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 … [Read more...]
3 Ways Our Blended Family Went From Broken To Blessed
Updated: September 2020 Sometimes, becoming a successful, happy blended family can be a struggle. Personally, Lamar and I began with feeling blessed to desperately trying to save our relationship from totally breaking down. Thanks to God's blessings and some humility from the both of us, we were able to save our family from ruin. Here's our little story of family blessing … [Read more...]
The 4 Greatest Lessons I Learned Growing Up in a Blended Family
I love that BMWK has dedicated an entire month to blended families. According to smart stepfamilies.com, 40 percent of married couples with children are actually blended families. Dedicating a week to discuss it just makes sense. I personally don't know life outside of a blended family. My parents ended their relationship very early, and my dad married and began a new family. … [Read more...]
[Internet Teaser] Blended: The Unspoken Truth About Stepfamilies
BMWK family we're set to release two new films before the end of 2014 and we can't wait for you to see them. Since this is Blended Families Week here on BMWK we thought it would be the perfect time to debut the first internet teaser for our upcoming film that deals with blended families. We feel that blended families are the biggest issue facing marriages today, but no one … [Read more...]
Single Dad Asks, When Should You Introduce Your Kids to Your New Love?
Are you a dating as a single parent and serious about finding love and marriage? You're probably wondering when is the right time to introduce your kids to your new love. If so, you're a lot like the single father who recently asked me for advice. He has three children from a previous marriage and is dating a woman who didn't have any children of her own. He's been seeing her … [Read more...]
Blended Families Week: Why Good Intentions are Not Good Enough
Lamar and I just celebrated 9 years of marriage. And while I can’t say that the last nine years have gone by without any drama or trials, I can say that marrying Lamar has been one of the best decisions that I’ve made in my life. He’s not only been a blessing to me, but he has also been a blessing to my children ….our children. We were recently asked what has been one of … [Read more...]
Stepfamily Survival Tips: 10 Ways to Ensure a Happy Holiday Season
by Janice R. Love, The holidays are exciting for most families; however without planning, holidays for stepfamilies can be disastrous. My husband and I are a blended family of eight children and have been married for over ten years. Here are our ten tips for ensuring a happy holiday season. Plan, Plan, Plan – It has been said if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. … [Read more...]
Another Blended Family Love Story: How My Husband Became “Daddy”
Recently, I wrote an article about my Father before he became my Daddy, where I shared my experience growing up in a blended family home. Now, I am going to share my experience as a parent allowing my spouse to raise my child. My family knew my husband’s family from church many years before we got together. My sister teased me about my him becoming my husband even before we … [Read more...]
Blended Families Week: When Love Trumps DNA…an Awesome Love Story
Recently I shared Bible verses intended to encourage couples in their marriage. Many of the verses focused on love with one of them identifying the various things that define love. It is my belief that all of these qualities are present in us as children. We love without limits. No matter what our parents do in our eyes they are sheer perfection and our desire is to have … [Read more...]
7 Reasons Not to Hate Your Child’s Stepmom
When I found out my daughter’s dad moved on, I was devastated. It felt like someone stabbed me in the back and the heart at the same time. I yearned to pick up the phone and call her—the other woman who later became the wife. I wasn’t sure what I would say, but I was sure that the sentences would be filled with four-letter words. I didn’t dial a single digit. Although a … [Read more...]
Blended Families Week: 5 Tips I Learned from My Grandparents
The term blended family is fairly new in its popularity; however, blended families have been around since the Bible days. My grandparents are not quite as old as the people in the Bible but they serve as a wonderful example of successfully parenting in blended family. My grandfather married my widowed grandmother somewhere around 1944. She already had a whopping six children, … [Read more...]
Blended Families Week: Peeling Back the Layers of Co-Parenting
When we blend families in this generation, there is an expectation of one parent to accept the other parent’s children and vice-versa. I don’t think that’s wrong in any way, but I believe we need to look deeper than a level of acceptance. There needs to be a mutual respect and preferably a bond between a child and the other parent. As a single father, I know how important it … [Read more...]
Blended Families Week: Introducing…The Co-Parenting Contract
Sometimes divorce, separation or break ups can be down right bitter. We are often times so focused on the hurt and pain that our significant other has caused, that we lose sight of the children and what's best for them. When cooler heads prevail and you can think more clearly, at some point, the two of you need to focus on the child(ren), their fragile state and how you can … [Read more...]
Blended Families Week: Why a Step Parent is a Bonus Parent
When I met my step son he was 10 years old, and my step daughter was 6 months old. I have to be honest, I was a bit nervous about dating a man with children. I didn't have any children of my own and in my own life I was not too fond of my mom’s husband. I wasn't coming from a total deficit though, as a teacher I had excellent training in child development and I never have any … [Read more...]
Blended Families Week: 5 Tips for Blended Family Vacations
It’s ‘Blended Family’ week here on BlackandMarriedwithKids.com and with that in mind we have a few tips that will make each and every blended family vacation a happy one packed with memories. Here are our tips to help you plan for a blended family vacation. Family meeting time…. Before booking any ‘blended family’ (especially if your kids are pre-teens/teens) vacation, … [Read more...]