009 - Part 1: Our Daughters Chloe and Ashlyn - What It’s Like Being In a Blended Family

Hello everyone! Mike and Summer here, and welcome back to the Everything Always podcast! Today, we got our daughters together to talk about their blended family experience. Before the show, they gave us some topics they wanted to talk about so we parents could learn from their perspective. 

Our kids went through their own set of challenges when we blended our families, and that can be easy to forget when we’re busy battling our own struggles as the adults. Our girls are closer than ever – which wasn’t always the case – but, like any other relationship, theirs will continue to grow and evolve.

The girls talked a lot about empathy – especially with each other and the youngest siblings of the group. We also chatted about their initial feelings of awkwardness and fear when navigating the relationship with their new step-parent. Join us to hear from another side – the kid’s side – of the blended family experience.

01:00 – 5:30 – Introducing our girls and the beginnings of our blended family

5:30 – 9:00 - The most challenging part of being in a blended family

9:00 – 13:00 - The ins-and-outs of the step-sister experience; drifting apart then back together

13:00 – 18:30 - Advice from our daughters – “be easy on the other side”

18:30 – 20:30 - Awkwardness and initial fears our kids had

20:30 – 23:00 - What our girls think about marriage and healthy relationships

23:00 – 29:00 - Sharing issues and protecting the younger siblings