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He may very well feel a little protective of his dad. Six-year-olds are more perceptive than most people give them credit for. He knows his biological dad probably isn't the greatest, and he knows that you're awesome comparatively. He's probably looking for ways that his dad "beats" you to put it in 6-year-old terms. His dad is taller than you and has ...

My mom died before my kids were born. My father remarried after my kids were born. We struggle with the question of names too. I think to answer this question you need to first ask yourself how important names/titles really are (some would say it's just a name) and then ask yourself how important the person is and how this name would make them feel. My ...

Can a step father have a good relationship with a step son? Absolutely! I know of quite a few step-father/step-son relationships that I would consider to be good ones. They range from rather cool mutual respect (two brothers I was friends with as a teenager, towards their step-father), to indistinguishable from any biological father/son relationship ...

If he behaves like a grampa, I think he deserves to be called grampa. We call my stepfather grandad (even though I call him by his first name). It can be more complicated if the real grandfather also is around and resents sharing the title with the step-granddad. In that case I would let the real grandfather have a veto.

I might say it depends on how much it's affecting your kids, and I would be more worried about the girls than the boys. Your sons probably feel slighted, but your (soon-to-be?) daughters are getting constant affirmation of "You can have anything you want, whenever you want it." At 4 and 8, this is will spoil them quickly. If it were a grandparent or uncle ...

They covered this situation in some depth at our foster parenting and adoption classes. Unfortunately, they don't have step-parenting classes. The key points are: Love is not a zero-sum thing. He can love his biological father significantly without reducing one iota the love he has for you. His biological father is a part of him, a large part of his ...

I don't think the name that your kids use for him is going to have a major impact on how they view him. If your mom is worried that your kids do not seem to accept him as warmly as their grandpa as she does as her husband, you should probably have a frank talk with her about that issue. If your kids already love him, then chances are that "Mr. Joe" is a ...

I think that you are doing a great job by keeping this kind of posture: not telling that his dad is a looser, that he is lucky to have 2 dads, etc. He is in a delicate situation: he has a biological dad, he knows him, he likes/loves him, and he is understanding why you replaced him. To know why you are in his place, he will make some comparisions, trying to ...

I'm in pretty much the same exact situation you are in (except for my son being 7 months old, which does change some aspects pretty significantly). My mother and her husband sent my wife and I lists of names they were considering, and honestly, we hated most of them. I strongly feel that the parents should be the ones coming up with the list of potential ...

What people call each other reflects their relationship with each other. It neither adds nor takes away from their relationship or their memory of anyone else. It seems like you're the only one who has a problem with it. I can understand that. My mom divorced and remarried when I was over 30. Since I never lived with my stepdad I don't feel like he ...

Comparison is a good thing! which means he start to realize you are as important as his biological father. It's hard for both of you and your son, but I think only one thing matters: let him know he don't need to choose between you and biological father, that 's all! and let him know, he is so felicitous to have two dads. It's not hard to feel that you ...

A resounding YES!! I am a step-father of nearly 20 years now. The youngest is now in his early 20s and we get along exceptionally well. I am good friends with all of the kids - as far as is possible. I can only offer very simple advice which probably applies whether you are a step parent or not. Treat them with respect and they are likely to do the same. ...

The behaviour you have described is similar to my son's (now 5 y/o) at his worst. At his best, he is an obedient, intelligent child with good concentration skills. He has a mild sensory processing disorder. He is fine in a quiet environment. When things get too loud, his senses get overloaded and he cannot filter the din. This makes him agitated, easily ...

what you said is basically a mixture of my partners two eldest, one being 6 and one 9. Her son (9) play on his computer alot and complains when he cant, and not just i mild complaint, he throws things, shouts and gets physical. He has calmed down alot since me and my partner got together. She would prefer the kids to not shout, so they would normally get ...

The answer to these kind of questions varies from culture to culture and region to region. In my community, the general thumb rule regarding this is, what do that person's cousins/step-siblings call that person? The same applies to that person. For example, if my sister has children, My sister's children would call my parents nana and nani (their mom's ...

I'm a father myself and if I passed away, I would in no way feel disrespected if my grandchildren started calling their step grandfather "Granpa Joe", especially if he is "absolutely wonderful" with them. On the contrary, I would be happy that they had such a positive figure in their life. However, I don't think you should force the children to call him ...

No one will replace your dad. However, in his absence maybe he would be pleased that someone was stepping up to love the people he would love if he were still here? I don't know if that alternative view might help. In our family we have a whole mess of step this and step that, and so names are often more about roles than biology. Perhaps grandpa joe? or ...

There are many names for a Grandad. The important thing is that it should be something only the grand-children (or step-grandchildren) use, so it is intimate, personal and endearing. "Mr Joe" isn't ticking those boxes. Can you find something that does (but isn't "Grampa")? Edit: Actually, reading again some of your comments, "Mr Joe" does seem to be the ...

For my family, the grandparent title means more about the role they play in our kids lives than genetics, so my kids' step-grandparents are 'Granddad' and 'Nanny'. (not criticising you for feeling differently btw, just thought you might like to hear a different pov!) That said, with the two step-grandparents, four biological grandparents and five ...