"Step" relationships occur after the divorce of a couple or
the death of a spouse and when there are children from the prior
relationship. Heterosexual couple or homosexual couple, married or
living together, when children from a prior relationship are
involved you've got a step relationship on your hands. And that
means you have to work harder to make your relationship with your
new partner a success.
The
American family as we knew it is no longer . The current American
family has become a high-risk stepfamily system; 1300 new
stepfamilies are forming every day.These relationships fail at the
rate of two out of three, dramatically affecting all involved . . .
especially the children.
It is
important to be in agreement when dealing with the children. The
couple must sit down together and decide how they are going to run
their household. The couple must draw up guidelines, operating
procedures, rules of conduct, and job descriptions for everyone in
the household. Often we need to seek the help of a trained
stepfamily counselor to work out impasses. Impasses between the
couple can erode couple strength, which is the very foundation of
the stepfamily.
© Jeannette Lofas Ph. D., Westbrook University
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