How Do You Be A Good Stepfather?
Being a stepfather (or stepmother) can be fulfilling and challenging. If you marry a person with children, you have to consider them part of a package deal, to be loved, nutured, and protected to the best of your ability. • Keep your negative opinions of the child’s biological father to yourself unless you are asked directly, and be circumspect when this occasion happens if there is a risk of an emotional overflow. • Never argue with the child’s mother in front of the child, and be especially careful about making derogatory remarks about her where the child may hear. • Be a good example to your stepchild. Smoking, excessive drinking, and drugs have no place in a home with children in it. This may not be the politically correct position, but from the effects of second hand smoke on young lungs, to the acceptance of illegal drugs, these are not good behaviors to model for children. • Respect the child’s mother’s disciplinary and homework regimens, and if you think they may be out of line
• Keep your negative opinions of the child’s biological father to yourself unless you are asked directly, and be circumspect when this occasion happens if there is a risk of an emotional overflow. • Never argue with the child’s mother in front of the child, and be especially careful about making derogatory remarks about her where the child may hear. • Be a good example to your stepchild. Smoking, excessive drinking, and drugs have no place in a home with children in it. This may not be the politically correct position, but from the effects of second hand smoke on young lungs, to the acceptance of illegal drugs, these are not good behaviors to model for children. • Respect the child’s mother’s disciplinary and homework regimens, and if you think they may be out of line, talk to her privately about your concerns, not in front of the child. • Respect the child’s private space. Any child, from preteen through their teen years deserve a reasonable amount of privacy and private space, and un
