I've heard becoming a stepmom likened to picking up the controller and pressing play on a paused video game. Learning to adapt to norms, defining your role and determining where you fit in, and building relationships are just a few of the adjustments to prepare for in this next chapter. As part of that process, you may experience outsider syndrome, when you feel like an outsider in your own ... Read the Post
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Distancing Yourself From Stepchildren: How to Disengage
When I first heard about distancing yourself from stepchildren, I was taken completely aback. It felt counterintuitive at best, and cruel at worst. Isn't a stepmom supposed to play an active role in her stepchildren's lives and do so with a smile on her face?As a child of divorce myself, I had a hard time wrapping my brain around why a stepmom would need to disengage. I (incorrectly) assumed ... Read the Post
Signs of a Bad Stepmother
So many stepmoms I meet preface their deepest fears and biggest struggles with "I know this may make me sound like a bad stepmom, but..." and nine times out of 10, those aren't truly signs of a bad stepmother.Struggling in your new role, making mistakes, and stumbling along the way do not make you a bad stepmom.Being here, reading this article, wanting to be better... Those show me you're ... Read the Post
What to Expect When You’re Becoming a Stepmom
My reality of becoming a stepmom could not have been farther from what I expected when I first started dating a man with kids.In pop culture, we see many examples of happy moms in happy families. I was excited to be the happy mom-of-my-home in my happy blended family, and I was confident my history as a child of divorce and a preschool teaching assistant had adequately prepared me for what ... Read the Post
Confessions of an Overthinking Stepmom
I’m an occasional overthinker and it’s impossible not to fall into the trap of otherthinking as a stepmom. Nothing is as simple as it is in a first family. Everything is connected and has a past. Kids reference memories as “before the divorce” and sometimes hearing your partner’s text tone go off (Is it the ex? What does she want now?) has all the inertia to propel a stepmom full-speed into ... Read the Post