We’re all familiar with the tale of Cinderella and her stepfamily. Once her dad passed away, her life was overtaken by the tyranny of a woman who had no interest in taking on a genuine parental role in her stepdaughter’s life. Stories like this can give stepmothers a bad rep for little kids who have only heard of such a title in fairy tales, but most stepmothers are not comically evil towards their stepchildren. Their stepchildren may not like them and what they represent, but it’s usually more complicated than Cinderella. 

Some women thrive more in the role of stepmother than they do in the role of mother, much to the detriment of their children. It might be hard to believe that a stepmother would favor her stepchild over the child she gave birth to, but stranger things have happened. Some widows take their grief out on the kid they had with their late partner.