LW1: It does sound like she’s going a little—maybe a lot—over the top.
“Maybe”? Most definitely. Still, this is the important part: “My daughter has asked me why her aunt doesn’t like her as much as Emily.” If LW could go back in time, just share that with Sis and not the rest. Since she can’t time travel, try to arrange trips to the zoo, water park, etc., that are about shared time, not money.
LW2: You’ve been around for two years, which is a lifetime to a kid, so you’re a big deal in her world.
No, no LW hasn’t. “I am 20 and was out of the house when my dad remarried two years ago.” LW is a young adult living their own life, and stepsister is a stranger who is in the midst of bad timing, age-wise. LW is at the age of actual independence. Sister is at the age of rebellion, where she is learning to assert her independence. Stepsister is still a kid who wants family to be close.
With any luck, this will all be a moot point when stepsister hits 13, turns into a raging ball of hormones, and stomps off to do what she wants. However, if she really is emotionally developmentally delayed, and/or her parents successfully make her believe that her step-siblings are her emotional support animals, it could be a mess.
In the short term, hell to the no on taking her to a horse ranch. Whether LW decides to do something special for her later depends on how much they feel okay-to-neutral about the girl herself and how much they feel attached to dad and want to keep some level of family relationship going.
no subject
“Maybe”? Most definitely. Still, this is the important part: “My daughter has asked me why her aunt doesn’t like her as much as Emily.” If LW could go back in time, just share that with Sis and not the rest. Since she can’t time travel, try to arrange trips to the zoo, water park, etc., that are about shared time, not money.
LW2: You’ve been around for two years, which is a lifetime to a kid, so you’re a big deal in her world.
No, no LW hasn’t. “I am 20 and was out of the house when my dad remarried two years ago.” LW is a young adult living their own life, and stepsister is a stranger who is in the midst of bad timing, age-wise. LW is at the age of actual independence. Sister is at the age of rebellion, where she is learning to assert her independence. Stepsister is still a kid who wants family to be close.
With any luck, this will all be a moot point when stepsister hits 13, turns into a raging ball of hormones, and stomps off to do what she wants. However, if she really is emotionally developmentally delayed, and/or her parents successfully make her believe that her step-siblings are her emotional support animals, it could be a mess.
In the short term, hell to the no on taking her to a horse ranch. Whether LW decides to do something special for her later depends on how much they feel okay-to-neutral about the girl herself and how much they feel attached to dad and want to keep some level of family relationship going.