Blending families isn’t always easy. No matter how much you love your spouse, their children might take some time to warm up to you. And yours might not be thrilled to have a new parent and new siblings all at once. But family drama should not escalate to the point where police have to get involved.
One woman recently posted a story on Reddit detailing how her teenage stepdaughter lied to the police and attempted to get her arrested. Below, you’ll find all of the details, as well as some of the replies concerned readers shared.
It’s common for children to have complicated relationships with their stepparents
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But when this woman’s stepdaughter attempted to have her arrested, she knew that they could no longer live together
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Blended families are extremely common nowadays
While it might not be the most traditional way of having a family, remarrying and combining families to include stepchildren and stepparents is extremely common. According to the Pew Research Center, 40% of new marriages in the United States are actually remarriages, and a quarter of married adults aren’t with their first spouse at the moment.
And of course, many of these couples have children. Smart Stepfamilies reports that there are over 10.5 kids living in residential stepfamilies in the United States. At the same time, about a third of Americans have a step-relationship with at least one other person.
So although there is an archetype of the wicked stepmother, the reality is that many people coexist with their stepparents and stepsiblings quite well, once they’ve gotten through the initial adjustment period. When it comes to building a relationship with stepchildren, Smart Stepfamilies notes that the most important thing is to let the child dictate the pace of the relationship.
Don’t try to force anything, and don’t pressure them to hang out with you. Respect their boundaries, and understand that it might take them time to adjust. And remember to relax. You have plenty of time to spend with them and strengthen that bond; don’t feel like you’re in a rush.
It’s very rare for children to lie about abuse
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If your stepchildren are teens, remember to be incredibly patient. We all know that puberty, hormones and the stress of adolescence can turn teenagers into sassy, independent young people who constantly feel misunderstood. The vast majority of parents have conflicts with their teens, so it’s understandable that these issues might be even worse for stepparents.
But in this particular story, the teen wasn’t simply sneaking out in the middle of the night or getting grounded for yelling at her parents. She could have ruined her stepmother’s entire life with her accusations. The Indiana Chapter of the National Children’s Alliance notes on their site that teens and kids rarely lie about abuse, so it’s always best to believe them unless there’s proof that they’re fabricating a story.
It’s an unfortunate fact that 90% of the time, when a child is abused or sexually assaulted, the perpetrator was someone that they know, often a family member. And it’s much more common for kids to deny that abuse is happening when it actually is than for them to make it up. In fact, the National Children’s Alliance reports that false accusations only make up about 2% of all child sexual abuse reports.
Lying to the police can actually be a crime in and of itself
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But in rare circumstances like this story, when a parent truly has been wrongfully accused, Verywell Mind has shared recommendations for how to respond. They suggest complying with the investigation and being as cooperative as possible, gathering evidence to support your case, informing friends and family about what’s going on and asking loved ones if they would be willing to provide a statement or interview supporting you.
In the United States, child abuse is either a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the state and the circumstances, Shouse Law Group explains on their site. But it can also be a crime to lie to the police. According to CriminalDefenseLawyer, lying to a police officer could lead to charges of making false statements, obstruction of justice, giving police a false name, falsely reporting and/or accessory after the fact.
While child abuse is an extremely serious topic that should not be taken lightly, it’s scary to know that this teen could have ripped her family apart and destroyed her stepmother’s life just because she was bitter about her laptop being taken away.
We would love to hear your thoughts on this situation down below, pandas. Do you think this mom was overreacting? Then, if you’d like to check out another Bored Panda piece featuring similar family drama, we recommend reading this article next.
Readers assured the woman that her reaction was warranted and shared advice on what to do next
The post “She Can’t Live Here Anymore”: Teen Lies To Police To Get Her Stepmom Arrested Over Laptop Ban first appeared on Bored Panda.