Woman Returning Birthday Gift Bought for Fiance's 'Mean' Daughter Praised

A woman who took back an expensive birthday gift given to her fiance's daughter has been applauded for taking a stand against the teen.

According to her Reddit post, she opted to return the gift after the 16-year-old deliberately excluded her 4-year-old daughter from the celebrations.

It was a move that drew an angry response from her fiance, who accused her of overreacting to the snub. Yet, many online felt the woman had been right to take action.

According to the Pew Research Center, 16 percent of children in the U.S. are living in a blended family featuring at least one stepparent, stepsibling or half-sibling.

But while blended families are an increasingly common part of society, it can still be a difficult transition for the children involved, especially if they are in their teen years.

Psychology Professor Lisa Doodson told Newsweek: "Becoming a blended family with teenagers is generally more difficult than when the children are younger. "

"As we know teenagers in general are tricky as they are at an age where they are striving for independence and are more opinionated. Children under the age of 10 generally adapt to changes in family life more easily."

That certainly appears to be at the heart of the issue for the woman posting to social media.

Writing under the handle stepdaughter53545 in a Reddit post upvoted over 15,000 times, the woman explained she is due to marry her fiance and already considers his 16-year-old daughter a stepdaughter.

Because she comes from a "conservative family," they do not currently live together, but efforts to integrate her partner's 16-year-old with her own 4-year-old daughter have not gone to plan.

According to the post, the teen often "acts kind of distant" to the young child. When she brought it up with her fiance, he told her they just needed a "chance to bond and warm up to each other."

Cut to the teenager's birthday and ahead of the party, the 16-year-old decided to bake cupcakes for all of her guests "since she's into baking."

The woman went all out for the teenager's birthday, purchasing her an iPhone as "she's been wanting one for awhile." However, when it came time to serve cake, she was dismayed to discover the teen had not baked one for her young daughter.

"I felt confused. I asked if she made enough cupcakes and whether there were guests that came uninvited," the woman wrote. "She said no and that she just didn't make one for my daughter."

Furious at the response, the woman said she abruptly left, ignoring her fiance's pleas to stay and taking the iPhone with her in a move that prompted the teen to start yelling.

Her fiance came over to her house later to tell her she "overreacted" and that ultimately "teenagers can be moody" and she shouldn't take personally.

However, the woman refused to back down, explaining that the teen "excluded" her daughter. He nevertheless felt it was "poor taste" to take back the gift and would ultimately "hurt" her relationship with his daughter.

The couple remain at odds over the incident, and many Reddit users commenting online not only sided with the woman but suggested the incident was a warning of what was to come.

"Don't marry this man," CschmidtUSA said. "He will clearly expect you to cater to his child, at the expense of your own." Elizabeth_Sparrow agreed, writing: "A 16 year old is acting like this because she's been allowed to."

Carceyconabears, meanwhile, branded the teen "a mean girl" and warned: "Your fiancé allows this for the last 16 years, he's not going to change." ArtsyAmberKnits added: "The step-daughter-to-be has some serious issues."

According to Doodson, the key to successfully integrating a teenager into a blended family is to "take things slowly and give everyone time to get to know one another."

"Do things together so that you all enjoy," she told Newsweek. "If you're having fun you're creating lovely memories and are building bonds between everyone."

"Have realistic expectations. There will be conflict, there will be disagreements. That's normal and to be expected," she added. "Make sure you and your partner have clear boundaries and 'house rules' and make sure you are both consistent in applying them to ALL the children."