Tiny Pep Talks for Stepparents

Sudden stepkid rejection.

💬 Send us a text! (Yes really!)I talk A LOT about how challenging my relationship with my own stepkid has been, but actually our relationship started out pretty decent… before it took a steep nosedive around 6 months in. Followed by more major issues right around the 2-year mark.Turns out this is super common — this exact pattern, timing and all. It’s also common for stepkids to suddenly reject you when you hit a relationship milestone, like getting engaged or moving in together. It’s like on...

Duration:: 1m
Broadcast on:: 04 Aug 2024
Audio Format:: mp3

💬 Send us a text! (Yes really!)

I talk A LOT about how challenging my relationship with my own stepkid has been, but actually our relationship started out pretty decent… before it took a steep nosedive around 6 months in. Followed by more major issues right around the 2-year mark.

Turns out this is super common — this exact pattern, timing and all. It’s also common for stepkids to suddenly reject you when you hit a relationship milestone, like getting engaged or moving in together. It’s like once your stepkid realizes you're actually gonna be sticking around, they go all in to push you away.⠀

There are many reasons why stepkids reject stepparents, and they’re all valid but I promise that not only is this normal, it’s also usually only temporary. So hang in there and keep breathing. I know everyone says not to take this shit personally and I know that’s easier said than done but I promise it’s not just you. Remember that blending a family takes 5 to 7 years on average — there's plenty of time for those kiddos to come around. xo

Need a bigger pep talk? Start here or join us over on Substack! xo

🧡 Need a bigger pep talk? Start here or join us over on Substack! xo

I talk a lot about how challenging my relationship with my own step-kid has been, but actually our relationship started out pretty decent. And then it took a random steep nosedive around six months in. This was followed by even more major issues right around the two-year mark. It turns out this exact pattern timing in all is super common. It's also common for step-kids to suddenly reject you when you hit a relationship milestone like getting engaged or moving in together. It's like once your step-kid realizes you're actually going to be sticking around, they go all in to push you away. There are many reasons why step-kids reject step-parents, and they're all valid, a link relevant blog post in the show notes. But I promise that not only is this normal, it's also usually only temporary. So hang in there, keep breathing. I know everyone says not to take the ship personally, and I know that is easier said than done, but I promise it's not just you. Remember that blending a family takes five to seven years on average. There's plenty of time for these kiddos to come around.