Man Checks Out From Performing Parental Duties To His Stepkids After Wife Reminded Him That He Isn't Their Dad

There are moments when nothing seems to be working out for you and you've run out of patience, so it's easy to feel like a bad parent. However, the fact that you're questioning whether you're parenting your children well indicates that you're not a horrible parent at all.

There are moments when it seems like every decision we make is huge and every error we make is important. We are concerned about how our decisions may affect our children down the road, particularly when it comes to unfavorable situations.

Everybody has, in a fit of rage or uncertainty, chosen to parent poorly at some point but when you're reminded that you're not someone's parent, you tend to just exempt yourself. The OP has been married for about 4 years now.

His wife brought 3 kids from previous relationships into the marriage while he has none. They moved into the OP's house after the marriage because he lives in a better school district.

The OP woke up one day and found a large dent running down the entire passenger side of his car. Upon investigation, he found out that their 16-year-old daughter sneaked out of the house in the middle of the night and drove off in the OP's car.

OP tried to tell his wife the necessary punishment her daughter needed to go through so she could learn but he was reminded that he wasn't her father. Since then, the OP has checked out of any parental duties and it has been a mess.