A blended family is formed with a couple and the children of both members, whether or not they are the result of their union.
A stepfamily is a family group that is formed when one or both members of a couple have descendants from a previous relationship . Thus, the couple in question lives with children who are not the result of their union.
The concept can be clearly understood by paying attention to its components. A family is a group of individuals who are related to each other. Said relationship can be blood or established through some type of social agreement.
Something assembled, meanwhile, is the result of an assembly . The action of assembling refers to gathering, congregating or gathering.
What is a blended family?
A blended family is created when members of two or more family groups join together to form a new unit. In recent decades, due to social changes, these families have become increasingly common, although their origin is not new.
In stepfamilies, the couple may or may not have children together . The particularity of this group is that the two members live together or maintain daily contact with a descendant who is not theirs, but rather one of them.
This means that a blended family can develop when single , divorced or widowed parents establish a new couple . Family functioning varies depending on each case, since the assembly can be carried out with more or less harmony.
Stepfamilies can be formed in different ways.
Some examples
Suppose a woman and a man begin a courtship . She is divorced and has two children; He is a widower and has three children. When the relationship strengthens, the couple begins to live together, including their respective children in the project. This blended family, then, is formed by the woman, the man and the five children between them.
Let us now take the case of two young people who get married . The boy had a son while he was single. When you marry your new partner, you create a blended family with your new spouse and his descendant.
Blended families can even contemplate children from more parents. Let's look at an example: Juan had a son with María and another with Luciana , while Mónica had two children with Pedro and one with Ricardo . Juan and Mónica begin a romantic bond and soon Mónica becomes pregnant. In this way, the blended family of Juan and Mónica includes their common child; those that Juan had with María and Luciana ; and those that Mónica had with Pedro and Ricardo .
The legal framework of a blended family
The legal framework of a stepfamily may vary. It all depends on how the previous couples were formed and how the current couple was formed, in addition to considering in certain circumstances whether any of the other party's children were adopted .
In everyday language, the idea of a blended family is associated with daily coexistence or the habitual relationship between all the members, beyond what is established by law . In other words: it is not considered whether the couple is legally married, but rather the bond between parents and children is examined.
Notions such as stepfather , stepmother , stepson and stepdaughter have fallen into disuse. Given the increase in the number of divorces , it is increasingly common for blended families to be formed, without there being discrimination towards children who are not common between the members of the couple.