Full Guardianship of my 10 year old step daughter: What Do I Do Now ?

by Jessie
(New Bedford, Ma)

Okay here is goes.... I am 25yrs old and I have never had children, I got married 5 years ago, I have a step-daughter who has had a tough life, I have been in her life since she was 5 years old...She even calls me Mami. But recently her mother walked out on her, then 2 months later her father, ended up in jail... So I ended up with guardianship of this child.... and to be honest, I am lost, I don't know the first thing about raising a child....I think I am more scared than her.

I don't know what to say, or what to do. She feeds on my sympathy when I try to discipline her because she uses the abandoned child thing in her favor a little too much. I have tried to be her friend and she seems to take advantage of me a lot... How do I know where to draw the line between a friend and a Mom without her hating me?

Teach a child the limits without using harsh punishment