[graciousmomma]

Wow, she has been through so much with losing her mother And I am sure being a stepmother in that situation, where the step children have lost their mother, is not easy at all. I would expect some acting out in a situation like that. It doesn't make it OK, but it is something to keep in mind. Has she been in counseling at all? I know she is little, but there is play therapy available to help her deal with some potential underlying grief of the loss of her mother, and it can help with the other behavioral stuff as well. And you should be able to ask the counselor the best ways to address the behaviors you are seeing. For what it's worth, I think how you are handling the behavioral issues now seems just fine. It's just frustrating. Some kids just take more hands on dealing with things.

So, for the museum, if it's not kid friendly, I would just plan on not taking her to places like that until she is more mature and can handle it better. In her eyes, I am sure the things she was seeing there were fascinating, and it is hard not to touch, even if she was told not to do it. Every kid is different, some 6 year olds could handle going and doing that type of outing, and many others can't. I think you did fine with taking her to her dad when she was upset about holding your hand.

The other thing I would suggest is to maybe take some time and focus on building up your relationship with her. It sounds like a big change for everyone.