Daniel O'Donnell's life as a stepfather and protecting your family - is it a dad's duty?

So, Daniel O'Donnell has become a stepfather. That's one fact I haven't seen mentioned widely in the hysteria over his wedding. Being a stepfather to teenage children is no joke and you have to admire him for taking on the responsibility.

The psychological evidence about the difficulties that stepfamilies have is so strong that some child psychologists even recommend against it. It can be impossible to be happily married in a situation where the problems of teenagers intrude on the relationship. And having a man that your mother, and not you, chose to be your "father" can be difficult.

That said, I know stepfathers who have such abiding love and commitment to their stepchildren, that the lives of all concerned would be poorer without it. And for the children, it can be just as challenging. I have a stepmother and my natural father is a stepfather. I have two stepbrothers. We all get along well, but it hasn't always been easy.

Stepfamilies are happiest when the new partnership is formed when the children are aged under 10, or over 20. The teenage years are so complicated that adding a new father into the mix can tip the balance from difficult to impossible.

Daniel and Majella will have important decisions about how the children will be parented. Does Daniel have the authority of a father in home? How is his relationship with the children different to that of their natural father? Does he spend much time with his new step-children? Who knows? Stepfamilies across Ireland will be watching with interest.

As for that other question; will Daniel become a natural father? What can we say? He went off on tour within 48 hours of the wedding, although Majella's still young enough, at 41, to become a mother again. Or maybe the couple will adopt one of the Romanian orphans that Daniel has done so much to help. Daniel's fans will be watching.

David Beckham's assertion that a father's first duty is to protect his family got me thinking. Is physical protection of the family a father's first duty? It sounds like something from cave psychology, although I can completely understand him saying it, considering that an attempted kidnap of his wife and children had just been foiled.

They planned to drug Victoria Beckham with gas. And if the baby was with her? "The baby will have a nice sleep," the alleged conspirator said.

It was enough to make you, if you were the Beckhams, sell-up, leave England and start a new life under assumed names. They can't do that. They're far too recognisable.

It's hideous, really, that two young people who have been such strong role models for other young parents should be violated in this way. It also makes you understand why high-profile parents in this State refuse to be photographed with their children or to even be interviewed about them. I'm not sure all that money is really worth the daily fear that your child could be kidnapped on the school-run.

But back to my first question: what is a father's first duty? Answers by e-mail please to kholmquist@irish-times.ie