Stepparents and Blended Families

The study of stepfamilies includes a rich history of research spanning decades. Although less attention has been paid to young children, there are a few findings that we have confidence in: interparental conflict between ex-partners has the most potential to harm children well into adulthood, stepparenting is a lot more difficult than parenting as a biological parent and should develop slowly over time, and having all parents involved generally is related to much better outcomes for children over their life course. Ideally, a cooperative parenting alliance is established over time between all parents and stepparents.