S.T.
this is a husband problem, not a stepson problem. so right out of the gate i'm concerned with you blaming a confused 7 year old for being the troublemaker.
well, and a *you* problem.
if you had a stable household with strong parents and a thoughtful parenting philosophy there would be no reason for this clearly upset small boy to live elsewhere. the fact that you and your husband are pitted against each other with the little fellow as the catalyst does, however, indicate that maybe the poor little guy is better off where he is.
a little guy pitching fits over his dad actually makes a lot of sense when you see it from his perspective. his daddy has this new family, new wife, new baby, new stepkids, and he's feeling lost and desperate to make his place in his daddy's life.
yeah, it would be great if your husband would show firmness, patience, love and consistency when dealing with his sad, confused little boy.
it would be better yet if you would.
but instead of even trying to see things from a small child's perspective, it's all about how annoyed you are and how awful he is.
i suggest counseling for everybody.
khairete
S.