05.29.07

So Parenting is Hard? Stepparenting is Harder!

Posted in News at 9:15 pm by Dawn Miller

Check out this article in the Republican in Massachusetts about stepmom Nancy J. Kotowitz, who offers a curriculum to help stepfamilies and lots of helpful advice. I especially liked this suggestion:

She recommends that parents in blended families take on “an attitude of gratitude” toward each other. They should not take for granted the usual male-female roles in which Dad coaches the kids in baseball and Mom does their laundry. As single parents, after all, they were doing everything. So thank the spouse often for shouldering part of the load.

After you have cleaned the kitchen counter for the umpteenth time, moved heaven and earth to whip out a yummy and nutritious dinner, offered advice on a school project, loaded/run/unloaded the dishwasher twice in one afternoon, loaned your car to one of his children who thinks that driving Dad’s car is too embarrassing, and done 5 loads of laundry - that little thank you from your spouse can mean a lot.

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