Blended Families: Challenges and Counseling Solutions to Better Your Life

When two families with children begin to come together, it can be a beautiful arrangement that allows children to have their needs fulfilled by two parents. After all, some children thrive under the nuclear family model. However, blending a family can be a challenging battlefield marked with land mines and things you never knew you needed to worry about.

But challenges can be overcome. You’ll never have a “perfect” blended family, but you will have one you can lean on and work with together. Therapy can help this process, too. But there are plenty of things to consider.

Challenges Ahead

Having a blended family does not come with an instruction manual. However, there are many common threads all blended families run into.

· Adjusting to new roles: Dynamics tend to shift in blended families. Single parents with one child may become married parents with multiple children. The kids face the same dynamics, too, such as learning to manage their spaces.

· Co-parenting complexities: Sometimes, the Good Cop, Bad Cop routine doesn’t work for blended families. Both parents need to discuss and discover how they’ll parent together as one unit.

· Conflicts: Trust us, there will be conflicts. Whether it’s conflicts between new siblings or disputes between the children and their new step-parent.

· Emotional changes: Children may struggle with learning to manage emotions in a larger household. You must allocate time equally to everyone.

Counseling Can Help

Counseling, whether it’s with the parents or in a family session, can help everyone better express their needs, listen, and maintain respect. This can also help strengthen relationships between everyone. Family members will also learn the importance of setting and maintaining boundaries as they create a lifestyle that supports working as a team.

Work Together

Regardless of anything else, counseling a blended family can bring desperately needed peace and harmony. Contact the experts at Oregon Family Trauma Center if you’re ready to experience a better blended family.