Mom of 7 Says She Banned Her Stepdaughter from Family Dinner After Explosive Fight

A mother of seven turned to Reddit for help after a painful family argument ended with her 12-year-old stepdaughter being told she couldn’t sit at the dinner table.

In her post, the 37-year-old woman described raising a blended family for more than a decade and said she loves her stepdaughter deeply — but feels increasingly lost about how to reach her as tensions in the home keep escalating.

She explained that when she met her husband 11 years ago, he had three children from a previous marriage and she had two of her own. At first, she said, the kids settled into family life smoothly.

Years later, though, the dynamic shifted. The stepdaughter briefly reconnected with her biological mother, and when that relationship fell apart again, the girl returned angry and hurt. The mother wrote that her stepdaughter was “furious with her brothers and me” after her mom left once more.

The family tried therapy, but the girl soon refused to participate. Even after switching therapists, the mother said her stepdaughter wouldn’t go.

As the couple had two more daughters, most of the siblings adjusted, but the mother said her stepdaughter’s resentment only grew. She recalled that the girl didn’t want her to adopt her, and she understood why — yet the girl’s behavior toward her siblings became harsher over time.

Things seemed to intensify around the stepdaughter’s request for a phone. She was told she would get one at age 12, the same way the boys did. The mother said that week her stepdaughter was “super mad with everyone” and even punched a hole in the wall during a meltdown.

From there, the mother described day-to-day life becoming a string of shouting matches. She said her stepdaughter would scream that she wasn’t her mom, ignore her father, and lash out at siblings. Attempts to restart therapy went nowhere: the girl either refused to attend or sat silently and disengaged.

Although the stepdaughter did receive an iPhone 15 Pro Max for her birthday, the mother said nothing improved. She wrote that the stepbrothers now avoid her, her older brothers say they hate her, and the younger girls are scared of her.

She also said the girl uses vicious names for family members, calling her an “evil stepmonster,” her brothers “the unwanted reasons mom left,” and her father “the most horrible dad and husband.” The tension finally boiled over one morning into physical fights between siblings.

According to the post, the stepdaughter screamed at four of the boys, then at her youngest sister, then at the mother, before clashing with a 14-year-old sibling. The mother said the girl slapped two brothers, leading her husband to carry her to her room and confiscate her phone.

Later that day, another argument erupted when the stepdaughter threw a sibling’s laptop after being denied a computer code. The parents extended her punishment, and the mother said the girl shouted that she wanted everyone to die before locking herself in her room.

By dinner, the mother admitted she was emotionally exhausted and hit a breaking point. When her stepdaughter came to the table, she handed her a plate and told her to eat in her room because the rest of the family was having dinner together.

Almost immediately, she regretted it. The stepdaughter called her an “a——” and stormed away. The boys told their mother the punishment was justified, and her husband agreed the girl “kinda deserves it,” but the mother said guilt hit her right away.

In the comments, some readers supported her frustration but worried the punishment would backfire. One person wrote, “Harming her siblings physically is an absolute no,” but added that excluding her from dinner would likely create “more misery,” urging the family to seek serious professional help.