Some Blended Family Statistics To Consider

Blended families haven't been studied as much as you would think. More recently we're seeing an increase in the data, which has been great for helping us learn more about how these families function.

Define a Blended Family
A blended family is a couple and their children from any previous relationships forming a new family. The children may or may not always live with the couple, but will visit or be a part of their lives in some way. Another word for a blended family is a step family. 

How Many Blended Families Are There?
Smart Stepfamilies states that over 29 million parents (13 percent) are also stepparents to other children. There are roughly 63,000 new blended families formed in the United States each and every month according to The Bonded Family. 

The Blended Family As The Majority?
Some suggest that the dominant family will be the blended family within the next 10 years in the U.S. Unfortunately, the main data behind this trend is the fact that well over 50 percent of first marriages end in divorce and of the second marriages that occur, 75 percent of those end in divorce too. 

We also know that most people end up remarrying so there is a domino effect. Sheer mathematics means the blended family becomes more and more common every day. Some other numbers to consider is the fact that over one million children experience the divorce of their parents each year and 65% percent of those children will end up in a blended family due to the remarriage of one or both biological parents remarrying. The blended family is a growing phenomenon.

Problems Experienced by Blended Families
Blended families have problems according to the data. Children who live in a blended family are three times more likely to need psychological counseling or psychiatric care than other children. They are also 50 percent more likely to develop health problems than children living with both biological parents, according to blended family statistics from World Village.