Stepchildren treating your children badly

[CoolFather]

There's this situation I know about, where the stepchildren are being mean to the stepfather children from his previous marriage. The stepkids are teenagers and will often bully their younger stepbrothers around the house. The stepfather doesn't want to seem subjective, but he doesn't like his boys always complaining that they're being picked on, either.

This is not my case; my next-door neighbour asked for my advice regarding this story...

Any ideas?

 

[Jack]

If I was that step father, I would keep an eye on the older kids and try to get a handle on what is really going on. If it's really a problem, at some point it will have to be confronted with facts.

 

[TopPop]

I would want to know what the mother's take is on the situation. My step son is older than my daughter and my step son has to be watched carefully around her because he acts out frequently and both my fiance and I are concerned that she could get hurt. We have him in counseling and it's helping, but we're still not completely comfortable yet.

Anyway, my point is that my fiance is fully aware of his issues. She knows there is a problem and she is doing everything she can to handle it. She also allows me to do whatever I deem necessary as far as discipline and correcting. It sounds like your neighbor needs to have a long talk with his wife and maybe hold a family meeting including the older kids.