Blended families are a common occurrence nowadays, this is as a result of divorce, separation, a death of one parent to mention but a few. Whereas a step parent is the best thing that has happened to some children, for others it isn't.
Two-year-old Warren lives with his single mother and has never known his father who on hearing that his mother was with child disappeared from their lives.

At only 21, alone, pregnant and jobless, Sylvia took up any odd job that could come her way in order to save up for the coming baby, this meant working long and odd hours .

she managed to live decently and when her baby came he never lacked. When Warren was one and a half years, Sylvia fell in love with John .John took a liking for little Warren and offered to babysit him from time to time.

As their relationship grew, Sylvia could not stop thanking God for the father he had brought into her boy's life. John dotted on Warren, at least when Sylvia was around, with time she withdrew him from the daycare centre and trusted John with watching her precious son. you see, John was in between jobs and had all the time on his hands. He slowly moved into Sylvia's tiny apartment and became the "man" of the house.

One fateful day, Sylvia received a phone call while at work, John sounded very frantic and asked her to rush to the hospital because Warren had been in an accident.

She did not think twice, when she got to the hospital she was told her baby was in the emergency room and she couldn’t see him for now. she rushed to John for answers and all he could say was he was very sorry, Warren had fallen.

Sylvia could not understand what was going on, the doctor working on her boy called her aside and with a grave face and said he was sorry but they had lost her son, injuries were too great, he had internal bleeding and his intestines had separated from the stomach.

They called the police in because according to them the child had been beaten and kicked severally. Sylvia stared in horror as the police took away John, his head bowed down. As the trial proceeded John confessed to kicking Warren because he did not have toilet manners and was messing up the place, according to his history, John was a violent man who was also a drug addict.

From defilement, burning, torture both physical and psychological children go through at the hands of their stepparents, sometimes when they report these cases to their parent, the parent chooses to side with their spouse thus exposing the child to more abuse.

In the unfortunate event that one finds themselves as a single parent, they should be cautious as they move on to another relationship, they must never forget that the child comes first. Take your time, carry out background checks on your partner, at all times listen to your child and protect your child from any form of abuse, let the child know that they are safe with you.

I honestly have no kind words for any adult who abuses a child who has been placed in their care, the law should be enforced for the abuser and must protect the child at all times. When you choose to fall in love with a partner who has children, you must love those children and treat them as your own.

if one feels that they cannot stand innocent children, why not walk away from such a relationship instead of putting the children through hell because of one's selfishness and bitterness.

My heart goes out to all children who have undergone any form of abuse, may they find healing and be able to live wholesome lives.