Stone Soup by Jan Eliot for February 13, 2015

Brothers-in-law.

They may resist his guidance by calling him “Officer” instead of Phil.

And that is how men avoid the dirty work.

Serious question: What is the name of the relationship between Phil and Wally? Brothers-in-law-squared? In Spanish there is a word for it: concuñado. A cuñado is a brother-in-law, and cuñada is sister-in-law. So the spouses of a pair of siblings are called concuñado or concuñada, depending on their gender. So, what is the equivalent in English?

Sorry but Phil as a future Step dad really has no say with the girls only Val does. Makes it bad with the girls dad deceased.

Oh no!

A stepparent who joins the family when the kid is under 6 can be accepted as a true parent. For tweens and teens, there tends to be authority, but it’s closer to what her aunt and uncle would have. In other words, an adult, but not the rank a parent would have. According to psychological research. So when Mom isn’t around and it’s either a minor thing or a safety thing, saying something works, and of course Val will trust him to do what’s necessary if he saw danger. Major consequences, he’d have to talk to their Mom first. And he lives close enough to walk and wouldn’t be drinking at all if he was going on duty

Since the girls instigated this whole thing, they shouldn’t have trouble respecting him in the disciplinary matters. Little things, he should be able to make decisions about, but big things should be discussed, as it should be between bio Mom and Dad. Good parents should discuss major privileges as well as consequences before they are agreed to or handed out.