One of the first blended families represented on television was the Brady Bunch. They certainly made it look easy! They had weekly conflicts, but always managed to resolve it by the end of the episode. Their conflicts were "light" and they didn’t have issues of Carol’s children not listening to Mike or Mike not participating in family discipline or being absent from family activities.

Reality is much different. Often families come together after suffering dramatic emotional loss following a devastating divorce or death of a spouse. The trauma resulting from either of these circumstances is long lasting, affects all members of the family, and can be extremely painful. Parents and children bring their experiences, good and bad, to the new marital relationship. The blended family structure begins to establish and implement different rules and create a new environment - all this while Mom and Dad are still getting to know each other. The children wonder whether their new Mom or Dad will love them. What are their risks if they decide to try to love them back? They also begin to establish relationships with their new siblings. Family relationship issues are incredibly complicated and need careful nurturing.

This page is dedicated to blended families. We will have helpful links and articles and encourage you to use other pages on this site to participate in forum discussions or ask us a question. We look forward to expanding the information on this site. We pray that the information helps meet your needs.