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World Childless Week

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World Childless Week

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I do not want to be called a (step-)parent of somebody else’s children

September 12, 2023 Stephanie Joy Phillips

I am childless due to infertility, miscarriage, and circumstance. My husband has 3 kids, who were 11, 13 and 15 when I came to their father’s life 7 years ago. They have a mother and do not need me to take that role.

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In Childless Stepparent Tags I am not their mother, artificial relationships
17 Comments

My Stepchildren Could Tell I was Not a “Real” Mom

September 12, 2023 Stephanie Joy Phillips

This morning as I was cutting up a peach for breakfast, I remembered how my stepson wanted his apples cut up for his sack lunch.

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In Childless Stepparent Tags stepparent relationships, childlessness and children
4 Comments

That is my story

September 12, 2023 Stephanie Joy Phillips

I married a man 15 years my senior. He had had a vasectomy and had 6 children with his then deceased wife.

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In Childless Stepparent Tags independent woman, the path of time
3 Comments

He made me a mother and took away my opportunity of motherhood

September 12, 2023 Stephanie Joy Phillips

They came into my life together. I thought it would be the start of my family. A little girl of four years old. I took her on, cooked for her, bought her pretty clothes and fun toys, I bathed her and plaited her hair.

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In Childless Stepparent Tags painful reminders, broken relationships
8 Comments

Mind the Gap

September 12, 2023 Stephanie Joy Phillips

If my childlessness felt unseen in society, and amongst my friends and family already (and it did), then becoming a childless step parent was akin to…

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In Childless Stepparent Tags childless stepparent, feeling invisible
8 Comments

Becoming a "Grandmops" : Childless in an Evolving Family Environment

September 12, 2023 Stephanie Joy Phillips

It was Christmas Eve and the decision had been made for me to meet his 3 adult children.

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In Childless Stepparent Tags childless stepgrandparent, societal pressure
3 Comments

The loss of how many children?

September 12, 2023 Stephanie Joy Phillips

It’s a tough gig, this childless step-parent business. Tougher than I could have imagined and due to so many invisible layers and dynamics, both internal and external.

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In Childless Stepparent Tags childless stepparent, layers of emotions
3 Comments

The Hole in my heart

September 12, 2023 Stephanie Joy Phillips

I have become a Step-Parent twice in my 68 years. My first husband had two lovely children who were quite young - 5 & 7 when I first met him.

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In Childless Stepparent Tags outside society's acceptance, hiding my feelings
2 Comments

Still Childless

September 12, 2023 Stephanie Joy Phillips

Inevitably when I share anything about being childless some well-meaning (although it doesn’t always feel well-meant) person points out that I have three stepsons.

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In Childless Stepparent Tags I'm not a mum, no acknowledgement
3 Comments

Navigating Step-Mom Life and Embracing My Journey as CNBC

September 12, 2023 Stephanie Joy Phillips

Does anyone ever dream of becoming a stepmom?  Not me.  But here I am, navigating this adventure with all its twists.

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In Childless Stepparent Tags disrespected and overlooked, finding a happy balance
Comment

Decade

September 12, 2023 Stephanie Joy Phillips

I'm writing this for my family, the people in my life not tied by blood, but by love.

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In Childless Stepparent Tags childless parenting, hiding my emotions
1 Comment

Can love and loneliness live together?

September 12, 2023 Stephanie Joy Phillips

As a childless step-parent I say yes…I think so?

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In Childless Stepparent Tags hiding emotions, love and loneliness
1 Comment

Waves and Grenades

September 12, 2023 Stephanie Joy Phillips

Nothing prepares you for being childless.

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In Childless Stepparent Tags natural care giver, The guilt and assumptions
3 Comments

The Wilting: My Childless Stepmom Experience

September 12, 2023 Stephanie Joy Phillips

Oh, the naïveté! The sweet, young, innocent ambitions and dreams of a thirty-something new bride.

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In Childless Stepparent Tags future hopes, creating a family
1 Comment

Becoming a childless stepparent

September 12, 2023 Stephanie Joy Phillips

I became a childless stepparent. When I joined the little family of my husband and his then three-year-old daughter I was brimming with hope that one day I would have a child of our own.

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In Childless Stepparent Tags grieving on my own, watching from the sidelines
2 Comments

When A Childless Stepmother Becomes A Childless Step-Grandmother

September 12, 2023 Stephanie Joy Phillips

I am a childless stepmother. Being a stepmother is hard. Being a childless stepmother is extremely hard.

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In Childless Stepparent Tags happy and filled with grief, standing on the outside
6 Comments

The Joys & Heartbreak of a Childless Step-parent

September 12, 2023 Stephanie Joy Phillips

I could write multiple chapters sharing my CNBC journey. Today I was asked about being a childless step-parent. Where do I even begin?

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In Childless Stepparent Tags a twist of emptions, parenting conversations
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A Perfect Life

September 12, 2023 Stephanie Joy Phillips

After hearing that World Childless Week is observed and specifically the category of Childless Stepparents, I felt compelled to write a submission about my experience.

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In Childless Stepparent Tags the perfect life, uncertain future
Comment

That doesn't matter

September 12, 2023 Stephanie Joy Phillips

I have built a great relationship with my stepdaughter E over the past 13 years.

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In Childless Stepparent Tags relationships with stepkids, tough journeys
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To my bonus son on the birth of his child

September 12, 2023 Stephanie Joy Phillips

You will never know who I really am, who I could have been had I been your mother.

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In Childless Stepparent Tags sitting in the back row, keeping my distance
3 Comments
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