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"Being a Step-Parent can be one of the most rewarding and beautiful experiences you&amp;#039;ve ever had. It can also be frustrating and baffling and downright painful. Strangely enough, that sounds just like....parenting. Mainly, because it is. I know several people in my life who have the pleasure and pain of being a step-parent, and my admiration for all of them is incredibly strong. Step-Fathers are the subject of a recent survey by Stepdadding.com, and some of the results are tough to read. The survey, which took place over the course of a year in the US, UK, Canada and Australia found that over 61% of the respondents who had broken up with their partner cited disagreements over the kid(s) and feelings of being unappreciated as the biggest factor in the breakup. Over 15% stated their breakup was due to being &amp;quot;overwhelmed by an instant family.&amp;quot; And here&amp;#039;s the most sobering statistic of all from their survey: &amp;quot;More than 61% of the men no longer in the relationship reported they were the ones who left. A poll from divorcerate.com shows that about 30% of divorces are initiated by the husband in traditional marriages. The results from tour poll show that Stepdads will initiate a divorce at double the rate of traditional marriages.&amp;quot; Blending a family (or stepping into one when you have no previous experience) is hard, and sometimes unrecognized work. And while the survey results above make a single mom like me a bit nauseous, it&amp;#039;s important to note that more than 82% of the respondents were still married at the end of the year-long period. There are great step-parents out there. Wil Wheaton comes to mind (he&amp;#039;s a geeky former child star, if you&amp;#039;re unaware of who he is - I love his blog!) and of course, they&amp;#039;re often unsung as the heroes they are. It takes a strong person to choose to sign on as a step-parent, and just like in a marriage between biological parents, communication seems to be critical when it comes to raising the kids. Do you know any strong step-parents? Tell me about them! Let&amp;#039;s give them the notice they deserve! [Follow Ellie on Twitter and Facebook] "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/relationships/dating-marriage/a48079/step-father-survey/>