Mom forbids stepmom from making school lunch for her 16-year-old stepdaughter: 'Leah should just eat what the school provides because I don't have time to compete.'

She is taking care of her stepdaughter, something her mother doesn't care to do.

If you're a stepparent who enters into a pre-existing family dynamic with a bunch of demands that they change things to suit your liking, you can't act surprised when your stepchild dislikes you. When it comes to matters of the stepchild, it's essential to observe and learn before you make judgments or impose any new rules on them. You might not understand why your spouse and their child operate the way they do, but after observing them over a couple of months, you start to understand where you fit into this family that existed long before you came around.

Perhaps they are particular about using a specific type of ham for their sandwich because it reminds them of their other parent, whom they don't see as often as they'd like. Perhaps they participate in numerous extracurricular activities because, without them, they would become idle and listless. Whatever the case may be, a parent will nearly always know their child better than their stepparent, so it's essential to take the lead of your husband or wife instead of deciding what is best for a child you don't know well. It's always better to err on the side of caution with matters like these.