A woman has been slammed by the Reddit AITA community for wanting to exclude her stepson from a family vacation.
Blended families are truly unique, and there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Step parents and step children come in all different shapes and sizes. Some seamlessly blend together, while others face more challenges and difficulties. Once a rarity in American culture, 7% of kids now live in blended families.
In this particular case, it seems like the stepmom doesn’t see her 9 year old stepson as part of her family and wants to exclude him from their vacation plans. It’s definitely a tough situation for the young boy, especially since he doesn’t have his biological mother involved in his life.
Posting on Reddit, the stepmom sought advice, but many were quick to criticize her for her stance. Redditors pointed out that once you marry someone with a child, that child becomes a part of your family too.
One wrote, “Homie that ship **** sailed when you married a man with a child.” Their advice to her was, “Your husband’s son is your family, and you better not ever let that kid hear you say otherwise.”
Agreeing, another reader added, “You married his father. You are his family. And in his family, you are the evil stepmother.”
They emphasized the importance of treating him as her own and never making him feel like an outsider. After all, their argument goes, she chose to marry his father and thus became his family.
One commenter even brought up a powerful question: how would she feel if her husband refused to include her child from a previous relationship in their activities?
Many readers urged her to think about the impact her words and actions could have on her stepson’s feelings and sense of belonging.
The poster’s own mother told her that if the stepson’s biological mother isn’t properly involved in his life, she should step up even more to compensate. However, the woman found this expectation to be completely unfair.
Ultimately, this situation serves as a reminder that being a nice kid doesn’t guarantee that your stepmom will always treat you well. It’s important to consider the implications of excluding a child from family activities and what message it sends not only to that child, but also to the other children and even to her own husband about the meaning of being a family.
What are your thoughts about the stepmom’s actions?
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