MamasHealth.com Home Step-Family Relationships Biological Father Biological Dad's new role Blaming the stepparent Competing for love Conflict with stepchildren Grandparents and stepchildren My Stepparent is my age Stepchildren and Biological Children Stepchildren are a part of the family Stepfather and child Stepfathers Stepmothers and your relationship Step-parenting Teen-age stepchild Links Email Mama Managing conflict during divorce Dealing with the in-laws Family relationships Teen relationships Relationships and money Health benefits of sex	Raising a step child and biological child Raising a step child can be one of the hardest things to do. It also can be harder than raising your own children. Just imagine raising a step child and your own children. Sounds hard right? However, millions of family's struggle with raising a step child and their own children. This process becomes even more difficult when the stepchild and biological child do not get along. Things you can do to ease the tension between your step child, and your biological children. Try and reassure your child that getting a divorce from their biological parent was not their fault, and ask them if they have any questions. Start early and talk to your children about the possibility of having a blended family before you get married. Make sure your children know that it is important to get along with their new extended family. If you don't tell them, they may think it's ok to not socialize with their new family. Be the disciplinarian with you own children before you let their step parent handle the responsibility. Don't expect your step children to start from the beginning calling you mom or dad. However, if they do, let them pick and choose the right time to start calling you mom or dad. If you don't want conflict, be consistent on how you raise both your biological and stepchildren . If you punish your step child for staying out too late, give your biological child the same punishment. After you decide to re-marry, talk to your new spouse about where you're going to live. Moving into a new house rather than moving in one of the spouses home, gives the idea of a fresh start for you as well as your children. Work together as a married couple and discuss the rules with all the children. This way, the step children will know that they have to follow the rules set by both their biological and step parent. A big part of raising a blended family is by supporting one another. Involve your children in activities that requires all of them to participate. This will create a bond between all of them and it will also will teach them the importance of support for each other. Understand that girls might be uncomfortable showing physical affection to their stepfather. Allow your children to keep a close relationship with their biological parent. This will let your children know that their biological parent is still an important part of their lives.
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