Step Parenting and Bonus Parenting

The two articles I read about step parenting and bonus parenting discussed the relationships between the step parents and the children as well as the steps that the bonus parents had to make in order to become a good step parent. In the first article, "Disparate Parenting and Step-Parenting with Siblings in the Post-Divorce Family" stated that relationship between the stepmother and children were not very good in the survey they conducted. "Stepmothers in this group had limited engagement with the children from the father's first marriage. As one stepmother told us "I'm ashamed to say this, but I wanted the man, not his kids" (Wallerstein, Lewis, p. 230) For stepfathers, it was a different story. "The 13 (stepfathers) in this group were typically closely involved in the children's daily lives and appeared to have preferences among them, which they sometimes displayed fairly openly from the start" (Wallerstein, Lewis, p.231) The article also describes relationships between stepparents and parents as being tense and full of conflict which could cause tension and stress for the children involved. The other article, "Step parenting: A Review of the Research" I read also discusses conflicts between parent and step parent and how a child's behaviors can change over time as they adapt to the changing situations. In the book, The Process of Parenting, the author states that "children of divorced families, children of remarried families are at a disadvantage in early adulthood" (Brooks, p. 249) due to the changing feelings and relying less on families.

Wallerstein, J. & Lewis, J. M. (2007). Disparate Parenting and Step-Parenting with Siblings in the Post-Divorce Family: Report from a 10-year longitudinal study. Journal of Family Studies. 13(2) 224-235

Robinson, P. W., Robinson M. W., & Dunn, T. W. (2003) Step Parenting: A Review of the Research. Canadian Journal of Counseling 37(4), 270-278

Brooks, Jane. The Process of Parenting. 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print.

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