Updated: September 2020

Blending a family requires a lot of work to strengthen the family bond. Discipline can be a point of contention in a blended family. And, those differences in parenting styles can literally make a couple split up if you don’t take measures to build strong relationships and to ensure that your marriage bond is strong. Find out how to make a blended family work with these five things that can help strengthen your marriage relationship.

Plus, in honor of Blended Family Week 2020, we’re giving you our Blended Family Blueprint Online Training Course for only $49! Get it now in the BMWK Store.

Blending a Family | Things to Know for a Blended Family to Avoid Divorce

In this article:

• About This Article Series
• A Rocky Start
• Communicating
• Compromising
• Sticking Together
• Building Relationships
• Opening Our Doors

About This Article Series

This article is part of a 3-part series to help and support couples in stepfamilies from the pain and hurt that many families face.

• Part 1: 3 Ways Our Blended Family Went From Broken To Blessed
• Part 2: [You Are Here] Discipline In A Blended Family: 5 Things That Kept Us From Divorce
• Part 3: What Every Couple In A Blended Family Should Hear Before It’s Too Late

A Rocky Start

When Lamar and I were engaged, I got my first glimpse of this stepfamily dynamic and how hard blending a family can be. We had an argument about how I disciplined my kids. I can’t even remember exactly what we argued about, but I remember he said the word “ridiculous,” and he also said the words “You need to…”

I was so angry at him. I was hurt. I was insulted. I thought: “The nerve of him. He doesn’t even have kids, so how dare he tell me how to raise mine.”

I almost threw my rings at him and wanted to tell him to #$%^&*%^&*%^&. But, thank God I didn’t. I shudder to think that some other woman would be getting this good loving right now instead of me.

I have to admit. It was very hard to see someone else discipline my kids. I was a single parent, and I did all of the disciplining at my house. And, his style of discipline was very different from mine, his wife. I thought my spouse was a lot stricter than me. And, deep down, I was thinking, “Is he hard on my kids because they are not his kids or is he hard on the kids because he is just stricter than me?”

Well, it turns out that was wrong. After we had kids together, I found out my husband is just stricter than me on certain issues.

Now that we have some years behind us, I would love to say that everything is just perfect and we are just one big happy family, but I would be lying. But, what I can say is our relationship is stronger than ever. And, we have been going strong for more than 11 years now.

Here are five things we learned about blending a family that literally helped save our marriage from divorce:

1. Communicating

I can’t stress this enough. We really had to talk about our styles of discipline. We had some very tough conversations, and some tears were shed. But, after I told him how I really felt and after he explained how he really felt, we were able to make some progress. Don’t let anger and resentment build up. Please talk to each other, make a plan, and come to an agreement about how you are going to discipline the kids.

2. Compromising

Don’t assume your style of discipline is the right way and that your partner’s style is wrong. There is more than one way to raise a child and millions of approaches on blending a family. Learn to compromise with each other and be flexible. Since I am the biological parent, we defer to my parenting style for the most part, and Lamar supports me in my decisions. But, there are definitely some occasions where I need to consider Lamar’s views.

3. Sticking Together

We had to form a united front and support each other. This meant no more disagreeing and arguing in front of the kids. There have been times where I had to literally bite my tongue. I don’t always agree with how Lamar handles things. And, I am quite sure he feels the same about me. But, we talk behind closed doors. We do not disagree with each other in front of the kids or extended family.

4. Building Relationships

One of the ways on how to blend families is you need to work on building strong relationships in the family. Discipline cannot take place if parent-child relationships are not strong. According to Ron Deal, therapist, author, and blended family expert,

“Early on, biological parents should continue to be the primary disciplinarian to their children while stepparents build relationships, trust and respect with the stepchildren.”

But, how long does it take to build relationships?

The average stepfamily takes five to seven years to form a family identity.

Just knowing that fact actually relieved some of the pressure on our family. Because when your family doesn’t mesh right away, you automatically think you’re doing things wrong when it comes to blending a family. Knowing that it’s normal for the family to take some time to come together makes you feel like you are not as bad off as you think, and it definitely puts things into perspective.

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5. Opening Our Doors

We were struggling behind closed doors, and we didn’t know where to turn. And, part of it was we really didn’t want to share what was going on when we were working so hard blending a family. But, once we started opening up to other couples and once we started looking for help, we realized we were not alone.

Over 40 percent of married couples with children (i.e. families) in the U.S. are step-couples (at least one partner had a child from a previous relationship before marriage…) (Karney, Garvan, & Thomas, 2003)

Once we started opening our doors, we were able to find other couples who have overcome some of the same challenges we were facing. We heard how other couples structured a system of discipline that worked well in their house. And, we learned incredibly useful tools from professionals experienced with our problems. Thank God! We were able to get the help we needed to turn things around as we were blending our family.

And, that’s the best piece of advice I can leave you with. If your marriage is suffering and if your blended family is struggling, open your doors, talk to other couples in blended families, and get the help you need to address the challenges you’re facing in your blended family.

The bad news is the divorce rate is 50 to 60 percent for couples in stepfamilies. The good news is you decrease your chances of divorce by 30 percent when you get the help you need for blending your family. (Stanley, Amato, Johnson & Markman, 2006)

And, that’s exactly what we did. We got the help, and it literally saved our marriage from parental separation.

Don’t forget! In honor of Blended Family Week 2020, we’re giving you our Blended Family Blueprint Online Training Course for only $49! Get it now in the BMWK Store.

With these five essential things to remember about being a stepfamily, it’s not that difficult to work on blending a family. Discipline is the key to all of these, though. But, you and your partner should work things out in every aspect, so you can build a strong foundation. Apply these five essentials and become one of the successful blended families you’ve always admired and desired!

What other relationship or family advice to keep a blended family intact can you share with us? Leave them in the comments section!

Up Next: 5 Reasons Your Man Is Tired Of You And You Don’t Even Realize It

Editor’s Note – This post was originally published on September 20, 2016, and has been updated for quality and relevancy.