Maybe I am evil
I feel like I have these dark thoughts and here is the only place I can share them. I even have to put on a fake face even with my BFFs or they would judge me as an evil stepmom. I would never speak or act on these things but I think deep down maybe I am evil because I feel this way. I am never anything but nice to SD12, though I am disengaged from parenting her. I feel like all these things are natural to think but I have to pretend like I don't feel this way and that everything is equal with this child that I hardly know, doesn't like me, and isn't related to me. I can't see it ever getting better so I give up and just wish it would go away.
I want my husband to prefer our children together and have a better relationship with them than with SD.
I want to be a better wife and mother than BM.
I don't want SD to come to our house or interact with my family. The feeling seems mutual.
I don't want to fake that I don't despise the hassle of visitation. I don't want to pretend like I'm excited to see SD.
I want my daughter to turn out smarter, prettier and better adjusted than SD.
I want my husband and daughter to have a real relationship unlike the distant and transactional one he has with SD.
I'm happy that as time goes on and our marriage is more successful that he continues to realize more and more how bad BM was. I can already see this happening as he makes fewer and fewer excuses for her.
I want to spend my money and give my daughter opportunities without my in laws judging me or bringing up SD. I wasnt around when she was little so why is it my responsibility to make my daughter and SD have "even" childhoods?
I don't want to raise my daughter as a little sister to SD, she is my only child and hopefully will be the older sister to another sibling.
Maybe I'm evil but I want a happy normal family rather than the weird stepfamily I came into with an alienated SD that never liked me just because I'm the stepmom and won't give my husband the time of day unless he is spending money on her.
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You are not evil. Stop being
You are not evil. Stop being hard on yourself with regard to your feelings. My only advice is to focus on your daughter, her well being and your marriage. Try not to compare things with SD and disengage completely. You are civil and don't have any malice towards this child and that's ok.
As for your inlaws don't concern yourself with what they think and feel. They can judge all they want but at the end of the day you don't owe SD anything. It's not your responsibility to make things between your daughter and SD even. That will never happen because of the whole dynamic of the situation. Your only obligation is to your child. The only person that should parent and create a stable life for SD is your H and the BM.
I started to feel like I was
I started to feel like I was less of a "good" person when I had my first baby because I cared so much about him and everyone else in the world all of a sudden mattered much less. That was even before I had a stepkid. But with the stepkid situation that feeling was even stronger and I feel most of the things you listed.
Oh and also, no you shouldnt
Oh and also, no you shouldnt have to worry about limiting things for your child to make it even with SDs childhood. Even in nuclear families those things are different depending on income at the time or other factors. And besides, what's the point? Giving your child less wont change SDs past.
I have similar thoughts and
I have similar thoughts and feelings- you're not alone!
You are not alone and you are
You are not alone and you are not evil. These are normal thoughts. I believe that every step parent has these thoughts.
You are not evil and I’m definitely worse
I have exactly the same feeling as u. Have our own daughter who’s a toddler and a super annoying SD who comes once a week. I know it’s not a lot comparing to a lot of step parents here but it definitely feels like forever when she’s around.
I also don’t want her to interact with DD at all coz I think she is a bad influence.
I just don’t want her around coz she constantly stares at me and DD when DH is not looking.
i also want DD to grow up to be a better and successful person that she is.
I never want to plan family “things” involving her.
A lot of people feel pity for SD. I used to feel bad and really pushed myself to be more involved and engaged. It just become much harder after I have DD and I resent her more and more.
Not evil.
And you are in good company. We've all had similar thoughts.
And yes, we all knew our spouses/SOs had kids when we met and chose them. But that's not really the issue, right? Similar to most relationships, you don't know what they are like until you are fully in them. Hence the insanely high divorce rate, even amongst first timers.
What we couldn't anticipate before we committed is the degree of dysfunction we would encounter when it came to our partners and their BMs/kids. Often times, we think we can and should work around it, have compassion, not bail when its hard. Except that its extremely hard, and no person other than another seasoned stepparent can really understand that. And then we feel guilty when we are told to work through it, try harder, etc from nonstepparents.
So sure, don't mention to nonstepparents that you wish SD would sometimes disappear, or that you wish you could focus on your nuclear family. It's not realistic, and you will get judged harshly. Save that for us, here, because we can empathize.
However, you can and should push back on anyone who thinks you need to do things like "even out the experiences" for your bio and SD. Redirect them to your DH and BM if they are that concerned. Tell DH that you want to do special things with your LO, even when SD is not there, because LO deserves that. And if he waivers, still do them on your own with LO, because you won't get that time back. And if SD becomes a truly bad influence, then you will need to have some tough conversations with DH about the degree of interaction SD has with LO and any other children you have together. But cross that bridge later.