You read my title and think to yourself... "Are there *really* any benefits to being a stepmother"? After all, we are the ones with warts on our noses and hairy chins who cackle while boiling our stepchildren!

Well there certainly are some benefits to being a stepmom. You don't have to actually give birth to your stepkids, you also don't have to go through an uncomfortable pregnancy, gain weight, retain water, have a hard labor with a nurse insisting you are NOT dilated at all. You also probably won't have those wonderful poopy bum changes late into the night!

As a stepmom, a certain amount of "evilness" is expected of you and therefore you could possible get away with a few mistakes. You can cackle on any other day aside from October 31st and no one will look at you funny. You can be the good guy sometimes and spoil the stepchildren with a gift or some spending money when they are older and not feel obligated to hand out a weekly allowance! If you are a non-custodial stepmom, you can see your stepkids when they come to your home and send them home and then relax.

You are not on "mommy duty" 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Stepmoms can also place much of the parenting responsibilities on the biological father (afterall they are *his* kids) and you can go out to a movie with a friend, or lounge in a book store. Stepmoms can step back from discipline and disassociate themselves if they want to. This way they are not "the bad guy" all the time. Stepmoms also can love their stepchildren but know that they are not expected to be "mom" if they don't want to be. There really are some real benefits to be a stepmom, it is not always a bad situation to be in, it can be very rewarding. Just pluck your chin, get a good wart remover and
smile!

Stepmoms are very special people! Hug a stepmom today!

Susan tries to keep her family at peace by mothering all of her children consistently and wearing ear plugs a lot of the time :) Visit Susan's website The Second Wives Club