Stepfamily Foundation Blog featuring Articles and News from Dr. Jeannette Lofas

"Motherhood is the exquisite inconvenience of being another person’s everything.” —Unknown

"Mother is the heartbeat in the home; and without her, there seems to be no heartthrob.” —Leroy Brownlow

"Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children.” — William Makepeace Thackeray

“The influence of a mother in the lives of her children is beyond calculation.” — James E. Faust ·

"Mother was the most beautiful woman I ever knew
She was my guide, my champion. She disciplined. She nurtured. No matter what continent, what disaster, what honor.. Mother was a phone call away.
Tears escape my eyes as I remember..."
— Jeannette Lofas

Stepfamily Conference

Stepfamily Conference hosted by ALEH Latina Organizazion in Israel.

Click Here to view the video of the conference.

Budweiser - For The Stepdads Who Stepped Up.

6/12/2020

Last year Budweiser celebrated stepdads on Father's Day. Thank you Budweiser!

Stepfathers embark on a difficult journey when it comes to building a relationship with their stepchildren. Although there are often ups and downs, many stepchildren grow to consider their stepfather one of the most important people in their lives. So this Father’s Day, Budweiser is shining an unexpected light on fatherhood by toasting stepfathers who have risen to the occasion and owned their roles as fathers. Budweiser created a short film that documents heartfelt stories of three real stepchildren as they surprise their fathers by asking to be officially adopted. The film is a tribute to all fathers who step up for their families every day. Budweiser is inviting people to tell their stories of a father who stepped up. For every story shared, Budweiser will donate $1 to the Stepfamily Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports blended families*. To find out more about Budweiser, visit www.budweiser.com.

From 6/12/19-6/16/19, Budweiser will donate $1.00 to the Step Family Foundation for each story shared on this social media post, up to $10,000.

What is the Stepmother's role?

10/2/2018

Dr. Jeannette Lofas talks about the Stepmother's most difficult role.

A Nation Of Stepfamilies

5/16/2018

Statistics are Staggering: The majority of families have shifted from the original biologically bonded mother, father and child. We are now a nation in which the majority of families are divorced. Most go on to remarry or form living together relationships. We are a nation of step-relating families.
These families take a multitude of forms:

● Divorced with children; the children reside with one parent and visit the other. Most are dating or looking for new partners.
● Remarried, re-coupled, living together, with his and/or her children; He/she is in the role of stepparent.
● Single Mothers; re-coupled, dating and alone.
● Divorced Dads; these dads generally visit their children. Often they are re-coupled, bringing a stepmother figure into their children’s lives.
● The divorced biological father whose children visit is not counted. These children do not legally "reside" with their fathers. So, neither government, nor academic research counts these fathers and their children as stepfamilies.

Stepfamilies are not addressed, assessed and counted---further casting our society into: the loss of family traditions, like the family meal, the disintegration of parental roles, rules and values. The result a quagmire of "not-knowing."

The numbers tell the story: The US Bureau of Census relates:

1300 new stepfamilies are forming every day.
Over 50% of US families are remarried or re-coupled.
The average marriage in America lasts only seven years.
1 out of 2 marriages ends in divorce. 75% remarry
2 out of 3 of those living together or remarried break up, when children are involved.
80% of remarried, or re-coupled, partners with children both have careers.
75% of stepfamilies complain of "not having access to resources as a stepfamily." a
A Boston University psychologist reported that of the career women who had married men with children over 75% said that, "if they had do it again they would NOT marry a man with children."
50% of all women, not just mothers, are likely sometime in their life, to live in a stepfamily relationship.

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Jeannette Lofas, Ph.D, LCSW

President and Founder of Stepfamily Foundation, Inc., Dr. Lofas has been managing stepfamilies for thirty years. In 1995 Lofas received a presidential award for her work. Research reports that she has an 84% success rate. A stepchild and stepmother herself, she is considered to be the leading authority on stepfamilies. Dr. Lofas has written five books: Living In Step, McGraw-Hill, Stepparenting, Citadel, How to Be a Stepparent, Nightingale Connant; He's OK, She's OK: Honoring the Differences Between Men & Women, and Tzedakah, Family Rules, Kensington Books.

Mother's Day

July 19th, 2020