Overview

""This diplomatic guide offers advice on how parents can navigate caring for a blended family.... Blackstone packs this encyclopedic manual full of insight."" -Publishers Weekly ""This definitive practical guide addresses nearly every situation that bonus families might experience."" - Library Journal An essential resource for today's integrated families Imagine you're in a heated argument. Your kids have decided that they don't want to go back to your ex's home, and your ex isn't having it. Meanwhile, your new partner is squirming uncomfortably in the other room. What do you do? How do you stop the madness and come together to find the best solution for everyone? The Bonus Family Handbook introduces readers to a completely new approach to co-parenting and blending families. Until now, parents have been told that once there's been a break-up, they become autonomous, single parents, and can make decisions for their children on their own. But that's not true. That's not real life. That ""old school"" break-up attitude offers no direction for co-parenting. The Bonus Family Handbook changes all that. It helps even the most contentious parents learn how to work together in the name of their children, teaching them how to apply practical co-parenting techniques so that they will be able to form a supportive, loving family. The Bonus Family Handbook also recognizes the importance of incorporating new partners into the mix--of bringing in Bonus Moms and Bonus Dads--and empowering them to make decisions for the safety and well-being of the children. With its emphasis on positive, collaborative co-parenting, this book is an essential resource for today's integrated families.

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9781538179086

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Reviews

"I am so thrilled that Jann has written another book for parents in bonusfamilies! Jann's advice to parents is always practical and immediately actionable. In this book she teaches parents the enormous value of communication and respect, which are required in order to raise emotionally healthy children. This should be required reading for every parent that is part of a stepfamily. Thanks Jann! --Susan Bartell, PsyD, child and family psychologist and author As a family law attorney working with divorced or separated parents every day, I can't tell you how much a book like The Bonus Family Handbook is truly needed. It's the perfect guide for struggling co-parents and their families, tackling the real issues and offering a practical formula to successfully combine families in the future. Pure Gold! --Lisa Thiessen, MS, JD, Attorney at Law, Family Law Specialist, State of California Dr. Blackstone delivers an absolute must read for anyone looking to find the keys to co-parenting success and forming a blended, or better said, bonus family. --Evan Schein, Esq., New York Family Law attorney and host of the Schein On podcast Dr. Blackstone has created the ultimate guide on parenting in today's world of blended families. Her own parenting journey laying the groundwork. If you are frustrated, struggling or just need reassurance in your own journey, READ this book. It will take you from ""step"" to ""bonus!"" --Sheila Ballin, JD, Director of Family Court Services, Family Law Facilitator (retired), Superior Court, State of California"

"As a family law attorney working with divorced or separated parents every day, I can't tell you how much a book like The Bonus Family Handbook is truly needed. It's the perfect guide for struggling co-parents and their families, tackling the real issues and offering a practical formula to successfully combine families in the future. Pure Gold! --Lisa Thiessen, MS, JD, Attorney at Law, Family Law Specialist, State of California Dr. Blackstone delivers an absolute must read for anyone looking to find the keys to co-parenting success and forming a blended, or better said, bonus family. --Evan Schein, Esq., New York Family Law attorney and host of the Schein On podcast Dr. Blackstone has created the ultimate guide on parenting in today's world of blended families. Her own parenting journey laying the groundwork. If you are frustrated, struggling or just need reassurance in your own journey, READ this book. It will take you from ""step"" to ""bonus!"" --Sheila Ballin, JD, Director of Family Court Services, Family Law Facilitator (retired), Superior Court, State of California"

"Nearly 30 years ago, coparenting counselor and child-custody mediator Blackstone coined the term ""bonus family"" as an alternative to the word ""stepfamily,"" which often has negative connotations. Hernew book guides readers through how to best blend families and coparent. She writes from experience; she is friends with her husband's former wife, and her child once asked (and wanted) their half-sibling's mother to go on vacation with them. Her book shows that the keys to having a supportive, cohesive family unit (comprising previous and new relationships) relate to communication, acceptance, respect, and empathy, which she urges readers to remember as the acronym CARE. She offers tips for dating after a breakup, moving in together with a new partner and their children, collaborating with anex on raising kids, transforming mindsets, and more. Her book also addresses what to do when everyone comes together for weddings, commitment and religious ceremonies, and holidays--Mother's Day and Father's Day, for example--that can lead to tricky situations. She also mentions many other challenges that may be introduced to the household. This definitive practical guide addresses nearly every situation that bonus families might experience. -- ""Library Journal"" I am so thrilled that Jann has written another book for parents in bonusfamilies! Jann's advice to parents is always practical and immediately actionable. In this book she teaches parents the enormous value of communication and respect, which are required in order to raise emotionally healthy children. This should be required reading for every parent that is part of a stepfamily. Thanks Jann! --Susan Bartell, PsyD, child and family psychologist and author As a family law attorney working with divorced or separated parents every day, I can't tell you how much a book like The Bonus Family Handbook is truly needed. It's the perfect guide for struggling co-parents and their families, tackling the real issues and offering a practical formula to successfully combine families in the future. Pure Gold! --Lisa Thiessen, MS, JD, Attorney at Law, Family Law Specialist, State of California Dr. Blackstone delivers an absolute must read for anyone looking to find the keys to co-parenting success and forming a blended, or better said, bonus family. --Evan Schein, Esq., New York Family Law attorney and host of the Schein On podcast Dr. Blackstone has created the ultimate guide on parenting in today's world of blended families. Her own parenting journey laying the groundwork. If you are frustrated, struggling or just need reassurance in your own journey, READ this book. It will take you from ""step"" to ""bonus!"" --Sheila Ballin, JD, Director of Family Court Services, Family Law Facilitator (retired), Superior Court, State of California"

Author Information

Jann Blackstone, PsyD, coined the term “bonus” in lieu of “step” almost 30 years ago to describe the growing phenomenon of combined families. Since then, she has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show promoting the term and how to better improve relationships within blended or “Bonus” families. She has written numerous books chronicling her life experience as a co-parent, including Ex-etiquette for Parents, Ex-etiquette for Holidays and Special Occasions, and Co-parenting Through Separation and Divorce. Currently in private practice as a child custody mediator and co-parenting counselor, Dr. Blackstone also runs a weekly column, Ex-etiquette: Good Behavior After Divorce or Separation, syndicated by Tribune Content since 2004. Today, it runs in hundreds of newspapers and websites all over the world.

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