I hate when people in their 40s drag teenagers into their adult problems. I know parents who complain about their spouse to their children and ask for advice on managing their marriage. It’s totally age-inappropriate, and it puts the labor of fixing relationships on kids who aren’t even in said relationships. 

Sometimes, adult problems involve kids. In the case of this story, the so-called problem is that a stepmother’s stepkids don’t like her as much as they like their mom. Any rational stepmother would know that they can’t fully serve as a replacement for a present, alive, and involved parent. Arguably, they can’t replace a mom fully who isn’t present, involved, or alive. Unfortunately, that didn’t stop the stepmom in this story from trying. Her stepdaughter planned a spa day with her mom, maternal grandmother, and paternal grandmother, and her stepmom was enraged that she wasn’t included despite the poor treatment of her stepkids.