When I met my second husband, my boys were aged 4 and 6 and he had an 8 year old son.
Once we settled into life as a “blended family” the boys didn’t call their step-parent mum or dad (after all, they each had an absent parent who they still saw) neither did we tell them that they had to refer to each other as brothers. I do however recall being in the post office when a distant relative of my step-son came over and said to him “Are these your new brothers?” to which he replied ”yes”
Another time I was in the school playground and over heard a mother say to my step-son, “Ask your mum if you can come to ours for tea tomorrow” to which he said to me ”Mum, can I go to my friends house for tea tomorrow please?”
My boys did a similar thing. to my husband, when he was referred to as their dad. I think they found it easier to go along with, rather than explain every time.
I believe that the fact that the boys made up their own minds on the subject, rather than being told how to act helped then to accept our “blended family”
Apart from a few minor disagreements, the boys got on very well.
Quite quickly into our marriage, my third son Adam was born. Not only was he a ‘joint effort’ for us as adults, but he also helped to bond the step-brothers.
The three eldest children would visit their absent parent a few times a week and at one time, Adam asked his dad if he would move out, so he could visit him (he felt he was missing out on something) At first my husband was upset by his remark, but we had a laugh about it later.
Years later, when I was childminding, new parents often wouldn’t realise we were a blended family, until I told them. People often remarked that the older boys looked alike and I was even asked once if they were triplets!
I’m not saying that blending families is easy and we did have arguments from time to time, but if you work at it; all comes right in the end.
My second son, is now married and has a step-son, as well as two daughters of his own. I feel exactly the same towards my step-grandson, as I do my grand daughters.
As always, any comments or questions are most welcome.
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This is a difficult subject , in a lot of cases it’s the children that suffer when their parents split up. I often think this when I see homeless youngster in doorways in town. Some step parents must be unkind to them and that’s why they ende up leaving home. Your blog is so positive and obviously the best way to blend families. Well done again .
Hi. It sounds like you’ve all managed what can be a difficult situation very well 😎 families do come in all shapes and sizes, they always have and they always will, and I love that ❤ #TweensTeensBeyond
My extended family is made up of remarriages/stepchildren/adoption. As a group, we seem to just absorb people into our sphere which is why at the end of the day, I fundamentally believe that Love Makes a Family.Your story is wonderful & I love that your children (all of them) just went along with what undoubtedly felt natural to them. My mom always says ‘Nobody ever had too many people love them’ 🙂
#tweensteensbeyond
This is brilliant it’s always good to see it working. I had step sisters as an older teenager, didn’t live with them but they were there when I visited my dad. My dad has since divorced again but still is in touch with his step daughters because he was a part of their lives. It’s a funny old world but a good one if we make it work. Thank you for linking up to the #familyfunlinky
This sounds like you’ve handled a potentially difficult situation really well and I’m sure your story will help others. Thanks for sharing with us at #TweensTeensBeyond