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Step Brats & Their Mother Driving Me Crazy!

StarStrangledStepMama's picture

Hi All

First post and I could really use your help and advice because I am at the end of my tether! The mother of my stepkids is driving me crazy! She is doing everything to undermine my husband and me when the kids are with us for visitation. She tells them they don’t have to listen to us if they don’t agree.  She tells them to not respect our authority as adults. These kids are a total nightmare!

I am married to my husband for six years, together for 7.  We have our own son (5)  and a 3 year old daughter.  My husband is divorced from his crazy ex and he has  the twins  aged 12 with her.  Girl and boy.

 We have the twins every other weekend, also overnight on a  Wednesday every week. This has been for close on two years as my husband never saw the twins at all before because we lived in a different state.  These kids were raised solely by their mother and it shows!!

Three years ago we moved back to his home state and my husband decided to get shared custody of his children.  The mother is the custodial parent and  my husband received visitation and has to pay CS to the mother now.  

 At first I thought it was an adjustment problem. These kids have never known their Dad and they had to adjust to being with us. Their behavior  was awful!  Almost two years later it has not changed at all. They don’t listen to me! They do what they want. It drives me crazy when they are together defying me. They speak French to each other when they  can speak perfectly good English!  It is so rude because I have no idea what they are saying.  They do this in front of my children too. (The mother is French and she speaks French to them.  For goodness sake we live in Texas and they were born here, not France!!)  They also like to tell me they “know their rights” and I can not make them do things they don’t like. (Their mother is a lawyer so she  must coach them  to say this.My husband is afraid of pissing her off so he does nothing.)

They do not like to interact with my children.  The twins make me feel like my children are the intruders in my own house!  They do not like the food I serve them. They pick around it. I am not French. I do not cook French food!  It feels like I have two Stepford brats in my home when they are here!  I also hate that the ex wife managed for years to raise these kids on her own, but when my husband sued for custody, she decided she needed CS.  She does not need the money!  She is rich and we struggle to get by.  Yet money that would be better spent on my children is going out the door on these ungrateful brats!  

I am frustrated because my husband cannot see that every time these kids arrive I am tense and on edge!   He dotes on the twins when they are here and my kids get shoved to the side lines.  I am so tired of this and I don’t know what to do anymore.  I do not want to be around his kids. I do not want the twins around my  own children. I wish they did not come for visitation at all!

Comments

ndc's picture

I have no issue with your husband's ex getting child support.  Children are entitled to be supported by both parents.  The fact that the mother is rich doesn't excuse the father from supporting the children.  I assume that he's paying the court ordered amount in your state, which presumably is based on his income.  Your husband should feel lucky that he didn't have to pay child support for years.  His ex-wife's motivation for asking for child support seems suspect, but the kids are entitled to it.

Do the twins listen to your husband and only defy you, or are they defiant with him, too?  Does he parent them? Do you know for a fact that the BM tells them they don't need to listen to you?  Does your husband speak French?  Have you spoken to your husband about your frustrations?  I wouldn't count on him seeing that you're tense and on edge; if you haven't already, let him know that, let him know why, and let him know it has to change.  He needs to put an "English only" rule in place for your home (it is RUDE of them to speak French when you don't understand it if they are perfectly capable of speaking English) and he needs to set behavioral expectations with consequences if they are not met.  Of course he will not want to for fear the children won't want to spend time with him anymore.  At that point you will know this is a husband problem.

StarStrangledStepMama's picture

The twins defy me and my husband. If they do not like something, they speak out. It is like they share one brain between them because they stick together on everything! Their mother has raised two head strong kids and they will not adapt to things in our home and how we do things. They will say things like "they are visiting  because they have too", but they do not need to change their ways for two days.

My husband speaks basic French, but often he does not know what the kids are saying. He lets them do it because he says it is their first language and they are speaking to each other. They are probably gossiping about us and scheming together!! They speak perfect English! You would not even know they speak French if they speak English to you. I like the idea of an English-only rule because they do it to be rude.

I know the kids deserve CS, but it still makes me angry. We could have used that money to spend on the twins when they are with us. Now we have money going out the door and we have the extra expense of the kids when they are here. Their mother really does not need the money and we do. It feels like the mother is punishing us because my husband wanted  to get to know his own children!

fourbrats's picture

And it seems like your husband only asked for visitation for himself, not for his kids. They visit two strangers who won't adapt to them at all because they have to. There was zero consideration for the kids and their needs before this started. There wasn't even a period of transition or them getting to know your husband or you before they were thrown into a home where they are expected to be two completely different kids 9 or so days a month. 

Your husband had a decade to ask for long distance visits, to go visit the kids and to pay child support. Why didn't he do that? 

tankh21's picture

I hope things get better for you. I feel the same way about my skids. You have a DH problem. It really doesn't matter what BM says it is your house and you need to take the control back in your household. You don't give kids choices to do whatever they want to do. Your DH needs to understand that his kids don't run the show. Or you can disengage like I have. Stop doing thing for your DH and his brats that might work too.

StarStrangledStepMama's picture

Thank you. It is very hard when these kids are around. I have tried to make things work but the twins are horrible! They don't listen. My husband lets them behave this way. He doesn't even let our 5 year old get away with the things the twins do. If my son talks back, my husband will cut him off. The twins do this all the time! He is afraid they won't want to come around. He lets them run the show!! They are 12 years old!
 

justmakingthebest's picture

I am going to be super honest here and apologize in advance. 

For around 10 years your husband had twins that he had no interaction with. No child support, no visitation, no nothing. He never saw a ballet recital, or softball game, never went to have lunch at the school, never was a part of their lives. Then all of a sudden, Daddy and Stepmommy with 2 kids that they just love show up and these kids are thrown in the mix. You are mad because they are resentful?? For real??

Of course their mother undermines what you do. She did it on her own for 10 years. She had all the sleepless nights with twins, she had all the doctors appointments, she had all the activites, she did it all- and the girls are bi-lingual!  And without any financial help AND is a lawyer. Yeah, I don't even blame her. 

 

tankh21's picture

You do make a very valid point justmakingthebest. I guess everyone's feelings matter here. It really does suck though when someone else's kids don't respect you and the parent doesn't make them though. We are adults and we are supposed to take the higher road however it is really hard sometimes. Blended families are really hard!

justmakingthebest's picture

Absolutely hard!!! To not have those maternal feeling towards a child, because you didn't come into their lives until later and to be disrespected, would be miserable! However, in this instance, she can only blame her DH. He should have never abandoned his kids like that. It is pretty terrible. I don't think I could have chosen to marry or have kids with a man that is so willing to walk away and give no support and no interaction. 

tankh21's picture

Yes I do agree the OP does have a DH problem. It is also really hard to try to get a know a biological parent and those kids probably wonder why their dad wasn't in their lives up until now. I feel for the skids and the SM both.

StarStrangledStepMama's picture

What you say is true. The mother of the twins was a single mother for a long time. I honestly admire her for raising those kids alone.
She is not a single parent at the moment as my husband wants to be part of the twins lives. He wants to help raise his own children. She is not helping with this. They are not here children alone. They have a father. The mother has done nothing to help us with this relationship.

I can understand that she is angry with my husband for divorcing her, but she does not need to make our lives difficult by openly letting these kids defy us. I have personally tried to make this work. Tried to make the kids part of my family. It has been rejected by the kids. I feel that after around 10 years, it is probably too late to make this work.

ProbablyAlreadyInsane's picture

I don't think, in this situation, it's the divorce she's mad about. I think it's that he ditched, then all the sudden wanted back in the picture after she's put in the work for 10 years to raise them alone.

I can understand similar feelings. BM ditched a year ago, there are other factors going on, but it really pisses DH off that she has the audacity to come back after picking other things over the girls (drugs,t he bf, she's never cared for them). And honestly it frustrates me as well. That has NOTHING to do with the divorce. That has everything to do with her thinking she can just pop in and out as she pleases and ditch all responsibility.

As I said, ours has other factors, drugs, neglect, etc. But the resentment isn't about the divorce, I'm sure this BM is just frustrated due to the time he chose to be away, then all the sudden pops back in.

No she's not going about it correctly, yes she is making them defiant and difficult, and she shouldn't be doing that. But take a breather and try and see where she's coming from as well here. She may not be a single parent at the moment, but your DH did effectively ditch those kids and leave her to her own devices for a long time there. Who's to say he's not going to do it again? (he may not, but from her and the kid's perspective, it's only a matter of time)

When it comes to dicipline in your home. Your DH and you need to be consistent, also i think it's acceptable to request they speak English, I think it's quite rude to speak a language you know people don't understand in front of them. My condolences about all this.

tankh21's picture

OP, BM isn't going to make things easy for you. Matter of fact she will probably continue to make you and your DH's lives difficult and keep on amping up the drama. The skids defying you can be stopped by their father your DH. He needs to create boundaries and make them be respectful. Talk to your DH about the way you are feeling. He can either step up or you can disengage.

Letti.R's picture

I have sympathy for everyone in this case - minus your husband.
He is the cause of a lot of the problems here.
You seem to blame the skids and the BM, but not your DH.
Look a bit closer to home as to how these problems came about and you will find your husband at the root of it.

I don't want to rehash history or beat you up but  the situation is difficult.
You not wanting the skids around or asking your DH to refuse visitation with these kids is going to prove them right: their Dad can pop in and out of their lives when he wants to.

It seems you are trying to make this work - and no one is helping you.
Why do you not have a sit down meeting with the twins and your husband?
Why do you not explain to them what you are trying to achieve with visitation?
Explain why your house rules are different.
Ask them to speak English, not demand or enforce that they do.
It appears that French is their first language, they speak it to each other, ask them out of courtesy to speak English.
Further hostility to these kids  about language only gives them reason to defy you.

Have you asked BM to help you with adjustments in your home?
Or has it been an expectation on your part that she would do this?
Surely she too can not be happy that her children need to spend time in an environment where there is conflict?
Maybe if you approach her as a mother, she may be open to helping you.

This woman has raised these kids on her own for ten years plus.
She is a lawyer and would know she has to allow visitation with you: she may be open to helping make it less of a battle if you ask her, and I am not sure you or your husband have approached her on  this?

fourbrats's picture

is that the kids adapt to the adults and not the other way around but I think in this case some compromise might be in order. This isn't a typical step situation. I am not saying let the kids run the show, but for example, learning a few recipes the kids like, asking them what activities they prefer, etc would go a long way. Possibly even asking them how they are used to eating. For example, if they have been raised with a traditional French meal schedule then they eat a large meal at lunch and a light dinner. A heavy or large dinner might not even appeal to them. Little things. Little adjustments that actually make them feel welcome instead of like they are squares being forced into round holes. 

You could ask them to teach you and the younger kids French if they agree to speak English while in common areas of the home. 

You say you want them to be part of the family but your expectation was that two preteens who have been raised in a completely different way from your own kids would fit into your family with no regard for how your husband could fit into their already long established lives. 

justmakingthebest's picture

I was actually going to hop back on and talk about the speaking French. It might be an area of bonding if they can start teaching you. I am sure the library has resources to help your whole family learn. 

Letti.R's picture

I really like this post.
It is very helpful.
Especially when it comes to food.

I am an adult and I went over to the US two years ago for a visit,
I am sorry to say but  I hated the food.
Too much sugar in everything, portion sizes too large, too much refined carbs...
If these kids are used to a French style of cuisine from their mother, they are going to freak out at typical American food.

I actually do not understand why some Americans are so fat.
The food is perfect for weightloss!!
I lost 15 pounds on a two week long trip because of my aversion to the food... Wink
 

fourbrats's picture

that do not eat pork. My middle daughter went out to eat and not thinking about it, ordered and ate an Italian style sandwich with several pork based meats. Poor child was sick for two days. I can see how the kids could be "picky" about or even sick from certain American-style foods. 

I love dogs's picture

A lot of custodial parents let kids about age 14 decide to not come for visitation. Maybe this will be the case for you and your CS payment will be the small fee for the freedom from stress when they visit (or decide not to).

Harry's picture

It just amazing how people see thing with rose color glasses.  Your DH did nothing for ten years, BM supported there kids by herself, had sleepless nights with sick kids without help.  Had to do Christmas, Birthdays by herself. Paid medical insurance and other bills by herself.  Now your DH want to be the fun dad, with ten year olds,  And want to do it for free.  And you can’t see why SK hate you.  DH wasn’t around when BM spoke french to her kids, but now you don’t like it.  You don’t want to pay CS, or be nice  to SK.  Don’t get the fact that SK don’t want to be at your house !  And I don’t blame them.  Nobody likes, Jonny comes later!  How do they know when you are going to stop having them.  That what you are leading up to

One question. Why should SK respect you?  What did you do to earn respect.?  Why would SK even want to be around you two?  They are 12 they know how they were treaded. They remember, when they were the only ones with out a father at events !   Then you disrupted BM life and call her crazy.  BM was doing fine for ten years without you two and now she got a  non caring SM to contend with.  

You were a SM for five years and never saw SK. I am sure you made excuses for that too. 

tankh21's picture

Why should skids respect you are you really asking that?! All kids should be respectful of adults especially in their home. Are kids not supposed to be respectful to teachers while they are at school? There is a bigger picture here!!

Letti.R's picture

Generally, I think kids should be respectful of all people, not just adults.
I don't see OP saying these kids are disrespectful, they are being defiant and to me that is not the same thing.
I do not think kids should obey authority figures without question.
To me that is just mindless nonsense.

If there is something they question, it can be explained to  them.
I don't believe in telling a kid to do something "because I say so"
Yes, the adult in a parenting situation should/does have the final decision making ability, but it should not be based on the fact that someone is the adult and therefore they can make decisions without question.
There is a huge difference in being authoritarian (aggressive)  and the authoritative (assertive).

These kids were primarily raised in a different home.
Their mother may have different standards and culture in her home.
We don't even know WHAT they are defying OP on or why.

ProbablyAlreadyInsane's picture

I also think there's a difference between respecting someone (which is earned) and acting respectful (which is learned/taught).

fourbrats's picture

somewhat vague post I am wondering what she considers disrespectful in terms of the kids. Screaming "I hate you?" Totally disrespectful. Not enjoying a meal? Less so. Being sullen or upset that you are forced to go to "dad's" house EOWE when he was gone for a decade? Maybe not. I think the OP and her husband thought that these kids would be just so excited and happy to spend the weekend with strangers that no thought was given to what was best for the kids or even how things would need to be modified for these kids. 

Areyou's picture

I think you need to not be so involved with the twins and let their dad deal with him since that’s what he wants to do so badly. Take care of your own two and don’t get involved with them when they are there. Do all your errands and fun activities for yourself when the twins are there so that you don’t have to spend time with them. Don’t force family outings that include the twins. Take your own two to do things when twins are at the house. Let DH spend time with the twins alone. I avoid skids like the plague and let DH take care of them on his custody days. If he wants to do stuff with me he has to leave them at home because they are not invited. They also don’t follow rules well and are defiant.

SteppedOut's picture

But honestly, no visitation for TEN YEARS?! How difficult must it be for the kids to HAVE to go stay with STRANGERS for the weekend? 

After not having visitation for so long, while he may be their "father", he is a stranger. 

I feel bad for the kids. Why after abandoning them for 10 years did he decide he needed to be in their life?

I can see the kids point of view, he acted like he didn't want them for 10 years, meanwhile had more kids (that he wanted and took care of). Of course the kids are going to be resentful (and probably very jealous of you and your kids).

StarStrangledStepMama's picture

 I understand things were hard for the mother. I also try to put myself in her shoes, to see things thru her eyes, but I can not go back and change the history or the way it all unfolded.

My husband is not going to leave the twins again. We moved  to Texas and I supported his decision to be involved with the twins. I am not proud of him not being involved with the twins. When we had our kids, he realized he missed the twins. I moved back to his home state to support his decision to see his other children. He struggled financially in the first few years he was away from the twins and could not afford to travel to TX to see his kids. We still struggle. The mother also moved and he had no way of contacting her because her parents would not give him her contact information. I eventually found her through court records because she is a trial attorney.

Some of you are right. We thought it would all be easy to get to know the twins. Its hard. It's harder  than I thought because I am putting in all the effort at the moment and no one is helping. Not their mother, not my husband. Certainly not the twins.

I came to Steptalk for support and advice because I am having a terrible time trying to adjust to my step situation. I do not want the twins around and I don't know how to change how I feel. If I reject these kids, I am sure I will lose my husband. He wants to be a part of his kids lives because he was raised without his father being around. He never wanted the same for his kids. Despite how I feel, I want a relationship with  these kids too. They are the siblings of my kids.  So judge all you want but I can not change what is history. I do want to improve things in the future  but I do not know how.

To those who gave constructive advice and tips, thank you. I can see some useful things which can be of help.

I appreciate all of you taking the time to comment. 

Exjuliemccoy's picture

I can emphathize. My DH did not see his youngest daughter for nearly six years. I met her briefly exactly twice, right before she moved in with us at 14. And as with you, my DH did not step up and be her primary caregiver. That was left to me.

Your H is at the crux of the matter, and it sounds as if he needs to take more responsibility for his twins during their visits. He chose to have the twins in his life, just as he chose to create a family with you, but it doesnt sound as if he's doing much to manage things. You should not be left to cope with them on your own, nor should you and your bios be pushed aside during visitation.

I think what's needed is a structured plan, because doing this organically is not working for anyone except your H. This calls for good communication (so that resentments dont build up), compromise (so that everyone's needs are considered), consistency (so the twins can get used to the rules), and follow through. Your H should be stepping up to prepare meals, do chores, and organize activities on Wednesdays and skid weekends, and the onus is on him to make sure everyone in the family gets quality time with him. Perhaps he could do an activity with the skids on Sat., and an activity with all four kids on Sun. while you get some me time? There should also be some time scheduled for just the two of you. If you and your H cannot accomplish this on your own, a couples counselor can help. It's money well spent if it gets the two of you on the same page and brings a degree of peace to your home.

Lastly, I gather that you are a SAHM? If money is tight, have you considered going back to work? It's a common reality in second marriages since a percentage of household income goes towards child support, and teen skids are even more expensive. If you want your bios to have nice things, extra curriculars, vacations, cars and college funds, you will need to work to help provide them.

 

Aunt Agatha's picture

I understand it’s hard on you.  But your DH -even with little $, and even if he had tomove for work - didn’t appear to keep up with calling his children, or do as some do and write letters, send cards for milestones, taking a photo of what he sent to show he tried to keep contact.  If he did do something - anything - but what appears to be abandoned young children, then my apologies.

Look, I realize this is hard.  My SO has a bonkers, and cruel ex.  She has done so much to alienate them.  But through all the painful times, he kept up contact, and even when laid off sent CS, even if not the full amount and made it up as soon as he could. Heck there were times he was to get them and she would pull antics refusing to let them out of her car, and he would still let them know through a closed car window that he loved them and would see them soon.  It was heartbreaking.  But now in their tweens and teens they love their dad, and understand their mom is the issue (because in reality she treats everyone in her life poorly, down to her own parents).

So these poor  twins abandoned and now forced to play happy family with a man they don’t know, and a woman who clearly resents their presence, deserve sympathy.  At 12, they don’t have the life skills to work through this.  Even in your home, your DH abandons them with you.

Frankly, until your husband does some real work getting to know the twins, apologizes for leaving them high and dry, your life will continue to be miserable for a few more years until they are old enough to just say no to visits.

If you want to help, do as others suggested and make yourself scarce.  Don’t put your own children through this.  Let your DH deal with the very reasonable reactions from two kids he didn’t care about for years, and literally replaced with your own.  Ultimately only he can work on repairing whatever can be salvaged with the two twins.