Stepparents - How to Keep Your Relationship Alive
By Joanne Ball

When you entered into your relationship I?™m sure you didn?™t first fall in love with the children and think ?˜I must live with these children. I love them! Oh and the dad?™s not too bad either. I guess I could put up with him?? More likely something else happened.

More likely you fell in love with your partner and the children were your secondary thoughts. You?™ve entered into this family because of him or her, not them.

Is that fair?

In the early stages many stepparents look at the situation with the children as occasional visits and an outing here and there. They?™re in what I call the ?˜getting going stage?? It?™s a sort of fantasy time that many of us go through.

But what happens when that ?˜high on love??feeling begins to fade?

It doesn?™t take long for a new stepparent to work things out. It?™s simple. He?™s a package deal. The realities of calls from the children?™s mother, school events and keeping everyone happy during summer holidays soon hits home. And that leaves you with a question.

Who am I in this relationship for?

You?™re in this relationship because you fell in love. You?™re in this relationship for your partner. But now there?™s something new to face. The children are there to stay.

And what does that mean exactly?