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In this episode, we celebrate MOMS! It doesn’t matter if you are a biological mom, a step mom, a grandmother, or a step grandmother. In this show, I interview Lauren Jean, a fellow podcaster, who is all about helping moms! Some things we discuss are

Laurens podcast

what moms struggle with

creating time in your day

how to not neglect our own needs

stress management

self care

Want to connect with Lauren? Here are her links!

website

podcast

instagram

facebook

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Join the Private Facebook Group

Listen and Rate/Review on Itunes

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Send questions or feedback to [email protected]

Send me a voicemail at Speakpipe

Visit the website at www.blendedfamilypodcast.com

[email protected]

www.blendedfamilypodcast.com

I asked the listeners to help me compile a list of 25 top tips for bringing their blended family closer together, for this special milestone episode. Listen in to hear everyone’s fabulous ideas, plus a few of my own!

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When your partner hates your child (or you hate your partners child), it can make your relationship seem impossible. The first step is acknowledging that this is going on. Then it’s important to validate one another’s feelings. Hatred is a strong emotion, and is usually coming from someplace. With understanding and communication, this doesn’t have to ruin your relationship. Family counseling can help, and sometimes just time can help. Listen to this episode for some tips on how to deal with this difficult situation.

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www.blendedfamilypodcast.com

This episode is focused around a listener question, who wants to know how to deal with a very serious, dangerous situation in her life. In many cases, people are dealing with an ex partner who is dangerous to the well being of their child. This can mean abuse, addiction, or mental illness. In this case, our listener is dealing with something unimaginable.

Click  here  for the mentioned interview with Heather Rampolla and Christina Roach

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When your child decides they want to move out of your home, and in with their other biological parent, it can turn your world upside down. On this episode, we will talk about why this happens, and what you can do about it. I will also share with you a little of my personal story.

In blended families, this can turn into a situation that affects everyone in the entire home. It’s important to understand that this often has nothing to do with you, but entirely to do with the child. Teenagers, especially, are on their own agenda. They will do whatever they can to get what they want. In a traditional, biological home, they don’t have much of a choice. In the divorced home, it’s often very easy to choose the other home when things get uncomfortable for them.

I also share a listener question!

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In a traditional family setting, with two parents and their biological children, there are usually two sets of grandparents.  In the blended family, there are at least one or more additional sets of grandparents involved.  This can be difficult to navigate, especially if you don’t have cooperation from the grandparents. Becoming step grandparents may be a role that they weren’t prepared for, and maybe never even thought about.  Once placed in that situation, grandparents often have a hard time rising to the challenge.

In this episode, we will address the reasons why step grandparents struggle with their new role, and what you can do to help them along.  We will also talk about what grandparents should be doing, and what they may be doing wrong.

With time and patience, relationships between step grandparents and their step grandchildren can flourish. There is a special place in every blended family for grandparents.

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www.blendedfamilypodcast.com

On this episode, I have a conversation with specialist Christina Roach

Christina Roach is President and Founder of Success for Steps®, a resource for stepfamilies, and specializes in working with individuals in "step" relationships. She is a certified Stepfamily Foundation Master Coach and is a recognized Stepfamily Professional by the National Stepfamily Resource Center. In addition, she is a licensed psychotherapist, a National Certified Counselor and a Distance Credentialed Counselor. She's been featured in both national print and broadcast media, including Ebony Magazine and NBC's Daytime. And she's a contributing writer for StepMom Magazine. Christina has a private practice in Tampa, Florida, and offers phone and webcam coaching for those living outside the area.

Some things we discuss in this episode are

her Success for Steps program

biggest issues blended families face

how to overcome difficulties with exes

couple arguing over children

relationships between step siblings

teenagers

how to bring your blended family closer

benefits of professional counseling

Here is how you can connect with Christina

Take her survey here

Success for Steps website

Christina’s facebook

Christina’s twitter

Christina’s LinkedIn

To connect with me

Join the Private Facebook Group

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Visit the website at www.blendedfamilypodcast.com

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www.blendedfamilypodcast.com

In this day and age, it’s become harder for our children to focus on, and be successful in their education.  The world is a different place now than when we were of school age. Blended families have some extra difficulties with this, especially due to time sharing between two homes.  In this episode we discuss

distractions from social media

exposure to sex and drugs

problems with smartphones

family dynamics and structure in the present time

homeschooling

scheduling in homework

family time sharing and playing fair

project sharing

teaching your child responsibility

No matter what, it’s essential to do everything you can to help your child succeed!

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We often hear of children needing to take a timeout for bad behavior.  Did you ever think of an adult taking a time out?  It can actually be extremely helpful and effective in certain situations.

Taking a timeout is essential in times where your anger level is about to reach it’s peak.  Separate yourself before you lose control and say things you may regret later on.  During this time you can focus on your breathing to calm yourself, which will help you deal with whatever situation has come up, in a much calmer state.

Other times when a timeout is useful is if you are feeling depressed, overwhelmed, depleted, or anxious. Find activities that bring you peace and relaxation.  Some ideas are a hot bath, reading a book, doing some yoga, or taking a nap.

These time out sessions do not have to be long, but they can be.  It’s healthy to figure out when you may need one, and also healthy as a behavior for the children to model. When you get used to doing this, it’s imperative to schedule in regular time during your day, week, and month, for some “you” time.  As parents, we can get stressed out and lose our joy if we aren’t taking the time to nurture ourselves!

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Raising difficult or manipulative children is so challenging, especially in a blended family home. In cases of divorce, these children are adept at working the parents against one another to get whatever it is that they want.  This behavior can cause lasting damage on the family and your relationship with your partner.

The key to success in helping a difficult child is to determine if there is a medical or psychological cause for their behavior. There are many options to get them the help they need.  If a cause is not determined, there are methods of behavior modification in the home that you can use.

While taking care of the difficult child’s needs, you mustn’t neglect yourself, your partner, or the other children in the home.  There are coping strategies that can help you all keep your sanity.  All children must grow up someday, and so this season in your life will pass.  Take care of your own mental and physical well being so you can be there for the family who depends on you!

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Visit the website at www.blendedfamilypodcast.com