| The children who are present when the stepfamily comes into existence clearly belong to a stepfamily-they live with a stepparent. |
| Absent parents may express feelings of rejection if their children verbalize positive feelings for the stepparent. |
| What is proper etiquette for maintaining contact with a onetime kind of stepparent? |
| And any financial support that your stepparent provides will be counted as untaxed income on the Fafsa. |
| In the latter case, the child becomes part of a stepparent family, which is another form of two-parent family. |
| Children may also show hostility to the stepparent as a defense mechanism against feelings of hurt and betrayal. |
