Blended Families - Short Essay

This article gives several different examples of how people are coping with being divorced with children. It also goes into how families are integrating new partners in the lives of their children while keeping both parents involved. In the textbook (pg 380-381) it gives information about Who Divorces? Divorce & Children and then goes into Remarriage & Blended Families. To understand how a family gets to the point of being a blended family – one need to ask why people divorce. The most interesting point is that research suggests that a role modeling effect is at work. Children who see parents go through a divorce are more likely to consider divorce themselves. Other reasons were given such as unplanned pregnancies, marrying young, lack of money and emotional maturity. The textbook also points out that couples that are not religious are more likely to divorce than those with a strong religious belief. Once children are involved in a divorce things can get complicated. Most likely the mother gets custody of the children & the father is ordered to pay child support. Once a child support order is placed the federal legist ration requires employers to withhold money from the non-custodial parent. 3.2 million “deadbeat dads” fail to support their children. After the divorce is finalized statistics show that 3 out of 4 people will remarry within 4 years. Blended families are composed of a combination of biological parents and step-parents. Not to mention there could be brothers, sisters, step-children or half siblings. When custody of children is an issue, ex-spouses can be an issue for people in a new marriage. Many families have a challenging time defining new relationships and redefining the nuclear family. Blended families are a newer concept and can require some adjustment but more families are willing to try to get along so there is a cohesive family unit. I found this article very enlightening for personal reasons. I am currently a