Okay, I need some help asap. Not even sure where to start. Let me start by saying that I have 3 healthy kids, 2 boys and 1 girl. I'm no longer with their mom, but everything is very civil, and everyone is happy and loved. The issue I'm having is with my girlfriends son. Before I go any further, let me just say that the situation really bothers me, and I feel terrible already. So please, no righteous finger wagging. I love my girlfriend and her kids, very much, and we have a fantastic relationship. We have an argument probably once every month or so, but it's normal stuff, mostly just miscommunication. She has 2 kids from her previous marriage, 7 year old boy, and 11 year old girl. I love these kids, they are super cool, and well behaved. Tragically, their father committed suicide about 5 years ago. Her son is too young to recall anything, her daughter sometimes needs some comfort, but not very often. Okay, on to the problem at hand: The way her son acts bothers me. Its very hard to explain, but I guess you could say he is a mamas boy. Its difficult for me to relate to him. Sometimes it's hard for me to be around him. Again, I'm not interested in judgements. I need advice and ideas on how to foster a healthy relationship with this kid. Some examples of his behavior would be that he acts like a baby, but only around his mom. For a while he started calling her ma-ma, but not like the charming southern mama, like the way a baby doll would say it. Additionally he constantly needs her attention and approval, which unfortunately means her daughter is sort of forgotten. Again, I like the kid, and I would never mistreat him, or make fun of him. I've done a lot of things to try and connect with him. I introduced him to video games, which has slowly become our families identity. Instead of board game night, we play terraria, or minevraft together. He is a pretty terrible sport though, and in games that are cooperative, he often will take things he has not earned, or will complain when he doesn't get something. He also does this thing where he acts "cute". He will "accidentally" mispronounce words, or talk in a whispery, high pitched voice, when 10 seconds ago he was talking completely normal. Again, he only does these things in the presence of his mom. I've talked with her about this, and she openly admits that he is her favorite. We recently went to Tennessee, and I looked in the back seat and he was clinging onto his literal baby blanket and his 5 year old stuffed animal. When I asked her about it, she said he won't sleep without them. If I'm being affectionate with his mom, he will always need to come and get his affection from her too. She and I have talked about this, and she is trying to work on some of the stuff with him. I guess I just need some advice on how to look past the annoying stuff he does, and get back into enjoying my time with him. I want to be clear: I love my girlfriend, and love her kids like my own.
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