The parenting tasks faced by remarried couples tend to move partners into intense and opposing positions. Before the new marriage, the mate’s single-parent family system has probably become too permissive – for over time families with this type of structure tend to become lax and to bend the rules. The step-parent wants to effect some changes and establish her or his authority, but the stepchildren ignore or defy her requests. They’ve suffered through too many demands for change already, and...