While caught up in my endless addictive reading mode on one of my favorite message boards, I stumbled on a discussion about a blended family who is struggling over family and financial issues.
A few facts:

The son lives with the father and stepmom.
Stepmom has child who is 18 and lives with father.
Husband manages household finances in one account.
Wife is told they are too broke and can’t give her son money for car repairs
Husband spends a great deal on his child’s sports activities
The couple have a small toddler together

Given that set of circumstances above, what do you think would be …read more

  
One thing that I’d like to see from some of the reality television shows is a bit more focus on blended families.  Check out some of the statistics in the United States alone:

One million American children experience divorce every year.
Single parent families increased from 13% of the U.S. family population in 1970 to 31% in 1994
56% of divorced children had no contact whatsoever with their fathers in the first year after divorce, and 23% had no contact after five years.
Divorced children had the deepest feelings of anger, fear, and rejection of any childhood group, and were three times as likely …read more