I am a Stepparent

Have you fallen in love with a fantastic person, who happens to be a parent? Welcome to stepparent-hood. The stepparent relationship is one of the most challenging we have inside the Complex Family. When done well, it is a selfless act of giving to a child through our love held for another - the biological parent. When not, it can risk causing conflict, suffering and pain for all within the Complex Family. These difficulties can then in turn have a profound effect on the development of the child, or children, within the family for years to come.

Fairy-tale impressions of stepmothers and the media’s painting of toxic stepfathers interfering with children and other despicable behaviour, has our childrenʼs thinking subtly cautioned about stepparents before we even get started. When these myths are validated by our behaviour in any way, this can leave our child / stepparent relationship immediately on very shaky ground - especially when one parent leaves to be with a future stepparent, and the angry influence of the now Ex parent effecting the children.

A core aim of the Complex Family Foundation is to help all those within the family unit to embrace and develop healthy relationships between children and stepparents. We celebrate the Package Deal while recognising its frustrations, and we help to inspire stepparents to develop their own style, while bringing individuality and freshness to the whole family.

We offer tailor-made programs and memberships to Complex Family stepparents. We recognise it is a unique journey - and one we are usually completely unprepared for - so we walk beside you, enabling you to build these relationships with both the parent and children. We provide convenient, affordable, relevant and meaningful support to you.

So, which one fits your situation?

Stepparenting is new to me!

I've been a Stepparent for a while...