How Do You Be A Good Step Parent?
• Get to know the children before you take your vows. Becoming a step family can be a difficult transition for everyone, but it helps a great deal if potential stepparents have the opportunity to form affectionate connections with their partner’s children before they unite as a family. • Understand that the children are a permanent part of your life. Children, and the complications that come along with them, are never a “sometimes” proposition. No matter where the children call home, parents and stepparents must be prepared to make many of their life choices based on the needs of the children. • Don’t expect instant love. Caring relationships take time to develop, so good stepparents allow their stepchildren plenty of time to adjust to their presence in their family. • Demand respect. While stepchildren should not be forced to feign love for a stepparent, they should be expected to behave in a respectful manner. • Be kind and consistent. One of the most important rules of being a paren
