Blended Families - Part II
(This is the second in a series of articles on blended or step families.
For the purposes of these articles, the first marriage will be referred to as the original family)
Creating a successful blended family is hard work and takes longer than expected. Merging a family can take five to seven years. But the effort is worth the struggle because there are definitely positive outcomes for these families.
- Marital Happiness - Couples can create happy, successful marriages when they have dealt with the issues plaguing their first union and their own contributions that led to marital failure. There is much growth that comes from learning to combine a family that can benefit the couple.
- Healthy Marriage Model for Children – When destructive patterns of relating are replaced with healthy interactions in the couple, children benefit greatly and learn from observing positive communication and interaction, problem solving, and conflict resolution skills.
- Restored Well-Being in Children – A loving, well-functioning stepfamily can heal the negative psychological and emotional impact of family break-down and divorce on children. A stable, healthy stepfamily is as able of nurturing healthy development as an original family.
- Diversity and Differences – Children grow and expand their horizons when they learn new cultures. They broaden their understanding of the world and become more accepting of differences when living in a diverse stepfamily.
- Adaptability and Flexibility – Children learn to adapt to different parenting styles, family culture patterns, and siblings. Becoming adaptable and flexible are empowering life skills.
- Healing the Past – Learning the patterns of healthier family interactions can promote stability and acceptance which engenders love and forgiveness and an opportunity to heal the wounds of the past. There is an opportunity to live a higher way now and in the future when children grow up and form families of their own.
- Personal Growth – When there is acceptance, love, healthy relationship interactions, and stability in the home, children are freed up emotionally to be able to grow emotionally and spiritually.
This is the second article in this two-part series on Blended Families. You can find the first article here on www.upliftfamilies.org
Abbie Vianes, MPC, BCC, CSAPS
