Statistics show that a majority of American stepchildren spend more time with stepfathers than with their biological fathers, because most children stay with their mothers after a divorce. If you're a stepdad, you can improve your relationships with your stepchildren.

Building a strong, loving relationship with a stepchild can be a challenging task. Many stepfathers find it tough to forge a connection with their stepchildren, according to a study by E. Mavis Hetherington, author of For Better or For Worse: Surprising Results from the Most Comprehensive Study of Divorce in America.

Are you a frustrated stepdad? Rather than give up the battle, as Hetherington reports many men do, learn how you can grow a happy and healthy relationship with your stepchildren with the following steps.

Show Your Commitment

Stepdads should begin the journey toward special moments with their family by committing to their stepchildren, advises Howard Schiffer, a stepdad and author of How to Be a Family—the Operating Manual.

When Schiffer first became a stepdad, he took stepparenting classes and underwent counseling in an effort to forge a bond with his three-year-old stepson, Austin.

"In the beginning, it took a tremendous amount of work," says Schiffer. "I spent more time on my relationship with my stepson than I did with my wife during the first few years."