September 16th is National Stepfamily Day.
Happy National Stepfamily Day!
It's crazy before now I would have never thought that being part of a stepfamily would be such a juggling act let alone part of my story. But, here I sit realizing both professionally and personally the reality that Blended Family living is hard work and has lots of moving pieces that require intentionality. Just to give you some background Blended Families also known as Stepfamilies is a family type that consists of children living with a stepparent, stepsibling or half-sibling. The Pew Research Center gives us a generalized look at blended families in the U.S. today.
One-in-six kids is living in a blended family
Many but not all remarriages involve blended families
According to the data from the National Center for Health Statistics, six-in-ten (63%) women in remarriages are in blended families and hard of these remarriages involve stepchildren who live with remarried couple.
The number of kids living in blended families has been stable for nearly thirty years.
Children of Hispanic, black, and white backgrounds are equally likely to live in this type of family.
Children from Asian families 7% a smaller share living in blended families
As you can see from the numbers Blended Families is a prevalent and ever-growing family type within our culture today. It's also a family type that comes with unique and complex needs. Check out the broadcast below in honor of National Stepfamily Day on them speaking to building love together in blended families. *Disclaimer it does filter through the lens of faith however please don't let that deter your from watching. I have a saying when assigning client homework "eat the fish, leave the bones". Which means not everything you read or listen to, will you agree with and that's okay. Go in with an open mind and pull out the wisdom that's there in order to receive and welcome something new regarding loving well within blended families.
Hope you enjoyed that and was able to walk away with one take away that you can apply in your family today. The speakers in the broadcast have a book on the subject matter called "Building Love Together in Blended Families". I just started reading it myself and am already learning so much. I've always been a fan of the "Five Love Languages" so I can't wait to finish this book.
Yvette E. McDonald therapist, writer, professor. Traveling Light Counseling, a practice for individuals, couples and families helping them achieve a new normal within all the chaos that threatens their sanity. If you're in the Saint Lucie or Martin County Area and life isn't quite what you expected it to be at this point in your journey and you are ready to make some changes or perhaps level up some areas in your life, please give me a call at 772-361-8448 for a free, 15-minute phone consultation.
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