Supernanny Rules

Blended Families

by Gayla on November 11th, 2006

One thing that I’d like to see from some of the reality television shows is a bit more focus on blended families.  Check out some of the statistics in the United States alone:

• One million American children experience divorce every year.
• Single parent families increased from 13% of the U.S. family population in 1970 to 31% in 1994
• 56% of divorced children had no contact whatsoever with their fathers in the first year after divorce, and 23% had no contact after five years.
• Divorced children had the deepest feelings of anger, fear, and rejection of any childhood group, and were three times as likely to receive professional help as kids from intact families.
• Suicide rates for teenage males increased 557% from 1946 to 1988.The single best predictor of teen suicide was parental divorce and living in a single parent household.
• Rates of depression, low self-esteem, drug and alcohol abuse, and juvenile delinquency were all significantly higher for children of divorce.
• Divorced children drop out of school at twice the rate of children from intact families. They were twice as likely to be suspended or expelled from school, and consistently showed lower test scores, lower grades, and more placement in special and remedial classes.
• Early sexual behavior was more frequent among divorced children
• Divorced children were far more likely to cohabit and not marry.

Via - AACC (American Association of Christian Counselors) website: http://www.aacc.net/

Given that I’m divorced myself, married to a divorced man and between the two of us, we have four children - I can certainly see how some blended families could benefit from neutral intervention or professional observation and instruction.

Of course in the situation of my husband and I, we deal so heavily with mama drama - if only there was a Super Nanny for adults.

Now there’s a heck of an idea for a reality based television series.  Why not send Super Nanny or one of her peers into the homes of blended families where she’d spend half her visit at the custodial parents and the other half at the non-custodial parents. 

Perhaps giving the adults a little more instruction on how to create a healthy divorce situation for the children could minimize the horrifying statistics that are shown above.

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POSTED IN: Parenting