Last night (yes, my 19 yr old SD sleeps all day and is up all night) my mentally ill (MI) SD came to our room at 8 pm and wanted my wife to take her out to buy a diet supplement claiming she has lost 4 pounds in 3 days. Well, if she had not slept most of those 4 days and had gotten up for meals then she probably would not have lost any weight. Unless she is splurging and purging as she may have done in the past. As I mentioned in my first post, she is mentally ill with borderline personality disorder (BPD); one of the most difficult mental illnesses to treat or to live with someone with the disorder. She has tried to commit suicide 3 times and also cuts herself with sharp objects when she locks herself in the bathroom for hours.

When we ask her to do something in the house in exchange for the $700/mo we pay for her cosmetology school it takes 3 days of constantly asking her to complete the work yet when she wants something it has to be done immediately. I told my wife I was going to the store at 10 am and if she refused to get up and go with me to pick out the drink then she would have to wait until tomorrow when she has a counseling appointment. We can save gas and stop on the way home from her appointment. SD thinks that we should jump when she says jump and we should ask "how high" to jump. She needs to learn that life doesn't work that way all based around her night time antics and her daytime sleeping.

She attempted suicide once before she turned 18 and we had greater control over her treatment but she had already turned 18 before suicide attempt number 2. This is when they diagnosed her with BPD. It is difficult enough dealing with stepchildren but worse considering the mental illness.

How do you get a SD who is MI to follow the rules of the house? How do I get her mother, my wife, to stay on the same page with me about following the rules and what happens when the rules are not followed?

I never had problems with my 4 natural children I had with my first wife before she died.