We’ve all heard the statistic that says 50 percent of marriages end in divorce. Additionally, a person who is divorced once is more likely to divorce in their second marriage. However, numbers only tell part of the story. A subsequent effect of divorce is the creation of blended families as parents with children from previous marriages build a household together. The dynamics of a blended family are different from a traditional nuclear family because more than one set of parents and children must now be considered in arrangements. The decisions of biological parents and the influence of stepparents can create tensions between households, and the potential for conflict is not going away soon. According to the Pew Research Center, 40 percent of Americans have a step-relative in their immediate family, and the potential for problems arises because stepparents don’t proactively attempt to resolve issues between households, leading to a higher … Continue reading Blended families have it harder
