My nine-year-old step-daughter has become a monster and her mother seems scared of her

The girl is verbally and physically abusive to both of us – and acuses me of being a paedophile. I now dread going home and wonder about moving out

Man and screaming child
Photograph: Guardian Design

A few years ago, I moved next door to a single mother of two children. After two years, we fell in love and moved in together in a bigger house. Things went well initially but have since gone downhill. I love the kids, but the nine-year-old girl has become a monster after befriending a spoilt younger child. She has become disrespectful and is verbally and physically abusive to us. The other day I told her off, and her reply was that she would call the police and report that I am abusing her. Recently she shouted at me, calling me a paedophile who is preying on her and her sibling. My girlfriend does nothing – she was abused by their father before he left her – and now it’s as if she is scared of the kids. I have thought about leaving (the house, not her) but worry as rent is expensive. I dread going home after work each day. What should I do?

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