The wedding officially declared you a new family but there is a long road ahead to actually becoming a family.
Talking Points:
- Tips for co-parenting in the home:
- You have to be a united front. You can’t let the kids divide and conquer. As the parents, you have to be on the same page and communicate to the kids that both adults are in a parental role in the home. Ephesians 6:4
- Have regular family meetings. This provides everyone the opportunity to share how they are feeling about things and it gets everyone on the same page. It’s also the place where expectations are set and rules are established.
- Step parents, be patient and develop a relationship with your step kids. Don’t jump right into a disciplinary role. Work at building trust and just get to know each child.
- Parents, don’t talk about your struggles in front of the kids. If there is conflict, be sure to discuss that privately and come up with a plan before involving the kids.
- When kids disrespect the step parent, the biological parent has to confront that right away. Kids need to understand the boundaries and the spouse is to be respected.
Discussion:
- Initial reactions to this topic? What jumped out at you?
- Do you feel like you are a united front in the home? Explain. How can you improve?
- Read Ephesians 6:4. How could family meetings help your kids to not feel frustrated? What topics need to be discussed?
- Step parent, describe your relationship with each kid. What has been most challenging so far?
- Read Proverbs 28:26. Step parent, what can you do to better understand the heart of each kid?
- Bio parent, how do you think the step parent is doing at building relationship with each kid?
- Step parent, how is bio parent doing at supporting you? Where can they improve?
- Is there a step you need to take based on today’s topic?
