| Abstrakt: |
The author suggests ways for stepparents and stepkids to struggle with guilt and go away with it. They can choose to make guilt their ally in building strong and successful stepfamilies. Guilt shows that one cares for stepchildren. Guilt shows that people are dissatisfied with their behavior and that they want to behave properly with a member of stepfamily. Guilt shows that one is capable of taking action to address the situation. When one feels guilty, it means that one is accepting his responsibility in the situation, an important first step towards change. One needs to recognize the legitimacy of needs. One can seek support from other stepparents, therapists or counselors and friends or family who empathize with him, as well as from a host of web sites and literature about stepfamilies. Apology can be a healing in such situations. It teaches kids that even adults make mistakes, and it models how to go about making amends. So, one should apologize for the inappropriate or hurtful behavior. |
