A blended is a family consisting of a couple, the children they have had together, and their children from previous relationships.
Being in such a situation is basically a challenge to the parents of the children but the children themselves face a lot of struggles being in such a family.
A child growing up in such a family has to gradually learn how to live in this type of family as much as the entire process can be a whole struggle on its own.
Speaking from a personal perspective, some of the struggles that a child may face being in such a family are;
A child may end up having a disoriented social life.
This is because they barely get the chance to create bonds with friends and mingle with their peers because, in most blended families, children get to visit the other parent during holidays.
It's very sad because it’s the child that is forced to move around instead of the other parent making an effort to come and see the child.
Sometimes the child is not protected from knowing the family issues
Sometimes, parents in blended families develop a toxic behaviour of communicating through their children instead of discussing the issues in a private way.
Such burdens are placed on the older siblings on many occasions. When a child knows about family problems they end up feeling like a burden and sometimes think that it’s because of them that their parents are having problems.
Once the child is aware of some of the family problems and starts feeling like a burden, they might end up having self-esteem issues and feeling like a problem.
This affects their mental stability and emotional stability making them feel like a victim in every situation.
The child lacks a balanced amount of attention from one parent.
Since the child has to live with one of the parents, they end up missing a chance to spend time and bond with the other parent.
Lastly, adapting to this kind of lifestyle is also not easy especially with the existence of a step-parent and step-kids.
Getting used to strangers and new faces can be pure torture because, to be honest, stepfamilies in most cases are never a peaceful cup of tea unless you get lucky.
Not that all children in blended families end up experiencing all this, but I write from experience.
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