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“Delulu” Stepmom Is So Convinced Stepdaughter Will Give Her Baby To Her, She Has The Nursery Ready
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“Delulu” Stepmom Is So Convinced Stepdaughter Will Give Her Baby To Her, She Has The Nursery Ready

Woman Refuses To Give Her Baby To Delusional Stepmother Who Believes She Deserves Split Custody“She Was Never Able To Have Kids”: Woman Wants To Take Stepdaughter’s BabyStepmom Reappears In Woman’s Life, Demands Shared Custody Over Her Newborn“Evil Stepmother Wants My Baby”: Mom Shown Pics Of Nursery Abroad, Told She Can Visit Her ChildAn Evil Stepmother Wants To Take A Woman’s Newborn Because “It’s What She Deserves”“She Has Everything Set Up Already”: Woman Visits Stepdaughter, Wants To Take Her BabyDelusional Stepmom Believes She Has The Right To Split Custody Over Stepdaughter's Baby“She Can’t Be Serious”: Infertile Stepmother Believes That She Should Take A Woman’s NewbornWoman Is In Disbelief As Her Stepmother Insists She Should 'Split Custody' Over Her Baby
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Entitlement comes in all shapes and sizes, from rude behavior to ridiculous demands. Annoying to those on the receiving end, at a distance, it can be comical to see and hear the bizarre leaps in logic people will make to justify their beliefs. But sometimes it goes too far.

A woman shared her experience with an unhinged, infertile stepmother that demanded her step-daughter hand over her newborn. Citing a variety of fake concerns, “helpful” advice, and weird demands, she attempted to talk OP into just giving her the child, backed up by OP’s rather unhelpful father.

There does not seem to be a limit to what an entitled person thinks should be theirs

Image credits: Omar Lopez (not the actual photo)

One new mother shared her experience with her stepmom that really wanted to take her child

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Image credits: Ashwin Vaswani (not the actual photo)

Image source: Ashamed-Leg7206

The mechanics of a step-family can lead to many misunderstandings

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Image credits: Monstera (not the actual photo)

Perhaps one reason so many people turn to the internet for advice or at least to vent is the uncertainty of how to assess and understand the behavior of a step-parent in general. In the past, these sorts of family structures were less common and often not explored in popular media or general discourse. Now, for example, around half of all US households are families that are remarried or recoupled. Because the precise “layout” of these families will all differ and the remarriage can happen at a variety of different times, this can create a lot of uncertainty about how to go about navigating difficulties, boundaries, and obligations. In short, family drama is hard enough, but once “family” gets obfuscated, even more challenges arise.

The other challenge comes from the fact that in a “remarried” or “recoupled” family, there might be conflicting opinions about responsibilities. Biological siblings tend to have a mutual understanding towards each other, while parent-child relationships also follow a set of norms. In OP’s case, the stepmother might be overestimating her place and her stepdaughter’s responsibilities. Of course, there is basically nothing about her demands that make sense, but even if she was more reasonable, it’s easy enough to see where difficulties might arise.

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Bad boundaries are a recipe for disaster

Image credits: Liza Summer (not the actual photo)

Of course, this is assuming a normal familial misunderstanding, as what OP’s stepmother is demanding is beyond ludicrous. This might be a rare case of inter-familial “Karen” behavior, as this level of entitlement doesn’t normally happen inside a family. We see all the “normal” Karen tricks on display, the nagging, explaining to OP how her, preposterous, plan is actually better. Her delusional behavior is visible further in the post where, for some reason, she is building a nursery. Here there are two possibilities, either that she sincerely believes that OP will just hand over a child, or that this act, which no doubt took time and effort, would “guilt” OP into sharing custody. It’s somewhat hard to decide which option is “better,” as both delusion and manipulation are pretty concerning.

In general, it seems that the boundaries between OP and her step-mother are deeply unclear and her biological father is not taking good steps to enforce them. Fortunately, where her father is slacking, her partner is doing his job. This unclarity will probably manifest itself again in the future, so OP is best served by taking preventative measures to make sure her stepmother remains at a distance and has no legal access to her or the child. Fortunately, they live in another country, so they can’t just show up beyond frequently taking flights. Similarly, the stepmother can’t just take the child on a plane, which should be some comfort to OP. But the comments are correct, all in all, she needs to limit contact with her father and his chosen partner.

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OP gave some more details in the comments

Other readers shared advice and shock at the step-mother’s behavior

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Justin Sandberg

Justin Sandberg

Writer, BoredPanda staff

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I am a writer at Bored Panda. Despite being born in the US, I ended up spending most of my life in Europe, from Latvia, Austria, and Georgia to finally settling in Lithuania. At Bored Panda, you’ll find me covering topics ranging from the cat meme of the day to red flags in the workplace and really anything else. In my free time, I enjoy hiking, beating other people at board games, cooking, good books, and bad films.

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Justin Sandberg

Justin Sandberg

Writer, BoredPanda staff

I am a writer at Bored Panda. Despite being born in the US, I ended up spending most of my life in Europe, from Latvia, Austria, and Georgia to finally settling in Lithuania. At Bored Panda, you’ll find me covering topics ranging from the cat meme of the day to red flags in the workplace and really anything else. In my free time, I enjoy hiking, beating other people at board games, cooking, good books, and bad films.

Kotryna Br

Kotryna Br

Author, BoredPanda staff

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Kotryna is a Photo Editor at Bored Panda with a BA in Graphic Design. Before Bored Panda, she worked as a freelance graphic designer and illiustrator. When not editing, she enjoys working with clay, drawing, playing board games and drinking good tea.

Read less »

Kotryna Br

Kotryna Br

Author, BoredPanda staff

Kotryna is a Photo Editor at Bored Panda with a BA in Graphic Design. Before Bored Panda, she worked as a freelance graphic designer and illiustrator. When not editing, she enjoys working with clay, drawing, playing board games and drinking good tea.

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Jumping Jellyfishes
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Tell all the neighboring Nonnas about that, they are the best security cameras". This is GOLD

Otis B Driftwood
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is eerily similar to my mom's situation that happened years ago. Mom's dad got a new wife. She tries to steal all of mom's kids. Tries to turn us against our own mother. New wife becomes creepy and violent. We don't talk to those people anymore.

UpupaEpops
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is definitely not the end of this story. I feel sorry for the lady, I've seen the toll having fertility issues can have on a woman, but she needs serious professional care. In the meantime OP should cover all her bases. Tammy cannot take the child out on a plane but there are virtually no security checks if they are desperate enough to drive to Italy. So it is imperative to flag this up with the embassy and local authorities. And do let the neighbors AND the workplace know and provide them with recent pictures of these two magnificent beings.

Jcusack
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It sounds like her Dad and Stepmom do drugs, cuz that is WAYYY delusional.

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Jumping Jellyfishes
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Tell all the neighboring Nonnas about that, they are the best security cameras". This is GOLD

Otis B Driftwood
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is eerily similar to my mom's situation that happened years ago. Mom's dad got a new wife. She tries to steal all of mom's kids. Tries to turn us against our own mother. New wife becomes creepy and violent. We don't talk to those people anymore.

UpupaEpops
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is definitely not the end of this story. I feel sorry for the lady, I've seen the toll having fertility issues can have on a woman, but she needs serious professional care. In the meantime OP should cover all her bases. Tammy cannot take the child out on a plane but there are virtually no security checks if they are desperate enough to drive to Italy. So it is imperative to flag this up with the embassy and local authorities. And do let the neighbors AND the workplace know and provide them with recent pictures of these two magnificent beings.

Jcusack
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It sounds like her Dad and Stepmom do drugs, cuz that is WAYYY delusional.

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