052: The Family Court System Failed This Stepmom's Husband & Stepkids

In this episode of the Nacho Kids Podcast, Lori, co-founder of Nacho Kids, interviews stepmom Shannon from New York. Shannon has been blending for seven years. She has two stepkids, a stepdaughter who is 10 and a stepson who is twelve. Shannon also has an “ours” daughter who is six. She and her husband have been through a lot with the stepkids. When the stepson started touching the stepdaughter inappropriately at the bio mom’s house and bio mom didn’t think it was a big deal, bio-dad went to court for emergency custody, which he was granted until the hearing. At the hearing, bio-dad lost and the kids were returned to the bio mom. Since then, the stepdaughter does not want to come back to dad’s house because she thinks what her brother did wasn’t “that bad” and she’s upset that her dad reacted the way he did. Shannon’s husband has not seen his kids outside of therapy appointments since this happened. The therapy appointments with the son go well, but the daughter still refuses to even talk to him. Stepmom is doing her best to be supportive of her husband during all this.    In this episode, we discuss: Going into the blend with nuclear family expectations Stepmoms being scapegoats Family court issues Having an “ours” kid in the blend The significant other parenting their kids and their “ours” kids differently