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RELEASE: SUNDAY, JANUARY 29, 2012

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Editor's Note: Hundreds of Ann Landers' loyal readers have requested that newspapers continue to publish her columns. These letters originally appeared in 1999.

Dear Ann Landers: I am the mother of a very confused 5-year-old boy. His father and I are divorced, and we both have remarried. My new husband loves "Timmy" and is a wonderful father to him. Thanks to his encouragement and generosity, he has helped me be more supportive of Timmy's relationship with his father. I have tried to be kind to Timmy's father and stepmother, and have gone out of my way to accommodate their schedules. We have even loaned them money to help pay some bills. I do this because I love my son.

Ann, my son's stepmother has lied to him and to us repeatedly, and I do not know what to do anymore. She signed Timmy up for soccer, but neglected to tell us, and we missed his first practice. She then told the other parents that we obviously didn't care about Timmy, or we would have shown up. She has also lied about how Timmy is doing in school. She says he has reading problems and is in remedial classes, which is absolutely untrue. Timmy is a bright little boy and is doing very well. She encourages him to keep secrets from us and tells him we are not nice people and that he doesn't have to do what we tell him.

Ann, Timmy loves his father and is trying to develop a good relationship with his stepmother.

We do not want to make him unhappy, but I think all this deception is taking its toll. I don't want to prevent Timmy from seeing his father, but my ex-husband refuses to do anything to help. He lets his wife handle everything concerning Timmy, and as you can see, she does not have his best interests at heart.

I don't want to see my son hurt, but I don't know what to do to make things better. I am angry and upset and worried. Please advise. — A Mom in Ohio

Dear Ohio Mom: You must meet with your former husband and an experienced counselor, who will spell out for him exactly what is happening. The child is the victim here, and your ex-husband can and should save him. Unfortunately, your ex-husband's new wife appears to be vindictive and destructive.

If there is a chance that you can change the visitation and custody arrangements without going through messy court proceedings, you should consider it. If your former husband is willing to do this for the boy's sake, it might be an excellent solution to the problem.

Good luck, dear. I hope you succeed. If you do, everybody wins.

Feeling pressured to have sex? How informed are you? Write for Ann Landers' booklet "Sex and the Teenager." Send a self-addressed, long, business-sized envelope and a check or money order for $3.75 (this includes postage and handling) to: Teens, c/o Ann Landers, c/o Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254. To find out more about Ann Landers and read her past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

ANN LANDERS (R)

COPYRIGHT 2012 CREATORS.COM


Comments

4 Comments | Post Comment
The new wife! My Ex married again and we had ''new wife'' problems. She would not allow him to talk to me--even about our children. What to do? I don't know. Thank goodness the children are now grown. I called him one night to discuss a problem with the children, he answered the phone, and knowing him, I quickly said what needed to be said. He then replied to me, '' (Wife) is busy right now. I will tell her about this, and if she thinks it is important, she will call you back''. Needless to say, I never got that phone call.
Comment: #1
Posted by: Neva
Sun Jan 29, 2012 6:37 AM
If your children are grown, you don't need to talk to your ex about the children. If the children want their father to know, he will tell them. Don't call his house. Divorced means "Done with". If you wanted to continue talking to him, you shouldn't have divorced him. I know all this is true because I am divorced and remarried, so I have an ex husband, with whom I have grown children. My ex husband has a new wife, and she never hears from me. And I have a new husband, who has an ex wife who still thinks he should be available to her. And she's wrong. He's done with her and she is nothing but a nuisence. Neither I nor my husband appreciate hearing from her. Leave you ex alone.
Comment: #2
Posted by: Zip
Mon Jan 30, 2012 12:46 AM
Re: Zip
It's not about the fact that they're divorced. It's about the child and he's a minor. Dad is not involved as it's easier to have his new wife handle things. WRONG! He needs to step up, move her aside and act like a father. I'm sure mom would love to leave her ex alone and move forward. Just so happens she loves her son very much and understands what's really important here. Man-up Dad!!!!
Comment: #3
Posted by: Viki
Mon Jan 30, 2012 8:33 PM
Re: Viki

Zip was talking to Neva, poster #1, not to the LW. But the funny thing is, the letter was written in 1999, so therefore the 5 year old child IS actually about 18.
Also the Dad didn't ask for advice, so not sure how you'd get that point to him (plus you'd need a time machine), so Ann Landers advice to the LW was good, but you're right that the MOM needed to woman up and tell the DAD to man up, because she should no longer allow the stepmom to have unsupervised access to her son.
Comment: #4
Posted by: Steve
Tue Jan 31, 2012 10:39 PM
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