:? I have a 2 year old son. My boyfriend that I live with has two boys as well, 9 and 7. The 9 year old lives with us full time and the 7 year old lives with the mother in a different state. I dated my boyfriend for about 6 months before I moved in with him, and up until that point I got along with his son very well. He was always nice and respectful to me, but since I moved in things have gotten worse. We have been living together for about 8 months. It is extrememly hard because I am very young, not even 15 years older than his son, and I am the main authority in the house. He works and goes to school, so essentially, he is gone from 9am-11pm. I am the only "parent" home all day, every day. We are all together on the weekend, which is better, but the weeks are horrible. His son is almost 10 years old, and he whines and cries about everything. I go out of my way to do things for him (ex: brownies for his class, birthday parties, special crafts, all meals made, etc.) and he does not appreciate me whatsoever. He does not listen to anything I say. He lies to me constantly, which makes me absolutely crazy. When I do finally send him to his room after a million warnings, he cries and argues with me until bedtime. He will cry and talk like a baby. I realize I baby my son, but he is two. My boyfriend says I do not treat our kids equally, and he does. I just think these expectations are unrealistic. It is much easier to bond with a baby than a 9 year old who shows no respect for you. In addition to this, he is never home, so he does not have to worry about how he treats either of them. Also, of course I have a naturally strong bond with my own child who loves me more than anything, and for goodness sakes..he is TWO! He can be babied a bit. Still though, the two year old says please and thank you to me more than the 9 year old. To make things even more complicated, I see my son's dad almost two times a week when dropping or picking our son up. He wants to get back together, but I really do love my boyfriend. I moved 3 hours away from every one I know and love to live with him. Still though, your child is (or should be) of the utmost importance, and his son can make me crazy. I cannot handle being treated like crap daily. I am constantly lied to and all the other nonsense. His dad says he is just a kid and I expect too much. This may be true, but I am not familiar with this age, and if my son lied to me and argued with me daily, I would not acccept it. I try to let his dad do his parenting, but it is hard when I am the only one here. Also, I am so conflicted with my ex. I so desperately want my son to have a family with both of his parents. Every since we split up, his dad has made such great changes. He is a good dad to our child now. I cannot shake the thought of letting my son be with his mom and dad. Still though, my boyfriend and I love each other. I would never want to hurt him, but I just wwonder..are some people maybe just not cut out to be step parents. Since I am having doubts about my ability to be a stepmother, and about giving my son a life with both of his parents... I told him marriage was off the table for now anyways..and he was crushed. Any advice??