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I don’t think I’ve heard of a mini wife quite like this one

Reading_and_riding's picture

Ok...so, Dh and I have been together ten years.  SD13 has always been a quiet kid whom I like a lot.  She's generally thoughtful and kind.  The only thing that's ever bothered me about her is that she's not entirely truthful;  she will lie about totally unecessary things to anyone she thinks will be displeased by whatever it is. It takes a lot of careful and sensitive handling for her to come out of her shell, and she'll retreat very quickly if you slip up. 

 We have full custody.  I'm the person she historically tells her troubles to; she sits close to me and follows me around. 

The problem is that she's suddenly trying to get between me and DH.   For example--DH and I have always sat on the loveseat together when he gets home from work.  We'll put our feet up and chat.  We've been doing this for years.  Then one day, a month or so ago,  I came into the room preparing to settle in with DH like usual, but SD13 was already there in my spot.   She's crumpled up against his side, her face hidden in his armpit,  her legs folded up and leaning into him in a full-body press, and I think something must have upset her so I leave to give them some privacy because she appears to be confiding in him.  Nope, turns out she just popped into my seat immediately when he sat down, there was no reason or anything wrong.  He thought it strange too, but being a loving dad he just put his arm around her.

Then she began this full-court press of blocking me like this every single day.   I've been edged out on movie nights, for meals, and every day when he gets home from work.  Now they sit together on the love seat with their feet up. If DH gets up to go somewhere, she'll jump up and follow him very closely, into the kitchen or out the door.  If he's cooking she'll move in to help.  if he's gaming she wants to game.   She moves very quickly, like she's guarding a resource. She will even sit on the loveseat before DH is home and wait.  In response, he and I began sitting together across from her on the other couch, but she just moved her tactics to that spot.  
 

If I do happen to get to sit by him--I don't try very hard, because I hate the weird feeling that she's competing, and I don't wish to engage--plus I'll admit I was hoping it was just some weird phase that would pass and that no reaction from me was likely the best course of action---she'll  sit close by and stare, like she's watching us on tv. And not  like she's jealous of me, but like she wants to BE me. I know it sounds weird and it kind of freaks me out, to be honest.  If I get up to get something, like some water, she'll jump in and steal my spot.  She doesn't even try to hide it.   
 

DH is evidently feeling weird about it too, because now whenever I come into the room at random times throughout the day they are sitting on the couch like that, looking like a couple, pressed together, and he looks up guiltily, like I caught him doing something. He literally can't sit down anymore without her instantly pressing up against him.  I emphatically don't believe anything weird is going on--DH is just poor with boundaries and telling her no, and he's afraid to hurt her feelings.  She's one of those super-sensitive kids that needs a lot of accomodations at home, certain foods only and needing things around her to be a certain way, and she does remote school due to social anxiety.  She's suffered from suicidal ideation in the past and we've had her in counseling and on prozac for over a year, but she still refuses to sleep in her own room (she sleeps on the couch right next to our bedroom door).  If I'm having an off day, I can be in the kitchen doing dishes and she'll instantly assume I'm mad at her when I'm not even thinking about it, but she'll still go tell her counselor that I am.   It's oppressive, to be honest, having to maintain a "customer service" face all the time at home, and not getting anywhere in our genuine attempts to make her more comfortable.
 

Today, she took my seat in the front of the car.  Just like that.  That was a first lol.  I'd talked to DH about it and told him I was going to start setting boundaries if he wasn't, so I kindly kicked her out in a joking manner.  She immediately capitulated, but then went off across the parking lot by herself anyway the rest of the time, and was silent the rest of the day. 

As an aside, this isn't a case of SD not getting any time alone with DH; she gets a lot, more than DD7.  But now she wants all of it, and I can't figure out why so suddenly.  She certainly wouldn't admit to it, and will likely completely retreat if we try to talk to her about it.   I've known her since she was three, and know her well. She's never acted even remotely like this.

I just wondered if anyone else has experienced a miniwife like this one, where a good SD-SM relationship suddenly got weird overnight.  She wears my clothes too, and repeats whole phrases that I've said like she's assimilating my thinking and opinions wholesale as her own.  I don't get a malicious vibe from her at all,  just a benign "Single White Female" kind of thing.  Like she's identifying with me to the point that she wants to step into my skin and assume my role.

DH has said he'll do something about it, but I sincerely doubt it.  He's just too sweet and soft.  And I don't want him to think less of me for complaining about SD's behavior, but it's affecting my sense of belonging in my own marriage.  And, I never thought SD herself would "turn" on me, but it feels like she is, by pitting her herself against me.  I have always been her biggest advocate and supporter. 

Has anyone had this sort of thing happen and then resolve?  SD13's adult sister was a contemptuous miniwife from hell, who was definitely very hateful toward me, but SD13 is not and never has been.  Am I doomed?
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

shellpell's picture

WTF. She wears your clothes? Sits in the front seat? This is very odd and you guys should have nipped it right away. Now you are letting it go too far, which will make it worse when trying to take care of it. And she shouldn't be getting a lot more time than your DD7 with your DH. What kind of message does that send to both? That SD is more important than DD. The favoritism will mess up your DD if it continues and as she becomes more aware. 

Wicked stepmo.'s picture

I would talk to the counselor about her changes in behavior and see if the counselor can figure out what is going on with SD.

When I initially read your post it seemed like a cut and dry mini wife issue. But then as you went on it almosr seems like she is trying to be you. Which could be flattering if it's because she looks up to you or disturbing if she is actually jealous of you and your relationship with her father. 

The_Upgrade's picture

Your husband needs to put his big boy pants on and nip this in the bud. It CANNOT come from you. If you tell her off she’ll ramp up the competition for the prize (your place in the household) because as far as anyone’s concerned your husband hasn’t strictly said no. Yes, she’ll sulk if he puts an end to her clinginess. But realistically how long will she sulk? A day? A week? Surely no more than that. I dunno about you but I’d rather have her sulk for a week than her play mini-wife for the next few years. It’s going to look ridiculous for a girl past puberty draping herself over her dad. 

tog redux's picture

No offense, but someone needs to parent this child. She's acting very strange and everyone is tiptoeing around her like they are terrified of her. Trust me, it's not helping her mental health for everyone to treat her like she's made out of glass, and allow her to do needy, bizarre things. She's crying out for some parenting here. 
 

"Too sweet and soft" needs to parent his kid. He can set limits on her in a kind and caring way. He also needs to get her into therapy, or if she already is, he needs to sit down with the therapist and discuss all of this. 
 

In the meanwhile, you can set kind boundaries as well. "I'm going to sit next to your dad tonight." "SD, it makes me uncomfortable when you stare at me like that " "Please don't take my clothes without permission". Etc. 

shamds's picture

Passengers seat, ss20 comes to car and opens the door expecting me to leave. Ss stood there and my husband told him off can't you see stepmum is sitting there so go to the back.

other than tHat is sds 23 & 13 glued to daddy walking side by side and me expected to walk behind them. I refuse to attend family events because there is nothing appealing about my husband when his 2 daughters are trying to be alpha females glued to him and expecting i pander to them. So i stay home and refuse to go to any event they will be at as it will be a miserable outing

Merry's picture

Time for your DH to talk to SD's counselor about this. Social anxiety can be awful, but catering to SD isn't doing her any favors. At some point she'll have to be around other people, hold a job, etc. She needs to develop those skills to survive.

Who better to help her on that journey than her dad, in conjunction with her counselor? Being afraid of her or afraid of hurting her feelings isn'is harmful to her.

He doesn't have to be an ogre. A simple, "Honey, I need 10 minutes with Reading. Please find something else to do for a bit." Or, "Scoot, Reading was sitting there." If he's afraid of even doing THAT, then he's got issues too. SD needs her place in the family. And that place doesn't displace you.

LittleCloud9's picture

While it is weird, it should not be that big of a drama to address. When SS in the 11 to 14 years age range would try to take my spot on the couch or play the "look at me daddy" game for attention, DH would just flatly say "I want to sit with my wife. Go sit over there." If SS whined, DH told him "when you have your own family you can all sit however makes you happy. Today I want to sit with my wife." And that was it. No one died or melted. The kid just moved and learned to behave. Btw, SS has some similar issues to your SD including anxiety, the suicidal ideation and has been through a lot of counseling. He also has ADD, abandonment issues and a bunch of trauma from a druggie BM. His dad putting his foot down didn't break him. Take action and deal with it now before it really does become a big issue. One other point is simply that the distinction between who is the child and who is the adult needs to be kept clear in a family for healthy boundaries. Around the early teens some kids start blurring those lines, thinking of themselves as more grown up and you might need to reinforce that you are still the adults in charge not peers.

Rags's picture

Lather, rinse, repeat.

You need to take control, notify DH that the ace out the wife crap ends now and you will fix it and SD will not like it. 

Then do it.

Over, and over, and over again until she knocks her toxic crap off.

Bring a state of abject misery and behavior changes.

Bring the pain, watch the behavior change. Humiliation is a big motivator for teens.  Embarrass her, over and over again and she will avoid it like a bad acne break out.

TheBrightSide's picture

Is it possible she experienced trauma outside of the home and is regressing?  If her behaivor changed suddenly, a therapist might help.