
WorthlessSlavicShit
There are no happy endings in Eastern Europe.
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- Joined
- Oct 30, 2022
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I am very wary of my five-year-old stepdaughter. Am I a bad person? | Leading questions
It’s fine to have mixed feelings about being a step-parent, writes advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith. But what you do with those feelings might not be
Am I a bad person for being very wary of my five-year-old stepdaughter? I had resolved to not have children of my own but when I met my partner, with whom I have a wonderful relationship, he came with two children from a previous marriage. He’s very supportive and understanding in giving me my space from the children when I need it, and he’s come to respect the fact I am making concessions in my life to take on parenting.
I love both the children but the youngest is a challenge. She presents a lot of the characteristics of her mother – she has no shame, no accountability, zero fear of authority and is incredibly spoilt. My partner struggles with this too. I know she’s five and you can’t expect someone so young to be accountable, but I’m really worried she won’t grow out of it.
"I’m resistant to tolerating her when I never asked for her to be in my life in the first place." Imagine unironically talking like that about the child of someone you chose to be withI don’t want to create a self-fulfilling prophecy in which she senses me distancing myself and that rejection makes matters worse, but at the same time I am feeling resentful. I’m resistant to tolerating her when I never asked for her to be in my life in the first place. Is it wrong to be wary of such a small child?