Honoring the Blended Family
You’ve found someone you
want to spend the rest of your life with. You or that special someone have already started the adventure of parenting and therefore are merging more lives than your own as you plan to get married. According to the recent National Vital Statistics Report, one of three Americans is now a stepparent, a stepchild, a stepsibling, or some other member of a blended family. More than half of Americans today have been, are now or will eventually be in one or more step situations during their lives. Now in 2010, blended families are projected be the predominant family form in the U.S.; there is a pattern of success for blended families that has an astonishing 84 percent success rate. Putting your marriage first is the best way to begin a new chapter together. Discussing the sensitive needs of the children and committing to over-communicating 54 INDY’S CHILD * SEPTEMBER 2010