Dear Prudence is Slate’s advice column. Submit questions here. (It’s anonymous!)

Dear Prudence,

I not-so-recently got divorced. A significant part of the reason for the divorce was my contentious relationship with his daughter (my stepkid) and his ex. They expected me to be a loving stepmother, but bridled at everything I did or didn’t do. He never backed me up. I got sick of it and decided that, sadly, I wasn’t cut out to be a stepmom. It wasn’t really a surprise. I never thought of myself as a particularly maternal person, but I figured being a “responsible adult” wasn’t that different from being an aunt or whatever. I was wrong.

The problem is that everyone seems to think I am going to continue to parent the kid—my ex, his ex, and the kid. I get calls to pick them up. My e

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