I use to say 5 now I say 3. The skids have proven they only are part of the family with they want something...money, or to harass us for their bm. No Need for you to feel bad. It's up to you and the relationship you have with the skids.

My FSS is a cutey and I do love him, but I don't love him like I love DD and I've accepted that. When asked how many I have I say 1 and 1 otw. In a month, I will say 2. I don't think you should feel bad about this; it's just your perspective.

I only say 1, because I only have one child. I never feel guilty about it and my husband doesn't seem to mind.

I never claim DH's kids as my own, and don't feel guilty. Don't question yourself. You'll just drive yourself needlessly crazy.

I don't claim my skids either. If I feel like acknowledging them I say I have 2 and so does my husband. I don't need any confusion since Stain resembles me more than he does his biological (maybe)father. I make sure people know he's not mine because if he was mine he'd have a size 7 shoe lodged up his butt for his behavior

I do acknowledge my skids as my children but that does not mean that you are wrong if you dont. If you feel like they should be mentioned but you dont want to claim them as yours just say my "My DH has four, two of which we share" that way you have acknowledged them, but have also differentiated them from your kids.

One of my DH's relatives asked me this in front of his family and I told her I had no children. His family quickly gave me "the look" so I quickly cleaned it up by saying DH had one BD. They got the message. As far as I'm concerned, I have no children. Why pretend our relationship is rainbows and unicorns when it isn't?

I say one DD and a SS - I have tried to say 2 Children - and then right away before I can stop myself I say 1 DD and my husband has a son from his first marriage - I really try to say SS is mine - (and we get along okay - I only see him 4 weeks year now that is perfect - he is a smart kid just freaking lazy beyond belief and turning into mini BM) and every time and I mean every time I have to add that I have one with DH and DH has a son. Can't do it - can't say he is mine even when he is with us I say he is my SS. And quite frankly I don't think it bothers him that I say I am his stepmonster - that is how I have myself set up in his cell. When he came to visit one time after moving back with BM I looked at his phone and he had saved me as Mom2 - then I saw his mother had changed it to my first name so I changed it to Stepmonster - he loved it!!

I used to say I had 4. I now answer 3 because SD12 has proven tima and time again that she doesn't want to be a part of our family. DH has been asked how many are in our family and he says 5. Not sure who he's leaving out but I assume SD.

I say I have 2. My skids do not refer to me as their parent. I don't refer to them as my children. It might be different if their BM had died or was otherwise out of their lives. As they have gotten older they rarely visit as it should be. They have their own lives and we see them for holidays and anytime we want to provide a free vacation.

When I am asked how many kids I have my answer is very clear... "I claim 3". Then I get a look and laugh when they say "claim?". That gives me a chance to explain that I have SS15 that lives with us full-time, SD12 that we never get to see, and BS8 who belongs to both of us. It helps to explain why it's the middle child that is missing since people think SS is mine also, and his BM could be signing away her parental rights. My SD is always very clear to others that I am her Stepmother, because that is how her BM raised her, but SS is refusing to claim his BM at all.

I always say 1. If DH is around when I am asked I say "1 and he has another kid". I HATE when people assume that ss is mine because my DD name happens to start with the same letter as ss! UGH! I knew my daughters name years before I even met DH!! I do NOT feel guilty for not claiming ss.

Even with DH, when asked, I just say one, or this is our first child. DH never corrects it, and we never discuss it. It's true that our son is OUR first child. And it's easier to just say the one in situations where it doesn't matter.

I will sometimes tell people that this is my first child, and my husband has a 20 year old daughter as well. It depends on the situation. I don't even say I have a step-daughter because she really isn't in most ways. She's barely a daughter except for how much she costs to DH, so how could I think of myself as a stepmother? I have no relationship to her, so I don't feel that I need to even acknowledge her. As far as I'm concerned, if pushed, my husband has a daughter in addition to our son.