It is exciting to get married. Marriage offers the opportunity to create a new family and new traditions. However, getting married when there are children involved can bring with it a new set of challenges and anxieties about making your relationship work successfully for a lifetime. Stepfamilies are very common, but creating one can be challenging. In the United States, more than 1,300 stepfamilies are formed every day. It is a great responsibility to model healthy relationships for your children, and now is the perfect time to show them your best stuff! This tip sheet is designed to help…
When one person in a couple is affected by a chronic illness, the other person lives with it as well--chronic illness is a family affair. The challenge lies in finding ways to address the illness as a team so that neither of you feels as if you are alone. Here are some tips to help you strengthen your teamwork. (Author abstract)
This fact sheet explores marital challenges adults may face when their adult children leave the home, including feelings of depression, sadness, and grief. Symptoms of Empty Nest Syndrome are described, as well as the challenges faced by the Sandwich Generation that is taking care of their own children while taking care of their aging parents, challenges related to boomerang kids, and the challenge of forced retirement. The impact of these challenges on marriage is noted and the need for couples to feel connected to overcome the challenges is emphasized. 9 references.
This fact sheet explores unique stepfamily characteristics and stepfamily dynamics. Data is shared on the number of stepfamilies, different types of stepfamilies, and nonresidential and cohabiting stepfamilies. It is estimated that between 10 and 20% of U.S. children reside in stepfamilies, and data is reported that indicates between 1997 and 2002, the percentage of stepfamilies did not increase significantly for any racial group except for Hispanics. Compared to children living with both biological parents, the fact sheet states children in stepfamilies tend to have more struggles with…
Other, Fact Sheet
Divorce can be a big challenge for both children and parents. Though times may be difficult, children can emerge feeling loved and supported. You can all grow through these family changes and discover just how strong you really are. You are not alone. Family, friends, neighbors, and others are there to offer support. Here are some tools to help your child through your divorce.(Author abstract)
This tip sheet provides specific guidelines for healthcare providers to start and facilitate conversations with parents and children on core relationship skills such as communication, conflict resolution, parenting, and financial literacy. (Author abstract)
This tip sheet provides suggestions to help safety-net service providers raise consciousness and help couples start off on the path to improving their health and wellbeing, benefitting individuals and promoting stability for couples and families. (Author abstract)
The quality of parents' romantic relationship has important implications for a father's involvement with his child. Both the quality of the mother-father relationship and the level and type of father involvement are critical for children's positive development. This fact sheet discusses the implications and importance of relationship quality on the well-being of fathers not only in their role as parents but also in other areas of their lives as well as its impact on fathers' involvement with their children. (Author abstract)
The quality of the relationship between a mother and father is important for understanding their coparenting behavior (i.e., shared decision making about the well-being of a child). Research suggests that better mother-father relationships and higher quality coparenting relationships go hand in hand, and the quality of each of these relationships is important for children's well-being. This fact sheet discusses the importance and implications of couple relationship quality for father' coparenting. (Author abstract)
