What is a stepfamily

Sadly sometimes a family is split up. Maybe the mum and dad decide to live apart. Maybe the mum or the dad dies.

After a time, the mum or dad may start a new relationship. That may lead to the child having not just a 'new' mum or dad, but perhaps a whole new family, because the new parent in the kid's life may have kids of his or her own too.

This is having a stepfamily. The kids are not natural brothers and sisters, they are stepsiblings (sibling is a word we can use which means a brother or sister).

Read more...Child and Youth Health