The topic of step families has been written about for centuries whether in fairy tales or on the screen. There is also a wide body of research that illustrates important aspects of this field. In 2016 in Australia 6.4% of families were considered step families and 3.7% were blended families. A step family exists where one parent is not biologically related to the child. A blended family exists when both repartnered parents go on to have a biological child between them and live together.