The stereotype of remote and impatient stepfathers not wanting anything to do with their new wife’s children has been debunked, as a US study reveals stepfathers often make better parents than biological dads.
Stepfathers should be recognised as just as nurturing and caring as biological parents, says Stepfamilies Australia spokeswoman Dolla Merrillees.
Sociologist Lawrence Berger, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, surveyed more than 2000 mothers in at-risk families for his study. Published in the Journal of Marriage and Family, the study found stepfathers were more inclined than natural fathers to agree with the parenting philosophy of the mother, had higher levels of engagement with the children and were more co-operative parents.