What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CO
My wife is having a tough time with her 17yr old daughter and I'm wondering what our legal options are to deal with her. I'm a step parent and I realize that limits my rights and all that, but just looking for some input that anyone might have.
I'm not sure how much backstory people want to read through, so I'll try to start with the current and if you have any questions just let me know.
Currently, daughter and mom just cannot get along. Normally I would say that the answer here is to just take away what the daughter has (take her cell, ground her, no door on the bedroom, etc) and set up firm limits and once she is 18 she can leave.
The complication is that mom is not currently able to cope with the tantrums that daughter throws, the verbal insults and such that daughter throws at her, etc. Mom was an inpatient at a mental hospital in December for 4 weeks and is trying very hard to get back to normal life. She is still going to therapy 3 days a week, and her psychiatrist is still trying to dial in her meds. (Daughter is going to therapy once a week as well.) Daughter knows all this of course and does her best to push those buttons so that mom will just leave the house to get away. Dealing with the other four children we have doesn't help the stress level either, but at least they are all pretty respectful and well behaved, other than typical kid stuff.
It is almost manageable when I am home since mom can leave and I am there to make sure daughter doesn't take off or do anything she shouldn't be doing, but I work a 9-5 job and that leaves lots of time for daughter to run the house.
I'm just wondering what we can do? Just keep going as is and hope mom doesn't wind up in the hospital again? Both of them are miserable pretty much all the time. Biological father is in prison so he can't take custody of her. Daughter has mental problems of her own (bipolar or ADHD, still waiting for a diagnoses) and given her shoplifting and domestic violence record (threatening mom) I doubt any judge would emancipate her.
Any advice?
My wife is having a tough time with her 17yr old daughter and I'm wondering what our legal options are to deal with her. I'm a step parent and I realize that limits my rights and all that, but just looking for some input that anyone might have.
I'm not sure how much backstory people want to read through, so I'll try to start with the current and if you have any questions just let me know.
Currently, daughter and mom just cannot get along. Normally I would say that the answer here is to just take away what the daughter has (take her cell, ground her, no door on the bedroom, etc) and set up firm limits and once she is 18 she can leave.
The complication is that mom is not currently able to cope with the tantrums that daughter throws, the verbal insults and such that daughter throws at her, etc. Mom was an inpatient at a mental hospital in December for 4 weeks and is trying very hard to get back to normal life. She is still going to therapy 3 days a week, and her psychiatrist is still trying to dial in her meds. (Daughter is going to therapy once a week as well.) Daughter knows all this of course and does her best to push those buttons so that mom will just leave the house to get away. Dealing with the other four children we have doesn't help the stress level either, but at least they are all pretty respectful and well behaved, other than typical kid stuff.
It is almost manageable when I am home since mom can leave and I am there to make sure daughter doesn't take off or do anything she shouldn't be doing, but I work a 9-5 job and that leaves lots of time for daughter to run the house.
I'm just wondering what we can do? Just keep going as is and hope mom doesn't wind up in the hospital again? Both of them are miserable pretty much all the time. Biological father is in prison so he can't take custody of her. Daughter has mental problems of her own (bipolar or ADHD, still waiting for a diagnoses) and given her shoplifting and domestic violence record (threatening mom) I doubt any judge would emancipate her.
Any advice?
