Arguments between step parents and their children occur on a regular basis. The reason why is that until the biological children can accept the step family and vice versa there will be tension, problems, and arguments. A step parent must find a way to alleviate the fears and anxieties experienced by their biological children in order to help them make peace with the new family dynamics as well as to reduce the amount of fights that take place. There are many reasons why a step parents biological children find reasons to argue. First of all, when a biological parent marries into a family and becomes a step parent he then has two families. His biological children, who very well may be living with their mother, and the step-children who are now living under his roof with their biological mother. This is simply an example to show the problems that occur. Well, the biological children are first jealous that other kids who are not their fathers biological children get to live with him and hang out with him on a daily basis when his own biological kids do not. This frequently causes jealousy. This jealousy results in arguments because the biological kids will say their dad doesnt love them anymore or loves the step kids more. Of course, this is not the case, but kids are victims of divorce and remarriages and they can have a difficult time figuring out how to properly handle the situation. Other times the biological father will take the side of a step child during an argument between a step child and biological child. When this happens the step parent/biological parent is simply trying to be the best parent to both sets of kids and punishing the offending child regardless of whether he is biological or not. However, a biological child cannot understand his biological parent sticking up for a stepchild and not him. So, more arguments will entail. The only way to reduce the arguments between step parents and their biological children is to sit down and talk it out. All kids must understand that being a parent requires being fair to all children regardless of who is biological and who is a step child. Also, children must understand that their parents are no longer together and this is the new situation. Talking and reassuring your kids on a regular basis will reduce the arguments, calm fears, and allow all children to feel loved.

Posted in Parenting

Related Articles: