How to Be a Good Stepparent: Love Without Keeping Score--Cheryl Shumake episode artwork

EPISODE · Sep 11, 2026 · 24 MIN

How to Be a Good Stepparent: Love Without Keeping Score--Cheryl Shumake

from FamilyLife Today® · host FamilyLife Network

You joined a family hoping to love your stepkids well. But what if they don’t exactly love you back? Cheryl Shumake, author of Waiting to Be Wanted, gets painfully practical about how to be a good stepparent without auditioning for acceptance—and maybe when those kids don't love you back. How do you stop competing for your place, love without keeping score, and know what’s actually yours to do when the blended-family dream gets decidedly less dreamy? Show Notes and Resources Weekend to Remember marriage getaway. Get Cheryl Shumake’s book, Waiting to Be Wanted: A Stepmom’s Guide to Loving Before Being Loved. Find resources and audio from this podcast episode at familylifetoday.com Learn more about Cheryl Shumake and Stepmom Sanity. Leave FamilyLife Today a voice message FamilyLife Today. Thanks to the Christian Standard Bible for sponsoring this episode. Learn more at CSBible.com. Follow us on all social platforms: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube Find resources from our podcast at shop.familylife.com. Download FamilyLife's app! Help others find FamilyLife. Leave a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify. Check out all the FamilyLife's podcasts on the FamilyLife Podcast Network See cru.org/us/en/about/privacy FamilyLife’s Privacy Policy

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Sep 11, 2026

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On FamilyLife Today with hosts Dave and Ann Wilson, Cheryl Shumake gets real about how to be a good stepparent without auditioning for acceptance.

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How to Be a Good Stepparent: Love Without Keeping Score--Cheryl Shumake

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This episode was published on September 11, 2026.

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