Institute of Step-Family Dynamics

Tag: parenting

  • Do’s and don’ts of communicating with alienated adult children (and older teens)

    Do’s and don’ts of communicating with alienated adult children (and older teens)

    Buckle up, because there are some hard truths ahead.

    Truth number 1 – our adult children don’t owe us a relationship.

    Yep, I said it. Adult children owe us nothing. In a family without alienation, we get the relationship with our children we have earned and deserve. If we’ve been a supportive parent, who gave our children the space to grow into adults they want to be, we can be rewarded with enriching, loving relationships with our adult children. If we’ve been unsupportive, crappy parents, our adult children may have good reason not to want us to be a part of the world they create as adults.

    Either way, we are a part of our adult children’s lives by invitation and not entitlement.

    Where it all gets unstuck is when pathogenic parenting or parental alienation has interrupted a previously healthy parent/child relationship, where a child has been made to chose between their parents and has rejected the healthy, loving parent because it’s safer. The child loses their ability to put their own wants and feelings ahead of the pathogenic parent, and refuses contact and connection with the targeted parent.

    When this happens to our child, how do we attempt to relate to them as adults?

    I’ve seen lots of good news stories about alienated children reconnecting with the targeted parent when they have a choice and it’s safe for them to do so. There are also many other stories without that happy ending. Some of those unhappy endings have been unwittingly fueled by the targeted parent and their lack of understanding of how to meet their alienated child in a way that feels safe. You can read more about how to manage relationships with alienated children here.

    Step one – put yourself in your adult child’s shoes

    Have you ever had an ex stalk you? A cling-on friend or family member who just refused to take no for an answer and would bombard you with their feelings, wants and desire for you? Remember the ick factor for that? How intrusive and abusive those communications felt? If you haven’t experienced directly, you’ve probably read about it or seen it in a movie etc.

    Having someone we don’t want a relationship force their feelings on to us can be incredibly distressing and abusive. If our child perceives us as not a safe person, imagine how our attempts to tell them how we feel about them lands.

    One of the golden rules around communicating with estranged and alienated children is to focus on how our communication is likely to be received, rather than us simply dumping our feelings on the other person. If there are more I statements that statements about the person we are communicating with, we are in danger of coming across as abusive and narcissistic, no matter how well intentioned we are.

    Step two – timing is important

    If we accept that us reaching out may not be well received, and instead may feel intrusive or distressing, then we need to be mindful of that when we reach out. It’s tempting to try and be a part of the big moments, birthdays, holidays etc, and to send heart felt out pourings of love and longing. Remember the creepy stalker comparison?

    Instead of intruding on your child’s special day, send something a few days earlier. It fills two purposes, firstly it lets your child know that you are thinking of them and remember them at important times. Secondly, it gives them space to enjoy their special day without living in dread of your name popping up and dredging up real or imagined hurts and resentment.

    Step three – respecting their request for no contact

    This can be incredibly difficult to accept. When do we ‘give up’? Or is it simply that we reframe it to ‘respecting the boundaries of our adult children’? Either way, at some point there may come a time when you are exhausted from screaming into the void, or reaching out to be rejected repeatedly.

    Here’s a suggestion for how to frame that conversation with your adult child.

    Hello child,
    You’ve made it clear that you don’t wish to have a relationship, and I think it’s also been clear that I have had a hard time accepting that. I’m sorry for continuing to push my agenda against your wishes. I hope you know how much I love you and long to be a part of your life, but I also accept that whether that happens is up to you. I know there are good reasons for you feeling the way that you do, and should you ever wish to talk those through with me, I am willing and ready. Until then, I am going to respect your wishes. Any further communication will be instigated by you, with the exception of me updating my contact details if they change. If you wish me still to maintain some contact, with me understanding and respecting your boundaries, then please let me know.
    Your parent

    Here’s what this communication is saying:

    Hey kiddo –

    I realise I’ve been an overstepping pain in the butt. I hear you now, and I’m sorry.

    I’ve been so wrapped up in my story and my pain, I haven’t been listening to you or understanding your story and pain. I’m open to hearing those uncomfortable truths now and accepting some responsibility for how things are.

    I want you to be able to contact me, so I’m going to let you know how to do that. If you still want me to try and communicate in a respectful way, then I’m here for that.

    Step four – live your life

    When we have children, we never imagine a life without them in it. We don’t think we will be estranged or alienated from our children’s lives or their lives of their children. Our children aren’t dead, so we can’t mourn their passing. Society judges us, there is an immediate assumption that we must have been a crappy parent. Regardless of all of that, we still deserve to be happy, we need to learn how to build lives around our grief and become people we would want to spend time with.

    Step five – own your sh*t

    There are always many sides to the stories around relationships. Each of those is valid, even if it isn’t reflective of the facts. It’s valid because it’s what the other believes. If we’re able to accept that our children’s stories about us, about their experience of us, and of the childhoods may not match our own, we’re on the path to owning our part in things. No matter how abusive and alienating the other parent may have been, none of us is perfect. We will have done things that hurt our children, even if that was never our intention. One of the special talents of pathogenic parents is taking a small incident and creating a whole narrative of abuse around it. When we deny it happened, or minimise it, then we are telling our children their feelings aren’t true. It’s invalidating and adds to the disconnect.

    If we can be curious about what hurts our children are carrying, if we can be open to the idea that we may inadvertently have been part of the problem, we are far more likely to be able to connect with our wounded adult children.

  • How to deal with an overstepping ex or stepparent

    How to deal with an overstepping ex or stepparent

    If I had a dollar for every time I heard about someone overstepping in a step-family dynamic, I would be a very rich woman. It is right up there with some of the most common complaints in a step-family.

    So what exactly is overstepping? Who decides?

    In simple terms, it’s when one person intrudes on the space/boundary/home etc of another.

    For some mamas, it means whenever a stepmum performs a mothering task without the consent of the mother.

    For some stepmums, it means whenever a mum tries to insert her opinions/demands into the home of the stepmum.

    Gosh – does anyone else see what I see?

    When we try and control what happens in the other home, it can often feel like overstepping.

    Women tend to feel like their counterpart is overstepping more than males, in my experience. I think this is in part due to the expectations placed on women to parent and run households. We are socialised to see women as nurturers and caregivers and many parents tend to expect their female partners to step straight into a mothering role. This can feel incredibly offensive to a mother who is used to be the sole female role model and carer in her children’s lives. It can be difficult for a mum to step back and allow another women to ‘mother’ her children.

    In a healthy dynamic, where step/parents are solid and secure in their roles, they can have conversations about co-parenting and make joint decisions about parenting. If you have an over stepper, then it’s almost impossible to have those conversations and co-parent.

    Here are some golden rules to help with overstepping

    1) Parents do not have to parent with their ex’s new partner.

    Not going to lie, this one was a hard one for me to grasp first off. I expected a seat at the parenting table. My hunny demanded a seat at the parenting table for me. Unsurprisingly, his ex was not on board with that. It caused a huge amount of conflict. Now my feeling is…

    I’m very glad to step back and allow my partner and his ex to parent together outside our home. In our home, my partner and I parent together.

    Anita Inglis

    2) Stepparents do not have to parent with their partner’s ex.

    I saw a post recently accusing an ex and stepparent of parental alienation because the stepmum wasn’t getting permission from the mother before parenting in her home. People, that is not parental alienation, that is boundaries. If you are demanding people comply with your values and opinions in their home, you are the over stepper.

    3) You can only make the rules for your home

    In the ideal world, children would have the same expectations and similar experiences in each home. If people had the same values and expectations, they probably wouldn’t have gone their separate ways in the first place.

    People separate/divorce usually because they don’t agree on some fundamental issues. Expecting those differences to magically disappear when it comes to parenting in different houses, especially with new partners, seems naïve at best.

    4) Conflict between homes creates loyalty binds for children

    There is a huge difference between conflict and disagreement and pathogenic parenting/parental alienation. Unfortunately, there seems to be a lot of confusion as to what PAS is and people will accuse people setting boundaries and reacting to their overstepping of engaging in parental alienation.

    Look at what messages you are sending your children. Are you making it uncomfortable for them to be around you because of your attitudes to the family in the other house? Are you complaining about your ex or their partner overstepping? Are you demanding your ‘rights’ at the expense of both sides of the child’s family being able to participate or be involved?

    If you are, then you are the one creating the loyalty binds. In situation like this, children may reject you or choose the other house over you. Your attitude and the drama and discomfort it creates may mean the child seeks to limit time with you, so as not to be exposed to your upset and unkind words about people they love.

    5) Children don’t reject emotionally healthy parents who don’t abuse them without some form of coercion from an outside source.

    This is one of the foundational tenets of whether a child rejecting a parent is because of pathogenic parenting/alienation.

    • Emotionally healthy parents don’t attempt to control what happens in the other home.
    • Emotionally healthy parents don’t attempt to restrict the involvement their ex or their ex’s new partner in the children’s lives, unless there is abuse. Not doing what you want them to do is not abuse.
    • Emotionally healthy parents don’t make their children feel they have to choose who is going to be at an event to support them.

    If you feel like your ex or their partner is overstepping, take a moment to check your expectations.

    Am I trying to control what is happening in their home?

    Am I trying to control what role the new partner is playing in my children’s lives?

    Am I trying to control or do I believe I have the right to dictate/control?

    If the answer to any of these or similar questions is yes – you might the be one overstepping.

    If the answer is no, and you are dealing with a high conflict ex, check out this article for some ideas of how to manage that relationship more calmly

  • A Guide to Parallel Parenting with a High Conflict Ex

    A Guide to Parallel Parenting with a High Conflict Ex

    Everyone in a high conflict situation likes to think the difficult ex is a narcissist. Clinically diagnosed narcissists make up between 1 to 15% of the US population, so all of the ‘narcissistic exes’ are not all narcissists. The sad news is people don’t have to be narcissists to be challenging to parent with! 

    Letting go of the labeling and the name calling can be a vital first step towards finding peace in the parallel parenting world. We can step outside of the victim mode of dealing with someone we feel is impossible and start creating a world we can feel some control and autonomy – in our homes at least. But first we need to fully define parallel parenting and why it might be the ideal approach to a high-conflict situation.

    What is parallel parenting and why is it helpful when dealing with a narcissistic (or challenging) ex?

    Parallel parenting, very simply put, is your house,  your rules. The flip side of that, and one that people find less appealing, is that it also means their house, their rules. Parallel parenting means taking an inventory of the things that are within your control — for example, bedtimes in your home —and the things that are not, such as bedtimes in the other house.

    People with high conflict natures and personality disorders tend to crave conflict because conflict equals interaction and attention. Just like kids will sometimes act out even if the only response they will get is a negative one, those people who crave attention and interaction are happy to get your energy even if that energy is anger and resentment. Often, people with personality disorders and a predilection for drama have been fed negative attention as their dominant source of attention since childhood, so they don’t know any other way of doing or being.

    This is an important clue. We can unwittingly become a source of sustenance if we keep engaging with someone hooked on negative attention. Our attempts to diffuse, while well-intended, do little more than feed the addiction. In turn, we become frustrated because it doesn’t matter how reasonable we try to be. There is just no reasoning. 

    So now that we know what parallel parenting is, let’s talk about why it’s helpful during high-conflict situations. 

    Parallel parenting gives us the opportunity to take back our power and limit communication. 

    If we stick firmly to the idea that in our house we make the rules, all of the noise from that high conflict person surrounding what we are doing wrong, why we are bad parents, and why we should be doing things their way becomes just that — noise. I often tell my clients to channel a sassy old English woman when they are being hit with a tirade and respond in their heads, “That’s nice dear.” Those attempts to drag us into conflict don’t warrant or deserve our energy. We can keep our responses very brief and to the point, lacking in emotion, and pleasant. Check out the BIFF or Grey Rock responses for more information about this.

    What this means for the actual practice of parenting

    After many years of trying different methods, my hunny and I have found a process that works really well for us. He and I parent together in our house. We set the boundaries and the tone, we decide the consequences, and we enforce those consequences. There is zero expectation that our values, rules, or consequences will be supported in mum’s house. This also means that any rules, values, or consequences from her house stay there.

    If a child has had their device taken off them in either home, there is no expectation the other home will carry on that consequence. There are a couple of reasons we have chosen this approach. Firstly, there was no co-parenting in our situation. I’m talking zero communication about the most basic things like toilet training or nap times. It was a very high conflict situation, and the children were constantly being told how stupid and wrong we were by their mother. Thirdly, we didn’t agree with the fundamental parenting approach of the ex.

    So with all of that in mind, it would make zero sense to continue enforcing values and rules we don’t agree with. For example, one child might be scapegoated in one home, which is fairly common when narcissistic traits are present. They may consistently be punished for things that were not their fault, so why would we carry on that inequity? Switching home environments is hard, so it’s important that kids have perks here and there, like getting a fresh start.

    Outside of our home, when it comes to things like medical, legal, and education decisions, there are laws in place that put the responsibility of decision making on both parents. It can be incredibly difficult to do this when a high conflict ex refuses to co-parent on these matters. We have found that it requires consistent boundaries and accountability. 

    For example, one child in our stepfamily had blood tests recently. We waited and waited for the ex to inform my husband of the initial appointment and subsequent test results. In the end, he asked her outright. The response of “I just got the results back” was an outright lie, as we know she’s had them for weeks. She then gave a partial report. Is there any point in calling out the lie? No. However, it is important to keep holding her to account to share information. Each time we become aware of another breach, my husband will text requesting the information.

    Narcissistic or not, parents can get very territorial. They can become self-righteous and feel entitled to tell us how we should or shouldn’t be parenting. Parallel parenting gives us the option to “pay them no mind” when this happens! We can sit solidly in our decisions and the parenting we choose to perform in our own homes. 

    Protecting the couple relationship amid the drama

    A critical part of parallel parenting is focusing on your relationship with your partner. The couple relationship is the foundation of a stable step-family unit. It’s far too easy to let a high conflict person come between us. Find common ground and establish your own family culture that embodies your shared values as both a couple and your goals as a family unit.

  • Making Time Matters

    Making Time Matters

    For too many years to comfortably count or acknowledge, my mantra was ‘I don’t have time’. I didn’t have time to stick on a load of dishes or washing, to make my bed, to cook a meal, to read a book, to hang out with my kids. I was drowning in busyness.

    I had created a life where I didn’t have time for the things that mattered as a coping mechanism for c-PTSD. If I created a life of chaos and busyness then I didn’t have a chance to notice my trauma. If I kept my head so full, then there was no space for triggering or upsetting memories.

    It would be nice if that actually worked, but of course it didn’t, and I ended up having uncontrollable flashbacks that meant I had to give up work. I spent two years recovering. Part of that was learning not to overload myself, but the busyness mantra remained.

    Busyness kept my life chaotic. It meant not doing the things that made life easier and more enjoyable. I was so paralysed by the idea that I was too busy to do things, that it got in the way of me being able to be productive and use my time well.

    Recently I was given a question that made me pause.

    What was a core belief that was getting my way?

    Low and behold, I realised. It was the idea that I was too busy to do things.

    A lightbulb moment!

    I put on my curious observer hat and watched how many times a day I told myself I was too busy to do something that would take a few minutes and make life work so much better. It was astounding and confronting.

    I started to challenge this self-talk. When I heard my inner voice start, I realised that this was a thing that would not take long and would make a difference.

    I started folding and putting away the washing directly from the dryer or the clothes line. It meant I didn’t have to deal with clean washing mountain. It meant that I didn’t have to set aside a big chunk of time to deal with folding laundry and then begrudgingly put it away or nag others to do it. I don’t mind putting a few items of clothing away for my husband. I certainly did often balk at doing that with piles of laundry. Unsurprisingly the children also find it easier to put away a few items at a time, rather than piles. It’s the answer to the room tidying technique that consists of putting clean laundry into the washing pile because they can’t be bothered putting it away.

    Dishes are easier to manage because we don’t have dirty dishes pile up in the kitchen. Clutter and mess attract clutter and mess. I had spaces and areas I used to call ‘crap attractors’, they were places were things that we didn’t ‘have time’ to deal with piled up. Taking a few minutes to deal with things on the spot means the crap attractors no longer exist.

    Making my bed often felt like something I didn’t have time for, as I rushed out the door to work. As I took a minute or two this morning to make the bed, I reflected about what a difference it make to the look and feel of the room. I grabbed the dirty laundry on the way out the door, dropped off my coffee glass in the kitchen on the way through and then sorted the dirty laundry into the appropriate baskets. I took another minute to put a load of laundry on. In less than 5 minutes I did the work to make our bedroom the sanctuary we want it to be, and ensured laundry didn’t pile up.

    It’s not just about our physical surroundings.

    Making time people is another thing we often feel is beyond our stretched busy schedules. I was in session with a client the other day, and because of lockdowns and the pandemic her children were home. They are amazing at giving their mum space to talk with me, but this day Mr 5 needed her. She took the time to connect with him.

    What did he need? It turned out he needed a hug.

    She gave him a big hug until he was done. He walked off happily and we were able to resume our session in peace. Other times, when she has tried to hold a boundary about not being interrupted, his distress took up way more time and space than the couple of minutes breaking for a hug took. It made me think – how often do we not give our step/children what they need in the moment, because we feel we don’t have time, and then spend way more time repairing and dealing with the fallout.

    I notice that when I take the time to notice my stepchildren doing things well, they blossom. When I take the time to connect and slow down what I am doing to include them, their behaviour improves. Yesterday I spent time planting out seed pots that were a supermarket give away last year. Something I had been ‘too busy’ to do for many months. Me sitting down for an activity attracted Mr 15 to the table, he sorted labels and helped get water for the potting pods. We chatted as we worked. Us sitting down attracted his sister, she came and chatted with us and then called her mum to ask whether she’d like some of the herbs we were planting. Mr 14 came along and sat for a while too.

    Taking time to do something I previously would have told myself I didn’t have time to do created so much more than simply planting some seeds for the garden. It created space for family, for connection, and conversation about food etc. These simple things, that in reality don’t take nearly as long as we think they will, are the stuff that grow our families and ourselves.

    We recently moved into a new house, and with that came a conscious decision to live in a more aligned and connected way. Eating at the table was a big part of that. We replaced the uncomfortable dining chairs with chairs that encourage us to sit and chat. We got a table that fitted the dining space well and looks good, replacing the second hand stained table I bought 13 years ago as a stopgap. I took the time to think about how I wanted us to live, as individuals and as a family. I thought about how to create space and spaces for the family. Our family morphs into many forms as people come and go. At times we are a family of two, half the time a family of at least five, and sometimes a family of 9 and then more as extended family come and go. It takes a lot of time and energy to manage the logistics involved to create a home that works for so many different groups. When we feel we don’t have time to do the emotional and mental labour involved in creating a nest that works, we often live in chaos and stress.

    I started writing this article 20 minutes before I was due to start a meeting. Usually I would have told myself I didn’t have time to start writing, with just 20 minutes. Making this start means that this article won’t go the way of so many that I plan to start and write, but don’t because ‘I don’t have time’. I’ll come back to finish this, where most often I wouldn’t come back to start it.

    And…my meeting finished earlier than expected, so I have time to pop back in and finish before the next meeting. I’ve created a whole article in the time I would normally write off as not being enough time to do anything much at all. Shifting my core belief around time and how much time doing things actually requires has been transformative.

    What core beliefs are getting in the way of creating and living the life you want and need?

    Is it about how much time you have?

    Is it about what you should be doing/thinking/being/earning?

    Is it about how your family should function? Or would function if you weren’t a step-family, or single parent?

    Is it about how much your mental health gets in the way of you being your best self?

    Whatever it is, sit with it for a moment. Get out your curious observer hat and watch how this belief is playing out? Is it accurate? Is it how you think it is?

    What can you do to shift the belief from something debilitating to something empowering?

    For me, for now, I’m working on reminding myself I have time for the things that matter and that making time matters. There’s a whole slew of other beliefs that are coming up for review – not being able to stick to a schedule or routine is in my sights!

    Feel free to share what belief you’re about to curiously observe below.

  • 4 Simple Questions To Help Kids Change Their Behaviour

    4 Simple Questions To Help Kids Change Their Behaviour

    Parenting in step-families is a whole other world. We don’t get to set the boundaries and expectations in isolation, very often kids are dealing with an entirely different set of rules and consequences in their other home. Holding kids accountable can be hard as they navigate switching from one set of rules to another.

    It’s also not uncommon for children with two homes to exhibit some behavioural issues, add in a high conflict parenting situation, and kids can seem like they are out of control. Having parented my own 4 children, and made SO many, many mistakes, I came into step-parenting with a different understanding of what kids need. I had to readjust that when my step-children developed some severe behavioural issues. It was incredibly frustrating to work so hard on getting them to understand boundaries and learn how to navigate our house and then 2 weeks later begin again.

    As I researched more around parental alienation and pathogenic parenting, I began to understand a lot of these behaviours are stress responses. Punishment is THE last thing these kids need. We looked at several different parenting strategies and gradually adopted something that worked in our complex situation.

    These 4 questions will work whether you have children the majority of the time, or part of the time. When something goes awry, sit down with the child and go through these 4 questions. Getting the child to sit down with you calms the situation down. We aren’t looming over them, creating more stress and fear. It signals this is a time to connect and discuss.

    What were you FEELING when you made that choice?

    Notice the choice of the word feeling, rather than thinking. Children aren’t thinking when they do dumb stuff, they are all in their feels and so not rational or logical. Helping them identify what was going on for them can help them identify their triggers and stressors. It can be like pulling teeth, and a painful process for them. It’s ok not to expect an immediate answer. In fact, sitting them down and saying – ‘sit here and have a think about what you were feeling when that happened and let me know when you have an answer’ is a great way for them to sit with their feelings. The first time I did it with my step-son, he struggled so hard. He didn’t want to feel those feelings again, he gave me some random answers that I knew weren’t the truth. When he finally was able to dig deep enough, he had tears and explained he had been jealous. Even adults struggle to identify their feelings at times, and match them with their responses and behaviour. Teaching our children how to do this sets them up to navigate relationships later in life.

    Please note – this isn’t sending kids to their rooms for a time out. I think it’s really important we don’t send kids away when they have made mistakes. Sit them down in a room where you are so that you can maintain eye contact and check in how they are doing with their figuring out.

    The next question is:
    What would you do next time to make a choice that works better for you? What would that look and feel like?
    This question gets the child to analyse their role in the conflict or poor choice. What choice did they make? What would be a better choice?

    Followed by:
    What do you need from me to help you make that choice next time? How can I help you with that?
    This sends the message that the child is not alone in this, they can ask for help.

    The final question is
    What can you do to try and fix what happened? What can you do to make it up to the person you hurt or the damage you caused?
    The first time I asked this questions, I was blown away by the answer. The 9 year old came up with a solution I hadn’t even considered. It was entirely appropriate and really worked. He had stolen the candy his sister had earned doing chores. His solution was to do chores to earn candy and to give her the candy he earned to replace what he stole. I’ve never seen a kid so happy to do chores. He was so proud of himself, he felt empowered to be able to fix what he had broken.

    Obviously this is not the entire strategy we employed to turn his behaviour around. It was combined with ‘catching him be good’ , a relentless campaign of telling him all of the good choices we noticed and how well he was doing. It works with all 3 very well.

    When we’re on a road trip and they start niggling, I jump in with – Hey you kids have been amazing today! I’m so impressed with how well you’ve done, I know it’s boring sitting there. You’ve been so kind to each other, it’s so great to see. Hang in there, we’ll take a break soon’. Magically, the niggling will stop.

    Reward the behaviour you want to see repeated.

    If we notice positive behaviour and comment on it, the positive behaviour will be repeated as long as we keep commenting on it and rewarding the child with positive attention. If we consistently comment on negative behaviour, we are inadvertently rewarding the child with attention. They will repeat this behaviour as long as we keep giving them attention for it.

    Recently we had our boy, who is on the spectrum and delayed, go through a phase of lying. Lying to us, to his mum. We tried so many different solutions. In the end I realised we were rewarding the wrong thing. I decided to start Operation Catch Him Being Good. I gently reminded him about the expectations he had missed on his first night. I spoke with him about being sorry about forgetting he needed more help to remember things. We talked about making better choices. He brought up the lying and said he would try not to lie but it was hard because he was used to lying all the time and the lies just came out. We made a deal – if he said he had lied as soon as he told a lie, it wouldn’t count. That seemed to take a huge weight off, we got through a whole week with no obvious lies. He was fit to burst with pride.

    After 28 years of being a parent, the biggest lesson has been that kids respond to love and positive attention for more than punishment and being told off.

  • Stepmums Stepping In for Happiness…

    Stepmums Stepping In for Happiness…

    One of the pieces of advice I often see given to stepmums is to step back.

    They’re not your kids, step back and leave the bio parents to do the parenting. It’s not bad advice, but it is advice I’ve seen leave stepmums feeling disconnected from their families and powerless in their own homes. I’ve seen it lead to stepmums feeling they quite literally hate their stepkids, and their relationship is doomed.

    Being a stepmum is like dancing the Hokey Tokey – step in, no not that far – you’re overstepping. Step back, no not that far – you don’t care about your stepkids, you’re an awful person. Love those kids like your own, no not that much, that’s their mother’s role – how dare you try and replace her!!

    And round, and round, and round we go…Dizzy and exhausted with trying to contort ourselves into just the right amount of stepping in and stepping back to make everyone happy.

    There is our first mistake.

    There is no ‘making everyone happy’. It’s a mission in futility that most often ends in abject misery on our end.

    How about we start with the idea that it’s our job to make ourselves happy.

    *GASP*

    SAY WHAT NOW?!?! We are supposed to make our own happiness a priority? What about the kids? What about my partner? What will the mum think?

    Putting our happiness in the hands of someone else is such a dangerous game to play, for our own wellbeing and also for the wellbeing of our relationship. We are unconsciously setting our partners up to fail. We’re expecting them to know what we need, when we need it, and exactly how we need it.

    How on earth are they supposed to manage that?

    Yet, when we expect our partners to parent alone and to parent in the way we think the children should be parented, we are doing exactly that.

    I’ve seen so many stepmothers go from hating their stepkids to enjoying healthy, happy, loving relationships with their stepkids through stepping in.

    What do I mean when I say ‘stepping in’?

    Lots of times we talk about stepping up as part of becoming more of an active stepparent, but I prefer the idea of stepping in. It’s about moving into the family circle; it’s about creating a closer connection.

    Parenting is usually seen as how we mould kids to become functioning adults. We are teaching them who and how to be in the world and giving them skills to navigate life; that role is definitely the responsibility of the bioparents. As stepparents we can be co-pilots, but the main course setting and navigating needs to come from the bioparents.

    So, if the bioparents are in charge of that, what can stepparents be in charge of?

    Their own happiness in their homes.

    I correct the children for eating with their mouths open. I can hear a kid chew with an open mouth 2 rooms away. It is definitely in my top 10 triggers. My husband has a 50% hearing loss, he couldn’t care less, he can’t hear it. I am in charge of telling kids to close their mouths while eating. Not because I want them to have good manners, but because it drives me nuts when they don’t. I take responsibility for making sure my home environment works for me. The stepping back advice would be to eat separately. I’m not going to be pushed out of eating with my family because kids haven’t learned to eat with their mouth closed.

    See how that works?

    The priority is me ensuring that my home works for me. It’s an absolute bonus that the kids learn some basic table manners at the same time, but it’s not the end goal; my happiness and calm is.

    So often we expect our partners to care about the things that make us unhappy, when those things are not a priority for them. How would we feel if we kept being asked to tell kids off for things we don’t really care about, on top of telling them off for the things we do? How difficult would it be to catch them doing something we know upsets our partners, when we have become numb to it and have learned to tune it out? How frustrating and soul destroying to be in conflict with our partner because we just can’t parent how they think we should?

    It’s a double whammy. Our partners are caught in the middle, between an angry partner and resentful kids. Throw in an angry ex who is challenging why our partner is suddenly changing the rules…it’s a perfect storm of chaos and resentment.

    What does this mean in practical terms?

    It means it’s ok to ask kids to upskill their table manners, it’s ok to ask them to say please and thank you, it’s ok to ask them to pick up things and put them away. Exactly where this line starts and ends needs to be something you and your partner agree on. If your partner insists you can have no say in how things work in your home regarding the children and their behaviour, it is probably time to call in some expert help. Expecting you to live in a home where you have zero input in how it runs is not usually sustainable in my experience.

    While all of this might sound reasonable and doable, how do we prevent stepparent burnout while stepping in?

    I am very familiar with overextending myself when it comes to trying to make up for what I saw as deficits in the parenting of the children. For a long time I felt like I needed to make up for the things the children had not been taught or given by their bioparents. Finally – I got it.

    As stepparents we can’t be more invested than the bioparents are.

    Read that again.

    If it’s not a priority for the bioparents, we can’t expect to create sustainable change in our family. I’m talking big things here, like homework, chores, behaviour. The smaller things, like close your mouth or pick up your stuff, those things we can manage to a level that works for us. Being invested in kids getting a good education and being on task, those are the things where bioparents need to take the lead.

    So if you’re feeling powerless in your home, or as if the stepkids will be the death or you or at least your relationship, what can you do to take back your power and make your needs and happiness your priority?

  • Coupling During Covid-19

    Coupling During Covid-19

    During a recent radio interview, I was asked by the journalist whether I thought the lock downs/stay at home orders were contributing to the break down of relationships. My honest answer is that the conditions and stressors created by the pandemic and various stay at home measure act like a pressure cooker and amplifies what is already there.

    Some couples are thriving. They are finding a new sense of togetherness and cohesion. This time of stepping outside the pressures and busyness of running around for children’s activities, work, social engagements etc has brought respite and a time to lean in to each other and the family.

    For other couples, it has brought into sharp relief the underlying issues around equity, entitlement, and that needs are not being met. It is those couples for whom this pandemic could bring about the end of the relationship. I don’t think the pandemic is the cause or the catalyst, I think it has just brought the disconnect into focus.

    It’s often about competing wants and needs. These past few weeks have been incredibly challenging for me as a therapist. Usually I am able to take competing wants and needs and find compromise and a way forward. The pandemic has created situations where there is no winning for some couples, because of factors outside of both of their control.

    If you have an ex who is refusing to follow social distancing, and immune compromised people in your home, there is no good choice or right answer. You either risk the life of the people in your home, or you forgo time with your child, or you move out of your home in order to be able to spend time with your child. I am seeing people in this situation over and over again. It’s hearbreaking. It sets up situations where the partner feels like their needs are secondary or the ex has all the control. It can lead to resentment and frustration that yet again the new family comes last or is being negatively impacted by the ex and the stepchildren.

    In a relationship that is solid, and each person feels their needs are being met, these events can be discussed and navigated. There will be an understanding that these are extraordinary times, beyond our individual control, and sacrifices and allowances need to be made.

    In a relationship where the relationship is already stretched and one or both are feeling like their needs aren’t being met, and they are not a priority, this can be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. To be asked to sacrifice yet again is just too much.

    So what can you do if you are struggling in your relationship right now?

    The first thing is to take stock and dig into what is behind the disconnect, the arguments, the feeling that it’s all too hard. If you look beyond the surface, you’ll find it’s things like not feeling heard, of not being a priority.

    If you’re a stepparent, it may be that you are being expected to take on a greater load of parenting, but are not being given the authority or permission to actually parent. You’re feeling like a glorified, unpaid babysitter. Babysitters would probably have an easier time because they wouldn’t get the same level of commentary about their performance!

    It could be feelings around not being a priority or not being in control of your own home. It could be old wounds from our past that are resurfacing in a time of stress and anxiety.

    The feelings maybe so tangled and overwhelming, you don’t even know where to begin!

    Whatever it is, if you are concerned your relationship is in trouble, now is the time to seek help. Look for a therapist or coach who is skilled in step-family dynamics. If your partner won’t get help with you, get it for yourself. I often start working with stepmums and then this naturally transitions into couple work. Getting professional help is always cheaper than separation and divorce!

    If you’d like some support with your relationship during this trying time, you can email me [email protected]