This essay will identify how the world is changing with regards to Blended families. First of all, what is a blended family? According to Stepfamily Association of America (SAA), blended family means when one's parent marries a person who already has a child. Blended families can also be known as Step-Parenting. Some children in blended families often have problems adjusting to their new family, while some tend to adapt real fast to the new step-parent. Those who have problems adjusting to the new family might start getting into trouble in school or might end up needing therapy to help them adjust to the situation. Living with step relations is not as easy as it may sound. According to The Blended Family, it states that 68% of remarriages involve children from prior marriages, it also indicates that over 65% of Americans are now a stepparent, a stepchild, a stepsibling, step-grandparent or touched directly by a stepfamily scenario.
The common problems in blended families is that stepchildren usually feel unwanted by a stepparent. They always feel discomfort around holidays and major family events like graduations and weddings. Jealousy is also part of the common problems the reason been so is that the parent's affection on the new spouse or other children living in the home would be greater. The level of stress in this condition can vary, sometimes when you think you figured out the situation at hand, you get hit with another situation rising. When they are under this stress they feel less control of the situation at hand.
Blended families involve a convergence of two different parenting styles, thus children are faced with the hard task of finding a balance between stipulated rules set by the two parents. It is hard enough for a child to follow the instructions of one parent, more so following the rules of someone, who to the child, is a stranger. This creates a conflict of interest between the child and individual parents.