Product Description

"When two families unite, they don't blend, they collide," says Dr. Kevin Leman, bestselling author of The New Birth Order Book. But he also believes, "You can blend a family without breaking it. The principles in this book will help you wage the battle of blending your family-and come up not only a survivor but a winner!"

By understanding the impact that birth order has on each family member, parents are better equipped to ease the transition into a new, different but functional family unit. Using his signature humor and real life examples, Dr. Leman provides both insight and practical advice about discipline, self-respect, parental authority, and the importance of the marriage relationship.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #592004 in Books
• Published on: 2001-06-05
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Customer Reviews

Helpful Book for Blending Families
I might not have a Ph.D or specialize in anything other than being the best parent I can possibly be to my two children, as well as to my significant others three children, however I can tell you, this book is an excellent read.

Although tailored to the step or blended family, any parent would find much of the information useful.

Understanding birth order can seriously change how you parent, having a more positive impact on your children involved in the blending family. The whole saying "Everyone has a place in this world", will never ring more true, until you have taken the time to read Kevin Leman's books.

I have read over 20 other books geared towards step families, step mothers, blended families and this is the book I reach for constantly. It has made the biggest impact on our family, in an extremely positive way.

I highly recommend this book or any book by Kevin Leman for any blended family.

useful, readable - and misses essential points
I have specialized in providing professional education and therapy to divorced, courting, and re/wedded couples since 1981. I am (a) 66, (b) a stepgrandson, stepson, and ex-stepfather and stepbrother, (c) an invited Board member of the Stepfamily Association of America, (d) a contributing editor to 'Your Stepfamily Online,' and (e) the author of six personal-growth and family-relations books.

I recommend this book to readers who want (a) a light-hearted, readable introduction to stepfamily life, and (b) more awareness on how birth-order affects family relations. I do not recommend this book to anyone who wants to know the core reasons most US stepfamilies are significantly stressful, and why millions redivorce or endure daily agony. The lack of an index reduces the utility of this book as a reference.

Like most lay and clinical stepfamily authors, psychologist Leman omits explanation and advice on these essential re/marital and stepfamily stressors:

1) why and how to assess and reduce co-parents' psychological wounds from childhood (vs. divorce). Most divorced and stepfamily adults appear to be significantly wounded - and don't (want to) know it or what it means;

2) the origin and impacts of blocked grief in adults and kids, and how to spot and reduce it. The author does acknowledge the relevance of healthy grief, but doesn't alert readers to blocked grief and what do about it;

3) co-parent unawareness of, and/or indifference to, (a) normal personality formation, composition, and function; (b) keys to high-nurturance families and relationships, (c) effective communication skills, (d) healthy 3-level grief, and (e) stepfamily realities, norms, implications, and hazards. And Leman omits...

4) the implications of little effective re/marital and co-parenting help (i.e. courtship coaching, classes, informed counseling, co-parent support groups) available in most communities and the media.

In my clinical experience, these unseen factors often promote needy, love-dazed courting co-parents to commit to the wrong people (mate, stepkids, and "other parent/s"), for the wrong reasons, at the wrong time. Then the factors inhibit co-parents from identifying and resolving core personal, role, and relationship problems like these:

http://sfhelp.org/10/problems.htm

For suggestions on how to pick practical remarriage, co-parenting, and stepfamily books, see this:

http://sfhelp.org/11/choose_bks.htm