Article Source: Today's Parent

Written by - Teresa Pitman - June 2009

Helping kids understand that families can look very different from their own.

“Are Joan and Frank our grandparents?” This question from my daughter, about her dad’s partner’s parents, led to a lengthy discussion about who’s who in her family tree. They certainly feel like grandparents — kind people she sees on holidays and at the cottage — but they’re not, strictly speaking, relatives. And for me, I have to admit that it’s hard to put Joan and Frank, whom I’ve barely met, on the same tier of family relations as my own or my ex’s folks.

Few families are unaffected by breakups and new relationships. Kids need to know that families can look very different from their own, that there’s lots of variation, says Waterloo, Ont., social worker and family counsellor Linda Toner. “Be frank and open from the beginning, and provide your kids with age-appropriate explanations.” 

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