



Source: Free Articles

Comments

Anonymous said…
It is extremely difficult to be a step-family. I feel I was able to pull it off with my now ex step son, but my ex-husband was not able to pull it off with my daughter. And now even if you ask either me or him we still love each other so, but since we could not get the families blended we are no longer together. It has been the toughest thing in the world for me.
May 12, 2008 at 9:06 AM
Anonymous said…
I feel sorry for what happened between you and your ex-husband. It's so sad that because your family cannot blend together you need to sacrifice your love for each other. I just hope you'll keep your friendship intact, who knows in the future you're daughter will become more emotionally mature and might be able to build a better relationship with your husband as friends and in the end you might end up with each other again. Nothing is impossible with God, just keep on praying. Cheers! :)
May 12, 2008 at 6:08 PM
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