I’ve had my share of ‘mess-ups’ and over the past 17 years racked up a bunch of scars to prove it. Today I’ll share some tips to help you avoid those mistakes and have a much smoother journey towards connection with your Stepchildren.

Podcast Summary:

In this episode, Tim shares his stepdad superpower – connection – and how he developed it through the years. Listen, as he shares each step he took and the tips he has for stepparents like you to develop your own superpower in your blended family setup.

Podcast Show Notes:

• 00:12 – Welcome to the Blendcredible Podcast
• 01:34 – Tim’s Superpower: Connection
• 02:03 – #1 Don’t attempt to be the tour guide in your stepchild’s landscape
  • It’s a mistake to think something is broken
• 04:11 – How you introduce your lifestyle to a child
• 05:43 – A great surprise to Tim was his stepson needing his assistance
  • Enjoy the space your stepchild already opened for you to occupy
• 07:06 – Stepparents don’t get to control the time to access points in their stepchildren’s lives
  • What you can control is your input and the frequency of your engagement
• 08:47 – Follow Tim on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
• 09:11 – We’d love to hear from you! For any questions and feedback, check out Blendcredible.com

Topic Takeaways:

• Don’t think that something is broken in a family that you need to fix.
• Maximize and enjoy the space your stepchild already has for you.

Mentioned Resources:

• Blendcredible Podcast

The post Connecting With Your Stepchildren appeared first on Blendcredible.

Dealing with conflict in a Blended home from Ex Spouses and Bio Parents is NO JOKE! That’s why I’ve asked one of the best in the biz to share some real life tips on how to do just that! Naja Hall spends some time with me today, you don’t want to miss a single minute!

Blendcredible Podcast

• Show Notes –

Podcast Summary:

In this episode, Tim chats with Naja Hall, Founder of  Blended & Black. Naja’s personal mission is to promote harmony and restore balance in mending, broken, and blended millennial families. Today, they talk about the stress in second marriages, surviving in a blended family situation, and Naja’s valuable tips to all biological and stepparents out there.

Podcast Show Notes:

• 00:12 – Welcome to the Blendcredible Podcast
• 00:26 – Tim introduces Naja to the show
• 01:18 – About Blendcredible and Blended & Black
• 01:59 – Naja shares what “stepmom” and “blended family” means to her
  • Disney’s stereotyping of “all stepmoms are evil”
  • Naja has a group for people in blended families
  • Blended families are a system from a separation of original family units
• 04:43 – The stress in second marriages
• 05:03 – “First marriages are born out of hope”
  • Second families are born out of “death”
  • Naja talks about children’s grieving and new parental figures
• 07:09 – Surviving a blended family needs research
  • Early rejection is common
  • It takes 5-7 years for a new family to blend
  • “Kids are a little narcissist”
  • Kids get so lost in the shuffle, they lose stability
• 11:22 – It’s a step parent’s responsibility to remember that stepchildren are still children
• 13:46 – Unappreciation is most common in stepdads
• 16:11 – Naja shares how she talks through step-parents about what they’re getting into
  • Children need to know that the 2 adults have their backs
  • Always involve your partner
  • Reinforcing rules inside the home is paramount
  • Make sure the stepperson in the family has respect for your kids
  • “Children are manipulative”
  • Transitional position of power
• 21:56 – Stepdads sometimes leave because they feel emasculated
• 22:10 – Naja shares how her blended family started with a high-conflict divorce
  • Introduce your partner in a way that commands respect
• 25:42 – Tim chats about his situation now
  • He has an advantage over his wife being a stepparent
  • Speak the language of the child for a better chance of getting along
  • Parents play an invaluable role for these kids’ lives
• 29:37 – One main issue: conflict resolution
  • Naja’s advise: “Be Cool”
  • A high-conflict person can just be a person who’s in pain
• 32:35 – Naja’s latest book, Girl,Bye!: She’s Not Going Anywhere…Neither Are You
  • Her book is a combination of her own life experiences, coaching clients, and what she’s seen in parenting groups
  • She created a workbook to compel readers to take action
  • 10 days to change the way you think
  • Stepmoms and bio moms have interchangeable roles
  • Trying to understand from a place of empathy
  • Naja has a 10-day video series to walk you through it
• 44:30 – The best part of Naja’s book for her
  • The Bonus 10 Commandments
  • “It takes zero energy to walk away from confrontation”
• 49:16 – Never lose love when you start to question
• 49:49 – Connect with Naja on Blended & Black
• 51:19 – Follow Tim on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
• 51:38 – We’d love to hear from you! For any questions and feedback, check out Blendcredible.com

Topic Takeaways:

• Remember, stepchildren are children.
• Your partner’s support and is invaluable.
• Always reinforce rules inside the home.
• Introduce your new partner with a command of respect.
• Never lose love when you start to question.

Mentioned Resources:

• Blendcredible Podcast
• Naja Hall
• Blended & Black
• Girl,Bye!: She’s Not Going Anywhere…Neither Are You

The post Bio Parent Conflict! appeared first on Blendcredible.

When I started Blendcredible, I did so from a place of purpose, a desire to add positive value to a community that until recently has been under appreciated, undernourished, underrated, and under the parental radar since the beginning of our ‘category’.

One year ago I created my 1st Instagram account.   I dedicated this account to Step Parents & Blended Families. The purpose of Blendcredible was and still is to add positive energy to our community.

Blendcredible’s core mission is to redesign the step-parenting narrative by encouragement, service, empathy and celebration.

Once I saw Blendcredible’s traction gain momentum, I took a personal inventory of my life, my motives and asked myself some hard questions.

If I was to serve the Step-parenting community to the degree, you deserve to be served I’d have to do so from the purest places of my experience.

That meant making sure my personal life as a Stepdad was in order (it was good but I needed it to be better than just ‘good’) I needed to sit and talk with my Wife, and our children.

I needed them to be okay with what was taking place regarding Blendcredible and all it could be.

I needed to make a few phone calls to some people I felt I’d not been the best partner to. Those areas were Music, Business, Personal and Self related.

I needed to give Blendcredible some space to breathe without me, to see if after sometime away the pulling in my gut to serve and build something like this was still there.

It was! But only this time I’d build it from a place of pure energy, demanding the best parts of me and everything that means.

I love being a Stepparent, I love serving YOU and your families. I value your decision to Step-up and face uncertainties for the sake of little humans who don’t have an obligation to call you ‘mom’ or ‘dad’. Yet the desire to treat them as your own ‘as much as is within you to do’ still rises to the forefront of your being.

THAT IS WHY I STARTED BLENDCREDIBLE!

If I would do this, it had to start with the purest of intent, the best of myself, and the deepest part’s of me. The Step-parenting community deserves nothing less, and I would offer nothing less than what my convictions were telling me you were worthy of.

So, please accept my apologies for the abrupt departure – I just needed to be sure what we build here together is founded on the purest of intent, the energy HAD to be right.

The motive HAD to be pure, and the brand MUST be built on the premise of service from the deepest parts of my experiences.

Blendcredible never died, it did however experience a ‘core check’ and a re-alignment. New Vision | New Chapter | Same Focus… Step Parents and Blended Families.

~ Tim Watson Blendcredible Founder & Fellow Step Parent.

I’m back and together you and I will change the Step-parenting narrative as we know it!

Thank you for believing in yourself enough to see the value in what Blendcredible can be to our community.

Here to Encourage, Inspire, & Celebrate With You

Tim Watson

The post Reset appeared first on Blendcredible.