05.05.07

Stepfathers Influence Boys to Delay Sex

Posted in News at 12:08 pm by Dawn Miller

A new study by researchers at Ball State University shows how stepfathers influence attitudes toward sex among stepchildren.

The researchers found that adolescent males having a strong relationship with a stepfather lowered their motivation for sexual activity. This is very cheering news for mothers of boys who are introducing a stepfather into the family.

Among female adolescents, attitudes toward sexuality were more strongly tied to religion and their mothers’ attitudes about sexual activity.

This is significant because early sexual debut can place adolescents at increased risk of unwanted pregnancies, HIV, and other sexually-transmitted diseases. They are also more likely to have multiple partners, high-risk partners, and are less likely to use condoms the earlier they begin having sex. The study was reported in Health News Digest on May 1, 2007.

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05.04.07

Salary Savings: What’s the Value of a Stepmom?

Posted in Dawn's Life, News at 3:20 pm by Dawn Miller

The How to Change the World blog mentioned yesterday a Reuters story highlighting research from Salary.com that shows that stay-at-home moms should be earning $138,095 for their efforts. The research is based on input from 26,000 stay-at-home moms and 14,000 mothers working outside the home.

The blog mentioned that Salary.com has a neat salary tool for moms (it works for stepmoms too) that you can use to estimate your contribution to your family. You input the types of activities you are doing to help your family - the housekeeping, the kid hauling, the scheduling - and it calculates what your efforts are worth.

Just for fun - I ran the numbers, and found that I am contributing $77,000+ a year annually to my blended family, on top of my paid salary!

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Stepfamilies in the News: Finances, Weddings, Getting Along

Posted in News at 9:36 am by Dawn Miller

Check out some recent news clips about stepfamilies:

Stepfamily Money Pitfalls Offer Few Second Chances - Wall Street Journal, April 25, 2007

Creative ways to split inheritance can reduce friction - Ventura County Star, April 27, 2007

New Name? What a Grand Idea - Indianapolis Star, April 28, 2007

Wow the Bride to Be With Shower to Remember - Detroit Free Press, April 28, 2007

We Didn’t Expect So Much Kindness - American Red Cross, April 30, 2007

Ex-Etiquette: Still Not a Family After Two Years - Contra Costa Times, May 2, 2007

Care for the Family Launches New Book to Support Stepfamilies - Christian Today (United Kingdom), May 2, 2007

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05.02.07

Alec Baldwin, Parental Alienation, & Weighing In On It All

Posted in Dawn's Writing, News at 4:04 pm by Dawn Miller

I’ve got a new column out about Alec Baldwin’s notorious phone call to his daughter and parental alienation. You can even watch his appearance with Rosie O’Donnell and Barbara Walters, courtesy of YouTube. Post your comments using the comment link on this post.

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