One in three children in Wales have at least one step parent in their lives. Step parents and step children are everywhere. But we don’t talk much about what it’s like to be a step parent or a step child – or indeed a natural parent having to share their children with others. In part 2 of We Are Family, Suzanne Packer explores the highs and the lows of step family life – from all angles.

She delves deeper into the lives of “blended families”. One couple she meets have seven children between them and they have the added challenge that Fiona’s oldest son has ADHD so his behaviour can be challenging. What is the difference between being a parent and being a stepparent? “They are very different, and weirdly the same”, says Andrew.

One of the biggest challenges for step parents is when to pile in and when to stand back – especially if a child is being naughty or breaking a house rule. Suzanne hears from step parents, natural parents and from experts about how to navigate those tricky boundaries.

She also meets two people who grew up with step parents about the lifelong bonds they have had with them. Robyn, who had not one but two step fathers in her life, talks about how much they gave her and her brother.

In the first flush of new love, making a will may be the last thing on someone’s mind. But solicitor Sean Boucher says it’s really important when forming a new long term partnership to make sure that you work out who gets what when you die – with step children and natural children involved, he says it is essential to avoid heartache and argument.

Suzanne ends her journey into “step-land” with some inspiring words from some of the people who have made their own roadmap of the territory and share their insights with her. Show less