Katherine Schwarzenegger is opening up about her journey to becoming a step-parent ― and how a step-parent coach has helped her along the way.
The 35-year-old, who has three children with her husband, actor Chris Pratt, is also a step-parent to Pratt’s son, Jack.
Pratt shares 12-year-old Jack with his ex-wife, Anna Faris.
Schwarzenegger said during a joint podcast appearance with Pratt that she would recommend a step-parenting coach or therapist to anyone with a blended family, as she retained one “right when we got engaged” and found it “essential.”
“It’s been incredibly helpful for me and also just understanding my role as a step-parent,” the author said during an appearance on the “Parenting & You with Dr. Shefali” podcast, released on Tuesday.
“Step-parenting ― like parenting ― has no, you know, handbook,” she said.
“Because also I have the benefit of being in both roles, step-parenting is extra confusing because you aren’t a parent, you’re not a nanny, you’re not an assistant,” Schwarzenegger added. “You have responsibilities in all of those areas, but you’re not either of them. It’s a confusing thing to try to navigate where you fit in.”
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While she shared that “every dynamic is obviously very different” within each family, she said that she, Pratt, Faris and Faris’ partner ― cinematographer Michael Barrett― all co-parent “very well” together.
“It works when everybody is willing to put in the work,” Schwarzenegger said.
Pratt added that being in the position of a step-parent is “a tough job” and you don’t always “end up getting the credit you deserve.”
“If a parent is in there doing the hard work ― in the paint ― of creating structure for a child and holding children accountable, and it’s not a biological child, it can feel thankless. But it’s a really, really important job.”
Gwyneth Paltrow ― who now has a blended family thanks to her second marriage to Brad Falchuck ― has also opened up about the harsh realities of being a step-parent.
“You know, there’s no book on this ― nobody tells us what to do,” she said during a Q&A on her Instagram back in 2023. “And, in fact, all of the existing media around what a stepmother is casts us is like, in this evil, villainous light.”
But there was one key moment that changed everything for Paltrow.
“For myself, the minute I decided ― and fully embodied ― the idea that my stepkids were my kids and I love them just as much, and I gave them the same rules and boundaries and just kind of wholeheartedly went for it, then the easier the whole thing got,” the Oscar winner said.
Content shared from www.huffpost.com.