Step children after divorce?

[Oodiks]

Do you still consider your stepchildren as family after divorce from their parent?
Does it make a difference if you have child(ren) that are their half siblings? And/or whether they’re still children?
FWIW I still consider my now adult stepchildren to be family even though I can’t stand their Dad and neither my daughter or I have little or no contact with him

One of my step parents is dead, the other is divorced from my parent, and I would never consider them as a step parent now. It’s been hard even having to write it for this!

It must be so difficult for both the step parent and child when the step parent leaves the family. My relative fortunately had a good relationship with his ex's ex, so when the relationship ended abruptly my relative was still able to visit his ex-stepchild.

As Cher from clueless dad says you divorce wives not children

I'm sorry to hear that. Thanks for responding.

Love that!

I stayed in contact with my step-dad for around 10 years after he spilt with my Mum when I was 16 (I'd known him since I was 7). In fact, I was bridesmaid at his future wedding to a lovely lady who has 2 children of her own who are similar age to me.

I saw them all a couple of times a year and stayed in contact fairly regularly over text. However, his wife's kids then went onto having children and they are now grandparents to 4. I guess their lives suddenly got rather busy and the contact dwindled. Covid also didn't help. Sometimes I do wander if he still thinks about what I'm up to considering I literally grew up with him and he was a huge part of my childhood for 10 years...

I think it depends on the relationship and if they've brought you up as their own from a young age and always been there then I'd see them as family but if as an older child who had a good relationship with their real parent I don't think it would be the same.

My friend still keeps in contact with her children's half siblings. She doesn't think of then as step kids, she had a brief and abusive relationship with their dad, but definetly thinks of them as family and is doing what she can to keep the half siblings in each other's life.