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The wedding day has come and gone, the honeymoon (if you were blessed enough to enjoy one) is over…

So now what?

You’ve brought your two families together and you’re all living under one roof.  It’s exciting, but it can also be a sad time, especially for the kids.  Their dreams of seeing their parents reunite has been dashed by your new marriage.  And if you’ve not been included much in your stepkids’ lives, you’re virtually strangers now living under the same roof.

But you’re so googly-eyed in love with your new spouse, you just know that everything will work out wonderfully.

But soon, reality sets in.

So, you have a choice:  Get angry and join the insane fray, or begin to rally and learn how to walk out your new role and help your family members learn and walk out their new roles.

This requires a lot of selfless love and more time and effort than you had anticipated.

But it’s worth it!

One tool you can use to rally your family is to begin having regular “Family Meetings”.  In these meetings, you set communication guidelines and offer open moments for everyone to respectfully “get thing off their chest”.

So, why are meetings important?  Firstly, they provide opportunities for the family to bond.  Secondly, they teach life skills of effective communication and compromise.  Third, they give each person a voice into how the household will be run.  Lastly, they help everything run more smoothly by putting everyone’s schedules, events and priorities on the table for everyone to recognize.

After everyone has had a chance to share their thoughts, ALLOW PLENTY OF TIME TO HAVE FUN!! Talk about future plans and dreams, enjoy a dessert together or play games.

Before you know it, you’ll find everyone bonding together as you had hoped.  Younger children will typically take to it easier than teens, as adolescents typically tend to break away from the family no matter what the household situation may be.  So, flexibility with your teenagers will probably be very necessary.

Respect is paramount in these meetings and it begins and ends with Mom and Dad respecting eachother and each of the kids as well.  As we see in Proverbs, you should begin each meeting with prayer and commit that time to the Lord.

For more tips on how to successfully blend your stepfamily, visit www.nouveaulifecoaching.com.