According to statistics, blended families generally take anything from two to seven years to settle in and children find themselves in a completely new setup where countless variables come into play: existing routines, emotional baggage, newly defined roles, adjusting to new people, and so on.

What is the main challenge facing blended families? "The primary difficulty isn't just one thing, but rather a complex mix of factors," says Rocío López de la Chica, author and co-founder of Creada (Conscious Separations), a Spain-based company which assists those going through a separation with everything from psychological support to legal guidance.

"Blended families are inherently complicated structures : there are multiple relationships, unresolved feelings of loss, idealised expectati

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