Blended Families
Brittany Woodson isn’t a step-mom — she calls herself a “bonus mom.” The term came up in a conversation with her bonus daughter, 11-year-old Laila.
“I was just joking one day with my step-daughter, and I said, ‘I don’t think you’re a step-daughter because I don’t want to squish you, I don’t want to step on you,’” Woodson said. “I like bonus mom better.”
When she married her husband in 2019, she had two sons and he had one daughter. Since then, they’ve had two sons together. According to a 2016 Pew Research study, one in six children in the United States lives in a blended family. Divorces and remarriages are increasing in the country, which can contribute to the number of multiple families coming together as one.