FamilyLife Blended®

Parenting in a complex family is like riding a roller coaster.

You’ve heard me say to foster parents and stepparents that developing a role where the child might progress from babysitter to uncle or aunt to being a bonus parent. I need to apologize for oversimplifying that, bonding is not linear. In reality, it’s more like one step forward and two steps back. And just when you’re getting somewhere the roller coaster turns you upside down. It’s confusing. Roller coasters can disorient but as long as you don’t jump off, they have their rewards, too.