Blended Families

This week in my family relations class, the topic was divorce and remarriage. We discussed in length about blended families. I am indirectly affected by a blended family. My dad was 40 years old with seven children, when he and my mom were married. At the time, she was 26 years old, and only eight years older than her oldest step twin daughters. She became a grandma when she became a mother!

She and my dad had three children together. I am the youngest child, ten in total. However, I am seven years younger than my closest sibling, so my siblings are quite older than I am. My oldest twin sisters are 28 years older than me. Five of my siblings are old enough to be my parents. When I was born, I was already an aunt. I became a great-aunt when I turned 16. I have nieces and nephews who are younger than me that are starting their families before I do. It’s an interesting family to be apart of! It’s been an adjustment getting used to the different dynamics of our family.

Here are some suggestions for blended families-

Step-parent: Take on the role of an engaged aunt/uncle

Parent- Handle all of the heavy discipline

Discuss the roles of each parent behind closed doors

My teacher has worked with many families, including his own with that process and seen great results. From my experience, I can understand how it would great benefit all involved to implement those guidelines.

This is my last blog post for this class. Thank you to all of my readers for your support and comments! I greatly enjoyed having this blog. I also look forward to continuing it!