Reply to Daughter calls her stepmother “mom”

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It would be bother me too, but in the end be grateful she is close enough to her "bonus mom" to use that terminology. A child can never have too much love.[/quote]

This. If a kid chooses to call a stepparent “Mom” or “Dad,” it would be foolish for anyone to correct that. Kids know who their parents are. And if they choose to call a stepparent a term of endearment, then great. It means they feel loved and safe and close. Those are all good things. Anyone, be it parent or stepparent, who steps in to correct that is being petty and making it about the adults. No kid asked for their parents to split up. To then try to control what labels they give the adults around them is selfish. [/quote]

No, its selfish to call a parent a parent when they are not.  Kids have two parents and that should be respected.  They can have a good relationship with a stepparent and call them by their first name.  How would you feel if you were replaced and your child called someone else mom or dad?[/quote]

Got it. A kid whose parents couldn’t figure out how to stay together get to tell their child that they’re being selfish for calling another person “Mom” or “Dad.” And what’s most important is that respect is maintained for these parents who blew up their family with divorce. That respect trumps everything, including what the child wants.

As to how would I feel? Yeah, I’d probably feel sad and maybe jealous. It would sting. But guess what? I’m the adult and sometimes I have to set my feelings aside when it comes to how my kid is cared for. If I REALLY want the best for my kid, then I want a strong network of support and love surrounding my kid. It’s just not all the grown-ups all the time. [/quote]

Ok, what if it is one parent who cheats, moves in with the AP, (doesn't marry) and then has kids call AP Dad?  Or vice versa?  You really think that's ok and the parent cheated on should be ok with the AP not only taking their marriage away but replacing them as a parent while they get to write a huge check each month in alimony and child support?[/quote]

This was my DH's situation, except that his ex-wife married the guy she cheated with. The kids call him "Dad"  and it kills my DH. But he never said anything and neither did I. Unlike the "Dad" the ex- married, who basically got a great deal, a nice house, with amazing kids, I had no kids when I married DH and I sacrificed a lot personally in terms of our income, where we lived, etc. so that he could be a good father to those kids and I could be the best step-mother I could be. I love those kids like my own, but I would never have them call me "mom." They have a mom, and its not me. In this situation, I'm the one making the most sacrifices for the least acknowledgment, but it is the life I agreed to. Before I agreed to get married, I looked at myself in the mirror and acknowledged that being a stepmother was going to be the hardest thing I've ever done and that my happiness had to come from within me, not from a label or any other status. I had to be adult enough to be 4/4 in the pecking order, so I committed to that and lived it every day. Not that I've been unhappy every day, but my sacrifice goes unacknowledged to this day. Still, I know that I did the right thing. And as a mother, you have to think about what the right thing is for your kids.

One of my step-kids got married recently, and having to deal with the "Dad" label for the step-father brought up so many deep hurts that DH and I have endured and try to bury for all of these years. But you know what we didn't have? Regret. Because we bit our tongues, never called their mother on her selfishness, and let them love their mother as they should. It was hard to be the adults, but in this situation fighting for what was right was not in the best interest of the children. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I will go to my grave without anyone knowing how much it hurt at times to be 4th class in the eyes of the kids and pretty much everyone else in the world when it came to the kids.

OP, I realize that unlike you, I signed up for the situation.  DH and I have kids together, and I know how much it would hurt if I heard them call anyone else "mom."  I completely get it.  Still, love your kids enough to keep their lives as stable as possible.  The hurt won't go away, but it gets easier. A name is just a name. You are their mother in their hearts and making them feel uncomfortable about their lives with their father is only going to confuse them or make them uncomfortable. Is it worth it?

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