You are here

Going Crazy Here

BobbyGee's picture

I just found this site in my search for anywhere online that could give me advice.  I feel like my challenges are very unique but it seems the most appropriate help out there goes to stepmoms and not stepdads.  Our needs and roles are a tad different, but in the end the failures we suffer leave the same hurt and pain.  Maybe here yall can help?

 

My wife and I have been married for less than two years, and her then 11 year old son came to live with us full time.  Adding to the challenge is that we come from extremely different cultural backgrounds where the ideas of child rearing are totally opposite.  While I grew up in America where the view is that from child's birth the parents are the heads of the household, my wife comes from another country where the children run everything and parents simply follow behind and make sure the child does not get hurt.  Children in that country are allowed to do everything, whether as simple as stay up until they want (at all ages), or even reach onto anyone's plate and cherry-pick the good stuff they want whenever the urge hits them.  Table manners are not taught until they start to date and their date becomes disgusted with them, and they are not taught to share until they figure it out all by themselves, if ever.  I their country it seems the girls learn to share but the boys rarely do, which leads to many of their country's social problems (in my opinion).

 

Now add a potential difficult twist to the story.... My wife and I got pregnant soon after we were married.  My stepson clearly loves his new half-sibling, and I have gone so far out of my way to make it seen that he is not second place to me.  I spend probably 80% of my time with my stepson, 15% of my time with my wife, and only around 5% of my time with my own bio-child.  I will be the first to admit that deep down I hold some resentment over the need to miss so much time with my bio-child but I have worked so hard to see things through my stepson's eyes that I slipped into this pattern.

 

Now the issue.  My stepson is a jerk.  Plain and simple, he is horrible.  He never tells the truth, he does everything he can to uspet me, he is lazy, he is rude, he is disrespectful, and he outwardly hates me.  But here is the worst part, he does not talk to anyone about anything.  Even his mother!  He has absolutely no friends other than his one sports team where I have overheard his teammates refer to him as a braggart.  We encourage him to get outside once in awhile since other boys in the neighborhood have no idea he is even here, and the only way to find them is to go where he can be seen.  As far as he is concerned he has his mama and that is all he ever needs.  Sure he was raised almost exclusively by her for his first 10 years due to a mostly absent father.  Still, his level of cruelty to me cannot be simply dismissed.

 

I have never said a bad word about his father, and on international video chats my stepson, his father, and I all chat together.  My hope was for my stepson to see that I am his bio-dad's teammate in raising him and I am not attempting to replace him.  This has not helped.

 

Whenever we do things as a family, if stepson does not like it he will ruin it completely.  He destroyed the last 4 out of 5 days of a family trip to a very cool and interesting place.  This is when I decided I had enough.

 

It is sad but I feel like it is time for me to disengage from him.  I essentially feel like I must give up on him as a lost cause, and accept that he is just some rude housemate that I am stuck having in my home for the next five years.  I pay a premium for the top sports program but now I resent all the "extras" that I have poured on him.  I want to stop paying for anything that is optional, and only pay the required things for him.  I might be able to stomach paying the premium for the top sports program because he happens to be an elite athlete who has the skills to likely become a professional one day (most parents may think this of their kids, but professional scouts are already following him at age 13).

 

I am worn out.  I honestly think I hate this child with every fiber of my being.  Since I have no real frame of reference on this (I have never really hated anyone before) I really need some advice.

Exjuliemccoy's picture

What does your wife have to say about this mess? Does she discipline her son? 

Kids need structure, but your home sounds like a zoo. And to heck with whichever culture your wife's son grew up in. He needs to acclimate in order to succeed in this country, and it's your wife's duty as a parent to make that happen. Take away all the electronics, turn off the d@mn wifi when you go to bed, and get that kid used to a sleep schedule so he'll have a shot at normalcy and launching as an adult.

You don't have to put up with this, you know. Recalibrate your marriage. Be the leader in your home, and require more of your wife and her son. Sit down with your wife. Tell her there's a problem and that you'll need to work together to solve it. Draw up a list of house rules for the boy, and discuss what the consequences should be for misbehavior. Tell her that you are done providing extras for such a rude, ungrateful kid and need to see improvement in his behavior. 

elkclan's picture

Child athletes need even more sleep. To really succeed as an elite athlete, kids need much more than talent, they need discipline. They need self-discipline, but kids are kids - so it's up to the adults to provide much of that discipline while they are kids. 

SteppedOut's picture

Stop spending more of your energy on your SS than your bio son. All that is going to do is leave you not bonded with your own child as well as your SS. 

You have made very good attempts with this skid and he is not responding. Don't damage your relationship with your child trying to appease this skid... you have been kind with both your time and money, but I think its time to disengage. 

Set boundries and rules (no eating like an animal, etc) and leave mother to enforce. 

 

Areyou's picture

If you’re hoping for payout for all your efforts directed towards SS you will be disappointed. Do the basics for a child who lives under your roof such as provide food, heat, shelter and transportation if his mother can’t but that’s it. You don’t even have to talk to him. I’ve gone through this with SD. Don’t expect so much from them. They are too young to know the impact of their actions. Let it go and focus on your biological child. Waste no more time, energy, emotion, or money on your wife’s child. Everytime you have an urge to spend money on SS, zap that money into biochild’s online savings account. In the future, your own bio child might act unappreciative and have a bad attitude around that age but it’s your biochild and there is a biological bond that you don’t have with SS. 

Exjuliemccoy's picture

He loves soccer? And you pay for it?? You need to deliver the message to his mother that unless you see some changes in his treatment of you, you won't feel inclined to keep financing what makes him happy. Motivate her to parent better and you might effect some change.

Maria10's picture

The reason I ask is because maybe your wife and son are expecting you to make and enforce the rules because in their culture it is the man of the house who does these things. 

As opposed to SMs you have a real opportunity to get your house in order by taking control.( maybe involve your wife in making some house rules with you?) It could be beneficial for your skid and dd to see some cooperation between you and your wife. Boundaries are always better than no boundaries.

Start spending more time with your wife and baby and let the teenager develop on his own more(he is at that age).

Why are you and your wife making such monumental efforts to get a neglectful father in another country to talk to his son? Maybe letting that go might be better for the kid.(would you force yourself to communicate to someone who ignored and mistreated you? I wouldnt. Why expect of SS to be ok with this). 

Skid ignoring you is how he was taught to act by his fathers actions. The more you give him attention the more he will ignore you. So just do what you would do during the day and let him hang around. That way it is his choice what he is interested in. No more xbox all day. Sports are good. Let him absorb the environment and get comfortable before expecting him to perform(some kids take more than others to adapt)

BobbyGee's picture

You bring up an interesting and confusing point about the role of me in their native country.  Here are some interesting facts regarding men and their native country:

1. 75% of marriages where the woman is a first-timer end in divorce
2. The country is among the top 5 in alcohol consumption but women there comprise less than 3% of the diagnosed alcoholics
3. Men are usually absent within the family unit
4. Oddly enough, men are expected to make most decisions even though they are absent
5. Women tend to be more like Donna Reed or Carol Brady, while men are expected to behave like Al Bundy.

Yes, I have made some extremely sweeping generalizations here and I apologize if they seem personally or culturally insensitive to anyone.  I just needed to get my observations, along with documented facts, out in a simple and clear fashion.  This unfortunately leads to very general statements which are often quite rude and could offend people.  This was never my intention.

And many of the cultural norms I talk about were explained to me by the local grandmothers in that country, those who have seen it all and have extremely definite opinions on everything while having no problem telling them to anyone who will listen.

CLove's picture

Doing for this child as you have, and getting zero response, that is so discouraging! And it sounds like you have tried everything, and more. After reading the advice here for a few years, its pretty solid. Stop trying so hard and jumping through so many hoops. Its not making things better. Creating boundaries makes you a parent, not a monster, children NEED boundaries. They THRIVE with boundaries. Take those electronics away, he can earn them back. But also note that 13 is a bad age for kids - they are not the best version of themselves I am told. I do not have any bios of my own, but came into DH's life when his were 14 and 9. One is well adjusted, the other was just really NOT. DH has set clear boundaries and I bring more structure and stability.

From what you have posted, it would seem that going over the top to get the father on board to being an actualy father isnt really working out well, I would give that one up.

Again, disengage a little bit. Spend time in the pool with your DD, and wife. SS will either join or not. If he ruined a trip, go on another one with DW and DD, and leave the bratola behind with a relative, he can sulk all he wants but he wont ruin YOUR precious family time any more. 

Time to make some changes (perhaps your screen name too?)

Maria10's picture

Agreed on all counts. Much clearer than my post.

Also: Just take a breather alone for a day. You sound extremely stressed out and tired.  

Phoebe333's picture

Imho, you need to spend much more time with your younger biochild. And, if the fdog doesn't get fed....take away video game.  And limit use of game any way..

ldvilen's picture

People here are not trying to be naysayers.  They are trying to be realists.  Unfortunately, some try to use long-held myths, such as suck it up and just give it time and “common sense” when it comes to step-parenting.  The problem is, in reality little of this holds much water.  I know I'm switching gears here somewhat by focusing on SMs, but some of this holds for step-dads as well.

In reality, there are studies that show the more a SM tries to be nice to her stepchild, the more likely she is to be rejected.  “Women with stepchildren are more likely to feel compelled to try everything to win his kids over. This too often includes trying to act maternal and loving. And for a child or adult child in a loyalty bind-sensing that liking stepmom is a betrayal of mom-stepmom's overreaching and attempts "to act like she's my mom" will seem especially offensive and threatening. Thus she will be more roundly rejected.

What makes it harder for a stepchild to accept a stepmother? What builds a stepchild's resentment of "dad's new wife"? If you think it's her own wickedness of just plain lack of trying, guess again. It may have more to do with the children's mother than anything the stepmother is doing or not doing.

Based on her 30-year Virginia Longitudinal Study of life post-divorce, Hetherington concludes that stepmothers are frequently singled out for very bad treatment indeed by stepchildren who pick up on their mother's anger and resentment and become her proxy in their father's household.

Dad's house may become the "no rules" household-meaning there are few rules about treating stepmom with respect, both because he is fearful of alienating his kids, and because of his ex-wife’s influence. When a wife or partner with stepchildren attempts to assert her right to being treated fairly in the household under these conditions, her husband or partner may not support her position. This causes tension within the couple, tension which the stepmother may attribute to the stepchildren alone. And so the tension between stepmother and stepchild is further fueled.”

SO, yes, you can try everything under the sun to bond with your stepchild and you MAY succeed, through luck or happenstance or having a heavily supportive DH and/or BM.  However, no matter what you do, you may not succeed.  You could try for years every so-called common sense trick in the book and still wind up being Evil SM, because of the above dynamics that very few want to admit to; or, because the common take on tensions between stepmothers and stepchildren in our culture is, of course, that stepmothers are overwhelmingly likely to be nasty, petty, and jealous, creatures right out of the Brothers Grimm. It would only follow, this cultural logic goes, that their stepkids dislike and reject them.

The problem isn’t with SMs/ SPs anywhere near as much as the problem is with our society’s take on them.  Common sense often doesn’t work in Step World, and many a time, it can even follow backwards.  To just say being a SP can be difficult but rewarding isn’t getting at the truth and minimizes the height of the deck a SM can have stacked against her long before she even says, “I do.”  Of course, a SM needs to be patient and give it time, to a degree.  But, never forget manipulative, controlling BM and weak, enabling DH = Step Hell.  Decide what you can tolerate, and once that line has been crossed, put away your SM card and whip out your wife card, and play it to the max.  You are your DH’s wife first and foremost and not your DH’s housemaid and babysitter.  And, be on the look out for gaslighting.  Trust me, everyone will be trying to make it look like YOU are THE one to blame no matter what.  You need to do your research and know better.