Have You Considered How Birth Order May Be Impacting On Your Blended Family?

Alfred Adler, an Austrian psychiatrist, believed that birth order played a significant role in shaping an individual’s personality & behaviour. He suggested that a person’s birth order position in their family could influence their psychological development & subsequent relationships. This “positional psychology” can be disrupted when two families become one. When it comes to stepfamilies, […]

Cooking up a happy step family is like a slow burning casserole !

Stepfamilies have a bad image. Think of Snow White’s jealous stepmother or Cinderella’s ugly sisters or at the other end of the spectrum, picture the unrealistically positive stepfamily, such as the Brady Bunch. But real life is more complicated that either of those stepfamily models and stepchildren have to come to terms with lots of […]

Understanding The Stepfamily Cycle.

  The Stepfamily Cycle I have been working with a lovely family who are finding it hard to adjust to the changes that blending two families together brings. I always remind my clients that bringing together 2 separate families is a process and not an event, and it takes time and flexibility on everyone’s behalf […]

Step Dad Advice – Bringing together two separate families is a process, not an event. It takes time and flexibility on everyone’s behalf to settle into new family relationships.

I’m delighted to have been invited to write some articles for Dad Info – a wonderful website for Dads and Step Dads. Today here is my article on what the Americans call ‘Blended Families’ but what I like to call ‘Slow Burning Casserole Families’ 🙂 ‘Bringing together two separate families is a process, not an […]

Creating a STRONG Step Family. Let’s Bust A Few Myths!

I’m delighted to be published in Dad Info a super website for Dads and Step Dads. Here’s my article. Stepfamilies have a bad image. Think of Snow White’s jealous stepmother or Cinderella’s ugly sisters or, at the other end of the spectrum, the unrealistically positive stepfamily, the Brady Bunch. Real life is more complicated than […]

Step Dads – Who disciplines whose children?

I’ve been send this question from Dads Info a super website for Dads and Step Dads. Different parenting styles are causing our family friction, what can I do? One of the main problems within step families is who disciplines whose children…  The simple thing is to sit down with a cup of coffee and a pen […]