melissa@blendedfamilypodcast.com www.blendedfamilypodcast.com These days our children are exposed to more than they should be, and most exposure is due to social media. Teenagers spend the majority of their time with their faces buried in their phones. This is truly frustrating for parents. The choice whether to get your child that smartphone or not is yours as their parent, but you should be aware of what it entails before you make that decision. Most importantly, certain rules should be set be...
Jul 20, 2015•19 min
melissa@blendedfamilypodcast.com www.blendedfamilypodcast.com Being a stepparent can be hard, and sometimes confusing as well. It’s hard to know how much you can say or do, or how much you can involve yourself in the life of the child. In this episode, I go over some do’s and dont’s to help you in your role as a stepparent. For the donts Dont badmouth Dont be a disciplinarian Dont be a replacement parent Don’t take things personal Don’t expect everything to be perfect. And the Do’s Do communicat...
Jul 13, 2015•17 min
melissa@blendedfamilypodcast.com www.blendedfamilypodcast.com Keeping your blended family healthy can be a challenge. As children shuffle from home to home, they can can also bring their illness from home to home. We can’t always control the other home environment where our children live when they aren’t with us. We can only teach them the importance of healthy eating and exercise. In this episode I share tips and challenges. I also get into the benefits of using essential oils to improve your f...
Jul 06, 2015•18 min
melissa@blendedfamilypodcast.com www.blendedfamilypodcast.com Forgiveness is something that is necessary in all families. Blended families will not be as successful if we cannot learn how forgive others. It is also extremely important to teach our children how to do this. These nine steps were taken from www.learningtoforgive.com Know exactly how you feel about what happened and be able to articulate what about the situation is not OK. Then, tell a trusted couple of people about your experience....
Jun 29, 2015•18 min
melissa@blendedfamilypodcast.com www.blendedfamilypodcast.com Don’t miss this awesome Father’s Day Special, with special guest, Justin Worsham. Justin has a thriving career as a comedian, and is now cultivating a radio career. His podcast, called The Dad Podcast, is rising to the top of the charts! In this interview we discuss Justin’s role as a stay at home, working parent His relationship with his own dad Incorporating humor into parenting The Dad Podcast Some parenting struggles Some personal...
Jun 21, 2015•31 min
melissa@blendedfamilypodcast.com www.blendedfamilypodcast.com Summer is here, school is out! What are you going to do with your blended family? It can be hard to coordinate schedules over the summer and also keep them busy. What can you do so you don’t hear the constant “I’m bored?” I’ll give you just a few tips in this short episode, as I’m getting ready to take a small trip before the chaos of summer arrives! Join the Private Facebook Group Listen and Rate/Review on Itunes Connect with me on F...
Jun 15, 2015•10 min
melissa@blendedfamilypodcast.com www.blendedfamilypodcast.com There are many roles we play in our blended families, and sometimes we can feel unappreciated for all that we do. There are five main categories or roles that we feel unappreciated in. Stepparent Parent Partner Child New partner (unappreciated by partner’s ex) Proper communication can help, by expressing to your family what your needs are. Most of us have these feelings at one point or another. Join the Private Facebook Group Listen a...
Jun 08, 2015•15 min
melissa@blendedfamilypodcast.com www.blendedfamilypodcast.com It is very common as parents to compare our own children to other children. This comparison hinders us from truly seeing the positive qualities in a child. We need to accept, love, and embrace our kids for who they are, positive and negative. Blended families can struggle with this, as suddenly there are other kids in the home, and often we cannot help but to compare our biological children to our stepchildren. It is our human nature ...
Jun 01, 2015•15 min
melissa@blendedfamilypodcast.com www.blendedfamilypodcast.com Perfectionism is something that many people struggle with. When it comes to a blended family, we can feel pressure to have the “perfect” family. This, of course, is an unrealistic expectation. In this episode, we discuss the questions to ask yourself to determine if you are a perfectionist, examples of what perfectionism looks like in a blended family, and what steps you can take to overcome perfectionism, which involve recognition an...
May 25, 2015•16 min
melissa@blendedfamilypodcast.com www.blendedfamilypodcast.com In almost all relationships, at some point or another, couples are faced with a decision to end a relationship or stick it out. The stresses of a blended family can really put an extra strain on a relationship. Before you decide to end a relationship, and affect not only your lives, but the lives of your children, there are some important 5 key factors to look at. length of the relationship overall quality of the relationship how many...
May 18, 2015•17 min
melissa@blendedfamilypodcast.com www.blendedfamilypodcast.com 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 podc...
May 10, 2015•24 min
melissa@blendedfamilypodcast.com 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! Join the Private Facebook Group Listen and Rate/Review on Itunes Connect with me on Facebook Connect with me on Twitter Send questions or feedback to melissa@blendedfamilypodcast.com Send me a voicemail at Speakpipe Visit...
May 04, 2015•14 min
melissa@blendedfamilypodcast.com www.blendedfamilypodcast.com 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....
Apr 27, 2015•16 min
melissa@blendedfamilypodcast.com 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...
Apr 20, 2015•16 min
melissa@blendedfamilypodcast.com www.blendedfamilypodcast.com 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 ...
Apr 13, 2015•19 min
melissa@blendedfamilypodcast.com www.blendedfamilypodcast.com 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 plac...
Apr 06, 2015•17 min
melissa@blendedfamilypodcast.com 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 Cert...
Mar 30, 2015•48 min
melissa@blendedfamilypodcast.com 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 ...
Mar 23, 2015•20 min
melissa@blendedfamilypodcast.com www.blendedfamilypodcast.com 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, whic...
Mar 16, 2015•16 min
melissa@blendedfamilypodcast.com www.blendedfamilypodcast.com 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...
Mar 09, 2015•19 min
melissa@blendedfamilypodcast.com www.blendedfamilypodcast.com Every parent hopes and wishes all of their children get along. Biological children are built with a special bond with their siblings, whereas step siblings do not automatically have this. In the blended family, we want to encourage the step siblings to form bonds and relationships with one another for a strong family dynamic. Depending on the ages of the children, there are different ways to accomplish this. You want to first try to f...
Mar 02, 2015•14 min
melissa@blendedfamilypodcast.com www.blendedfamilypodcast.com This episode is all about maintaining intimacy with your partner while managing a blended family. It can be so hard to do! Listen to my conversation with Sibel Guelseren. Sibel is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, Board Certified Addictions Professional, Board Certified Sex Therapist, and Life Coach with over 15 years in Experience. Sibel earned a Master of Education Degree and a Specialist in Education Degree, both speciali...
Feb 23, 2015•29 min
melissa@blendedfamilypodcast.com www.blendedfamilypodcast.com It is so important to bond with your stepchildren. Your stepchildren will always be a part of your partners life, therefore will be a part of yours. We are all built with an innate quality to love and cherish our children unconditionally. We don’t have the same built in feelings about stepchildren. The relationship with our stepchildren needs work to grow. Age plays a big role in how we bond with stepchildren. Elementary school kids a...
Feb 16, 2015•17 min
melissa@blendedfamilypodcast.com www.blendedfamilypodcast.com Healthy communication is an essential part of any relationship, not only those in blended families. However, in the blended family, communication is key to success. It is important for all members of the family to communicate, not just the parents. I have three tips for healthy communication, which are Communication is NOT Confrontation Be open and honest Listen 1. Communication is not confrontation. This means that when you communica...
Feb 09, 2015•18 min
melissa@blendedfamilypodcast.com www.blendedfamilypodcast.com Dont miss this great interview with Heather Rampolla! Heather Rampolla is stepmom to two teenage daughters, host of Fresh Eats Radio and creator of Fresh Eats Detox. She helps busy moms, wives & entrepreneurs rid of overwhelm when trying to eat healthy… you know, like picky eaters, or fitting in real foods when you’re managing a busy schedule. She teaches you how to easily add in more of the good stuff so you can look good & f...
Feb 02, 2015•26 min
melissa@blendedfamilypodcast.com www.blendedfamilypodcast.com All siblings fight, and this is a natural part of the process of growing up. In a blended family, it doesn’t seem so natural when the step siblings fight. This causes of lot of stress and unease on the parents. It is actually one of the biggest problems blended families will face. There are many reasons why the kids will fight, and there are right and wrong ways to deal with it. An obvious reason why the step siblings fight is that th...
Jan 26, 2015•16 min
melissa@blendedfamilypodcast.com www.blendedfamilypodcast.com Parents in blended families face extra stress and difficulties, which can create some tension on the relationship. This can lead to excess fighting between the adults, and this can be damaging to your blended family. Some of the most common causes of arguments could be ex partners, children, money, and scheduling. There are ways to overcome this by learning healthy methods and strategies. You want to make sure you are fighting fair. T...
Jan 19, 2015•16 min
melissa@blendedfamilypodcast.com www.blendedfamilypodcast.com Almost every divorced couple deals with a disrespectful ex at some point or another after their divorce. If you haven’t, then chances are your new partner may be dealing with it. Some of the most common issues you may face with a disrespectful ex are an ex who is trying to turn the kids against you an ex who refuses to honor your new partner an ex who is all around difficult to try to hurt you If your ex is trying to turn your childre...
Jan 12, 2015•21 min
www.blendedfamilypodcast.com melissa@blendedfamilypodcast.com Dealing with finances is an issue that every couple must face. However, it is much more difficult in a blended family. There are usually more issues in a blended family, such as child support, separate debts and assets, and financial involvements with exes. The issue of finances is best discussed early on in the relationship to avoid pitfalls in the future. Some topics to discuss are handling of income handling of expenses handling of...
Jan 05, 2015•17 min
www.blendedfamilypodcast.com melissa@blendedfamilypodcast.com There are a lot of factors to think about when determining your visitation schedule for your blended family. You and your partner will already have a divorce agreement set in place that determines your basic schedule or agreement on visitation. Once you blend families, you will need to decide how to make that work for everyone. The big question is, should you have all of the kids from both sides share visitation or keep them separate....
Dec 29, 2014•14 min
