I see, Sami, that you live in Montreal. I love that city. I used to live in Northern New York State, about 1.5 hour south of Montreal. We used to travel there about twice per year and wander the old city mostly. What a beautiful place and what great memories I have. I now live near Seattle, WA.

As for Shawn...yes, I think that his meds need to be increased but one of them is one that can contribute to him developing diabetes, especially when he steals sweets and such. I am hesitant to increase that med. The other one needs to be increased because he's grown so much in the last year and a half and it's based on weight. But unfortunately, that is the one that only controls impulses, not anger. The one that can lead to diabetes (and liver damage) is the one for rage.

I've thought about foster homes, trust me. I do believe that he could/would hit one of us with not a second thought. His father does not. I did tell dad that if it comes down to that, he needs to be out of the house. Dad doesn't think that will ever happen. He's burying his head in the sand, that's for sure! But I think that he's one of those people, too, that don't speculate on things that haven't happened. He deals with things when they're real. Men tend to do that ~ women plan ahead more. Therapist has explained that to him, why I worry and she has explained to me why he doesn't do things the way that I would, like supervise his own child! LOL

Are any of you step-parents? I'm assuming you are, as you're responding in this area. Do you have issues like this or just the typical rivalry of stepkids and the interloper, as we're so often referred to?