Stepparents need to work collaboratively with the biologicalparentsto verify the child is safe, healthy, and happy.
This is what one woman tried to do for her stepson.
The woman only wanted to protect her stepkids interests.
To understand more about how stepparents should handle such situations,Bored Pandareached out to Claudette Chenevert.
She is TheStepmom Coachdedicated to helping stepmoms create strong, resilient family dynamics.
However, stepmoms often find themselves in situations where they must respond in the moment.
In this case, the stepmom was advocating for the child, who was visibly upset about his haircut.
The key is how its done:communicatingrespectfully and working collaboratively, she added.
She explained that stepparents are in a murky situation.
If theyre the parent on call, theyre responsible.
Just like a babysitter is responsible when the parent wasnt there.
The situation in this article wasnt an emergency.
It had already happened, it was done.
Its her job to be supportive of the children, and be thoughtful while responding.
The heat of the moment exacerbated the situation, she added.
Its not easy to stay calm in intense situations, especially when thewell-beingor safety of someone is at stake.
The OP wondered if she overreacted to Jesss behavior, because it ended up causing a huge conflict.
She tried to call both bio-parents, they were not available.
The next stop is to pause.
The action had already been taken.
The next step was to be morethoughtful.
I think her emotions got the better of her.
I think this interaction did more harm to the relationship, and all the relationships, than good.
I wish she could have taken a pause to act from mindfulness, not react with anger.
They lost the thread of kids wellness in their own battle, she added.
She added that they were working on updating their parenting agreement as well.
Claudette Chenevertsaid that this situation highlights the complexity of stepfamily dynamicsespecially when multiple parental figures are involved.
People sided with the woman for protecting her stepson and exposing Jesss true nature
Thanks!
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