How Do I Live With A Step-Parent?

DISCLAIMER: Dawson McAllister Live does not engage in professional counseling of any sort. The resources that you are about to view are for support and guidance only. They are not intended to give authoritative advice, nor should they be seen as a replacement for professional counseling. These resources are best seen as a beginning point for those who are interested in getting help.

WARNING: The audio clips and stories contained in these resources may cause emotional pain to those who are struggling with the issues discussed.

Welcome to The HopeLine Virtual Coach for the issue of living with step parents. Below you will find stories, information, and resources dealing with the issue. Before you get started with the Virtual Coach, please listen to some DMLive callers talk to Dawson about their struggles with living with step parents. To hear the calls, please click here for call #1, or click here for call #2.


Monique’s Story

Monique’s parents are divorced. It took her a while, but Monique deals with this fact pretty well. She lives with her mom, but sees her dad often and has a good relationship with him. Her mom and dad get along well enough. In fact, you might even say that they are friends. What Monique struggles with now is learning to live with her mom’s new husband. They have been married now for about six months. Monique expected that by now she would be use to living in this new situation, but she still feels very anxious and unsure of how to relate to him. Monique’s mom wants her to get along with her step-dad and pushes her to spend more and more time with the new family. Monique feels guilty about this and wonders what her dad thinks about the situation. Lately, conflict at home has made the situation worse. Monique expects that here mom will be the one who disciplines her if she gets into trouble, but her mom wants Monique’s step-dad to get involved and expects that Monique will listen to and respect her step-dad. The past two weeks has seen Monique and her mom at each other’s throats and Monique wonders if she should just move in with her dad. In her heart, however, Monique does not believe that this will help because her dad has been dating a woman for several months now and is talking about marriage. Monique feels confused and is hurting because she feels that her step-dad has intruded into her life.

Your Story

Monique’s story is very common and may sound a lot like your story. With the number of divorces that are occurring, step-families are a reality and most often come with great difficulties. Step-families can work, and often do, but they require a lot of effort by everyone, including the children. When step-families are created students must deal with many emotions involving their parents and the new situation. Unfortunately, step-families can also be places of abuse and neglect. Fortunately for Monique, her step-dad was not abusive; she simply struggled with her new family reality. So what about you? Are you facing a new reality in your family situation? Are you having a difficult time in dealing with your new step-dad or step-mom? Do they seem unreasonable? Is your mom or dad asking you to relate to your new step-dad or step-mom in a way that you are not comfortable with? If so, then this Virtual Coach is for you. No matter how bad things are right now. Remember: hope exists and help is available.

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