Loving your step- child can be both simple and hard. Simple, because as a mature adult you know that all children need and deserve to be loved, and you love their parent and want to share in their lives. Hard, because children from divorce come with different needs, expectations and behaviors. They may or may not be open to returning your love and could be resentful of your presence.

Increasing evidence suggests that rich stimulation early in life affects the intellectual development of children. Children need as much encouragement as possible to try new tasks. They also need to learn from doing. Only in this way can they come to know about their surroundings and how they will be personally affected by them.

Everyone gets sad. Every single person has had sad feelings once in a while. It is normal to feel blue, isolated, down or out of sorts occasionally. More than half of teenagers go through a sad period at least once a month and younger children do too.

Nothing touches the heartstrings of a parent or teacher more than the plaintive cry "nobody likes me" or "I don't have any friends." We wish there were something we could do to insure the child will be, if not the most popular, at least included in the games on the playground or invited to the birthday party. Actually, there is something we can do to increase their acceptance by the group and become more approachable to others. We can teach them some skills and behaviors that will enhance their chances of being picked as a friend.

If you came from a family where you were not allowed to express your true feelings, you may not even be aware of the range of feelings that are normal and experienced every day. In communication with your family you may find yourself overusing the old stand by's of "Mad, Sad and Happy."