The term “blended family” leaves many unprepared for the profound challenges to attachment and intimacy that stepfamily structure often creates. Just when the adult stepcouple is expecting to lean into their newfound closeness and stepchildren most need secure connection to manage a major transition, the often underestimated

Warp-speed cultural and economic changes have increasingly led today’s parents to question their own authority like never before. Having rejected the top-down hierarchy and clear boundary lines that characterized earlier generations, they feel helpless to assert control, especially in an electronic age in which teen behavior isn’t easily monitored---