You might not like my response but I think another women shouldn't be made responsible for your daughter. I'm sure she won't want to police her all the time and will eventually cause problems. It sounds like you could use some help. Maybe go see someone about her behaviour without her if she won't come with. In a few years time when she is all grown up and past this stage, the thing she will remember the most is when she was really in need of guidance and support, her parents threw her away for the other children. That's what I would think. I hope you can come to a solution which sits well for all of you. Having teenagers can be the most difficult thing you do in your life. I had a difficult few years when I was a teenager but my parents never let me leave and I thank them for that. They were always there for me no matter what I got up to and I eventually grew out of it and now have a wonderful relationship with my mother. I understand she is your step daughter so you might not have that connection with her and you will definately have it with your kids.

We HAVE been to a counsellor who says there are a few options. Have her living with us with MUTUALLY AGREED boundaries. We've done this. We sit down and work out what's reasonable with her. She agrees to the boundary, then breaks it days later. Option 2 is that she lives with us with no boundaries. That's not going to work either because she simply doesn't want to come to Woodend, boundaries or not. Third option is that we throw her out. Not prepared to do that. Fourth option is that she lives somewhere we know she's safe. That's what we're considering. We are NOT forcing the friend's mother to have her - she is weighing it up herself. They get along.