Founder, VIPStepmom, Naja Hall attended the press conference for the National Parents Organization. NPO presented their Shared Parenting Report Card. They also screened the Erasing Family Documentary by Ginger Gentile. New York City and Rhode Island got a big fat F. What is your state’s grade? Check out the Report Card A study just […]
Why Men Marry Some Women and Not Others This ebook is based is one of the most genius things I’ve ever come across. Basically, a research team, led by John T. Molloy conducted 3,000 interviews. They interviewed couples coming out of marriage license bureaus! They basically bum-rushed these people for information. I recall how excited, […]
I was married for 23 years. Nothing particularly new happened in 23rd year except the culmination of personal unhappiness and lack of communication left unaddressed for years. The result was divorce in the 23rd year. One could say the cause of our divorce was me being unfaithful to my wife. That’s an easy and convenient […]
My husband and I have joint custody of a loving 3-year-old. His mother and I are on pretty good terms – we text about our son (re: social activities etc.) We’ve shared a few LOL’s but nothing too deep. Q: Well, I’m pregnant (shhhh) and we are preparing soon-to-be Big Brother for the change in […]
Guest submission When I began my journey as a stepmother, I was 26, about 7 months pregnant with twins, completing a Master’s Program, and at a job I hated. I was often back and forth to Child Support Court with my first biological son’s father. In that space, I was not emotionally ready to begin […]
When my husband and I added the twins to our blended family of four boys, the timing wasn’t the best. My husband and I hadn’t been public about our relationship for too long. His three children didn’t have much time to grasp the idea of a new person in their father’s life because his ex-wife […]
I’m a man’s man. I love sports, so much so that I’ve made a career of talking about sports. I’ve been in the Blended and Black Facebook Group since it started and it’s been a good while since I’ve even commented on a post, mainly because I stay in my lane, unless it’s about sports. But […]
Married Filing Separately If you are married, you and your spouse can choose whether to file separate tax returns or whether to file a joint tax return together. Filing jointly usually gets you a bigger refund or a lower tax bill, and most married couples file joint returns, but there are some cases where it […]
When I coach women that have experienced infidelity, there are many variables to each individual circumstance; however, there is a glaring commonality among every woman. After they have gone through the process of grieving their mate’s indiscretion, some begin their personal journey towards forgiving their mate. They vow to put the past in the past […]
Dear Ask Dad, I don’t know what to do. My MIL is still stuck on my husband’s BM (they were never married). When I’m around she acts like I’m not even there, I ask her to lunch and coffee and she is always too busy, but has time for the other woman. I get her […]
Father’s are supposed to protect their little ones from all the scary, physical and emotional dangers of the world. So what’s a mom to do when the man she created a new life with turns out to be the first person who breaks her child’s heart? With so many shining examples of great fathers everywhere […]
I said I would never divorce. I am the child of divorced parents, and I had no intentions of putting my children through that experience. “Life,” however, had other plans and I find myself in the midst of separation. This set of circumstances forces me to examine my past experience in hopes to prepare both […]
Separation from your lifetime partner can be a heart wrenching affair. It is a death that we do not always prepare for and often don’t expect. Most of us see hard times and arguments and are aware of the work it takes to hold a marriage together, but what do you do when it falls […]
Being in a blended family presents a totally different set of challenges than a traditional family. Aside from logistics and finances, there are usually emotional issues to overcome. Blended families are formed because a previous family unit has broken apart. Divorce and separation represents the death of an original family and it must be grieved. […]
Kids love everything shiny and new… or wait. Is that adults? Either way, kids do not have that little voice that says, “That’s enough. Time to do something else.” All they have is a “go” switch. As adults and especially as parents, it is our job to turn that focus onto constructive things. Technology has […]
I remember being 22 and pregnant with my first daughter. The bold question from my uncle, “Are you prepared to take care of this child by yourself?” continues to resonate to this very day. I assumed he was just being yet another pessimistic, overprotective male family member; yet I had no clue this thought-provoking question […]
By Blended and Black member Stephanie Martinez From the time I was a little girl until I was in my early twenties, I felt forgotten. I felt unimportant. I felt like I didn’t matter. I am a product of two divorces, abuse, and abandonment. Co-parenting was not a thing in our life. Everything was a […]
Child discipline is a big topic in the Blended and Black facebook group. Last week, the following video was shared in the group and an intense discussion ensued. While some are adamantly against spankings, some parents do acknowledge the positive effects corporal punishment can have on a child. While we often debate, it’s rare that a […]
The most frightening words a Father can hear from his daughter are, “Daddy, can you do my hair?” Darious Bland, a Single Dad and a valuable member of the Blended and Black community, recently sat down with me to share his journey to becoming a Daddy Hair Guru! Darious has been featured in Huffington Post, […]
BEST APPS FOR CO-PARENTING When it comes to divorce, technology often gets a bad rap. Many people cite phone addictions and their partners social media usage as contributing factors to their relationship breakdown. Yet not all technology is bad. These co-parenting apps show just how beneficial tech can be. Divorce is hard enough – let your phone […]
Hypothetically speaking, if your co-parent approached you and gave you their most honest reason explaining why they are high-conflict, inconsistent, or not involved -would you listen and accept their response? Would you offer solutions to help ease them back into your child’s life? Would you berate them and spew insults? I recently posed this question […]
I’ve always felt that Black women are the footstools of America. Both figuratively and literally, it was on the backs of the Black woman that this country has prospered. We have bred children like cattle to be ripped from our womb’s and sold off to the highest bidder, our breast milk has sustained Massa’s (Slave […]
Why Men Marry Some Women And Not Others was written by John T. Molloy , the author of “Dress for Success”. This book is based on over 3,000 interviews conducted by Molloy and his researchers. They interviewed couples coming out of marriage license bureaus! They basically bum rushed these people for information. I recall how excited, anxious, nervous my Husband and I were […]
I recently read an article written by a woman that admittedly has Daddy issues. She was very open about her struggles with maintaining healthy relationships because of her deeply embedded fear of abandonment. Her lack of trust for her father had resonated throughout many of her interpersonal relationships. Like many people raised by a Single […]