How to Communicate Better in a Relationship
The Babbling Blonde
by Beth
7M ago
Ever felt like being a stepmom is like trying to walk a tightrope in heels? Yep, me too. Balancing your partner, the kiddos, and, well, life, can feel like a circus act. If you’ve ever wished for a guide on “How to Communicate Better in a Relationship Without Losing Your Cool (or Your Mind)”, keep reading! The Importance of Effective Communication in Stepfamily Relationships Think of communication as the Wi-Fi of relationships. When it’s good, everything’s smooth. When it’s bad, well… buffering. Recognizing its importance is step one to fewer “connection errors.” Understanding and navigating t ..read more
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How to Deal With Resentment When it Takes Over Your Relationships
The Babbling Blonde
by Beth
2y ago
When the planted seeds of resentment have started to bloom, permanent damage to relationships isn’t far behind. Merriam-Webster defines “resentment” as, “a feeling of indignant displeasure or persistent ill will at something regarded as a wrong, insult, or injury.” While the secret to how to deal with resentment lies in working through those difficult emotions that allowed those seeds to be planted in the first place, first we need to take a closer look at how exactly the seeds of resentment are created and what we can do to prevent our relationships from getting to this point.  What is a ..read more
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7 Signs of a Bad Stepmother: What Not to Do
The Babbling Blonde
by Beth
2y ago
Chances are, if you’re a stepmom who is reading this trying to make sure you don’t exhibit any of the signs of a bad stepmother, you’re not one. “Bad” stepmothers aren’t necessarily big on self-development and general self-awareness.  If you’re reading this and are someone else who is part of a blended family, you might be struggling with your stepmom and trying to figure out where the issues lie. Is there something you can do? Are you being unreasonable? Or does she just kinda suck? I’ll try to answer all of these questions and will describe the telltale signs of a bad stepmother right h ..read more
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What the Average Stepparenting Blog Won’t Tell You About Blended Family Life
The Babbling Blonde
by Beth
2y ago
When I first got married, I was the only stepmom my age that I knew. Hell, I was the only person in my group of friends who was a new parent. No one was even having babies yet. And here I was, mid-20s, suddenly watching lots of Paw Patrol, wiping runny noses, and asking everyone if social events were “kid-friendly.” I turned to my trusty friend Google and read parenting blogs and then a stepparenting blog or two to figure out if everything I was doing and feeling were normal or if I was just absolutely screwing my life and family up every step of the way.  I did find a little bit of help ..read more
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Parallel Parenting vs Co-Parenting and Why They Both Matter
The Babbling Blonde
by Beth
2y ago
Chances are, if you’re a member of a blended or stepfamily, you’re practicing one of these forms of parenting whether you’re familiar with them or not. Maybe you switch back and forth depending on the dynamic or the development of your shared children. Either way, parallel parenting and co-parenting have both champions and haters across the spectrum. Why? Because we all want to think our way is the right way. You know, the way our family works is the way families are supposed to work. But aren’t we invalidating families when we claim one style of two-home parenting is better than the othe ..read more
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What’s the Best 50/50 Custody Schedule for Your Stepfamily?
The Babbling Blonde
by Beth
3y ago
I spend time in nearly all of the online stepmom spaces available, from the Stepmomz app, to the Facebook forums, and the Reddit threads (I’m partial to my fabulous group you can join here), and there are a few constant discussion threads that show up pretty regularly. One of those is the ideal custody schedule. From the 50/50 custody schedule to every other weekend, everyone wants to know — what’s the best custody schedule? What’s ideal? What do the kids like best? What’s easier on the stepparent?  There’s no hard and fast rule and no simple answer to these questions. You have to take in ..read more
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Tips for Tackling the Most Common Blended Family Issues
The Babbling Blonde
by Beth
3y ago
Take two adults with incredibly unique and different lived experiences, childhood journeys, personality types and ingrained predispositions toward parenting, Partner them up. Give them a child. Sprinkle in lots of typical “couple” issues that cause them to separate and begin sharing custody of said child. Now recouple at least one of these two adults with a new adult with equally as unique of experiences and predispositions. Add all of the complex feelings that surround this new coupling, for stepparent, child, partner, and ex/other parent. Add a dash of ego, a cup of emotions, and a few spoon ..read more
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Are You Contributing to One of the Most Common Relationship Problems?
The Babbling Blonde
by Beth
3y ago
You know that famous Golden Rule about how we should interact with others. It’s Biblical, but it’s widely used because it’s rooted in being kind and practicing empathy with around you — which sounds like a surefire way to avoid common relationship problems. I don’t talk about the Bible much on here (unless we’re chatting about homophobia and such), but I believe it was from Leviticus and then quoted by Jesus at the sermon on the mount. Anyway, you know it. EVERYONE knows it… “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” In essence, treat others the way you want to be treated. And that’s ..read more
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Mother’s Day for Stepmoms: Why It’s So Triggering
The Babbling Blonde
by Beth
3y ago
Ah, Mother’s Day. The Hallmark holiday built for that small, unique group of people who have a traditional family structure with a white picket fence, no infertility pain, no deaths to mourn or estranged relationships to be reminded of. For real though. Although Mother’s Day for stepmoms can bring up a world of imposter syndrome and pain, it’s less than a walk in the park for lots of women, for lots of different reasons. But instead of starting my petition to remove this holiday of high expectations and low rewards that overlooks the fact that we should just appreciate one another 365 days a y ..read more
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So Your Partner Has Unhealthy Boundaries With Their Ex Wife (or Husband)
The Babbling Blonde
by Beth
3y ago
“HELP! My partner’s ex is ruining my relationship.” I’ve heard that cry for help more than one time for clients who are desperate to get their partner’s old relationship out of their current one. Although unhealthy boundaries (otherwise known as a lack of actual boundaries) happen most often when one member of the ex-couple is not re-partnered, making them more co-dependent, unhealthy boundaries with the ex wife can happen to anyone.  What Unhealthy Boundaries with an Ex Wife (or Husband) Look Like While unhealthy bondaries can also be boundaries that are impossibly and inappropriate to e ..read more
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