I guess a number of you have either got merged families or have grown up in a merged family ie. your custodial parent remarried and you suddenly had a new parent and bro's and sisters. Or perhaps in this case you are the parent and have taken on your partners kids and they've taken you on!.
I'm curious how this worked out - did it, or didn't it. How do you handle your partners kids when they don't behave or do you leave it to your partner etc. for example?
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Quote:Originally posted by Koekie
I guess a number of you have either got merged families or have grown up in a merged family ie. your custodial parent remarried and you suddenly had a new parent and bro's and sisters. Or perhaps in this case you are the parent and have taken on your partners kids and they've taken you on!.
I'm curious how this worked out - did it, or didn't it. How do you handle your partners kids when they don't behave or do you leave it to your partner etc. for example?
I have two step kids aged 12 and 14. when I met them they were 18 months and 3 years old. When it comes to discipline, it normally falls to whoever is around at the time and if a little more serious the matter becomes a joint decision.
I probably get no more flak from them than any parent would get from their own kids. The difficulty lies in not appearing to favour my 4 year old. This is problematical in that he is only 4 and cannot be expected to exhibit the same behaviour one would expect from a teenager. All to often the cry goes out,,,it's not fair..he gets away with every thing......but then again that is life...
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Hi Koekie
Living in a a step-family certainly has it's challenges. I grew up in a family where my mother had married 3 times and each time had a child with her new husband. I know she found it terribly difficult to be sure if my stepfather treated me and my brother a certain a certain way because that was his personality anyway, or because my sister was his child.
Other people we know also have this problem, so I feel that if one were to merge families as it were, a lot of communication is in order so that everyone knows where they stand.
It's a challenge, but it
can be overcome.
