09.28.07

CW’s “Life is Wild” Shows a Blended Family Trying to Bond

Posted in News at 8:33 pm by Dawn Miller

The premiere episode of ”Life is Wild” will air on Sunday, October 7th, and I’m already looking forward to it. By all accounts, the show will be a family-friendly portrayal of the pressures and dynamics of life in a blended family.

Veterinarian Danny, and his second wife, Jo, an attorney, flee their high-stress jobs in New York City catering to the city’s upper crust and haul their blended family of four children to a game reserve in South Africa for a year.

The two teenagers, Katie and her stepbrother, Jesse, agree that moving to South Africa was probably the worst idea their parents have ever come up with. Katie’s younger brother Chase, and Jesse’s plucky sister, Mia round out the step-siblings. Katie and Chase are still dealing with the death of their mother, while Jesse and Mia carry scars from their parents’ divorce.

The family moves into the rundown Blue Antelope Lodge, where Katie and Chase’s mother grew up and their grandfather still lives. A host of other characters offer new friendships and possibilities.

The blended family struggles to find common ground in an atmosphere removed from the pressures of life on the glittery concrete isle, and in a new environment that offers both challenges and hope.

Visit the show website for clips, plot summaries, and a fan area

Entertainment Weekly review

iVillage review

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09.24.07

Step-grandparents: Good Advice on Building Relationships

Posted in Perspectives at 11:29 pm by Dawn Miller

There’s a nice article in “Parents and Kids” out of Massachusetts offering advice for step-grandparents.

One point of note - the writer advises step-grandparents to treat step-grandchildren and grandchildren equally. This is a problem that many have written to me about seeking advice. I wish the author had offered more advice on this topic.

Advice on building a bond - suggesting that step-grandparents remember birthdays, and visit at special times of year - are all helpful.

The point is to try to build a relationship that is based on affection and respect between kids and their step-grandparents.

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09.19.07

Researchers Offer $200 to Qualified Stepfamily Members

Posted in Research About Stepfamilies at 4:53 pm by Dawn Miller

Stepfamilies - a new research study is offering $200 to parents and stepparents in blended families. I’m just the messenger on this one. I edited the opening paragraph for a run-on sentence that garbled the message. God bless the graduate students out there. Here goes:

The Oregon Center for Applied Science, Inc. with funding from the National Institutes of Health, is conducting a research study to evaluate the effectiveness of a new multi-media educational stepfamily program. It will train parents in stepfamily relationships in effective behavioral parenting and teach them how to deal with issues specific to stepfamilies.

We are currently working to recruit 300 stepparents, of diverse heritage and race, to participate in the study. Participants will try a new parenting educational program and fill out up to 3 online questionnaires.

Each participant will receive up to $200 for their time.

To qualify, participants must be…

- a Parent or stepfamily in a stepfamily
- married for 5 years or less to their current spouse
- share responsibility for a child 11-15 years old that lives with them at least part-time
- be able to read and understand English
- have not taken a parenting or stepparenting class in the last 3 months
- have an active email account and for the next 6 months computer access with a high-speed Internet connection
- reside in the U.S.

To see if you qualify go to: http://study.newstepfamily.com

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