It takes time, patience, and constant effort and healing.

Whether you’re a stepparent, primary or “bio” parent, divorced mom or dad, or anyone in a stepfamily, you know “blending” isn’t as easy as the word sounds.

Even the healthiest of successful stepfamilies take 4-7 years to blend. If you’re dealing with extra drama and difficulties, it can take longer and feel like you’re never going to get there.

Stepfamily Life is Challenging.

Starting Healthy Habits Will Help.

There’s no “easy” button for smoothing out the wrinkles in your stepfamily, but we do have some ironing tips (and lots more puns where that came from).

The 10 habits contained in the following pages will help you deal with the conflict and chaos of stepfamily life so you can actually enjoy the people around you rather than constantly trying to figure out how to manage drama, deal with stress, and constantly wonder where you fit into your blended family equation.