Hi, my dad recently married a women with five kids in 2007.  Her five kids are out of control. The five year old little girl gets away with everything.  The rest are boys ages 6,9,13,and 17.  The two boys older boys are a huge problem. They constantly talk back to my dad, telling my dad they don't care about his authority, and my dad and them constantly argue. I am afraid it is going to get out of control one day.  The kids have no respect for my dad, or what he does for them.  The kids are the only thing keeping my dad unhappy in this relationship, and i almost think he'd be better off alone.  When ever I talk to my father about the kids and how he handles things he get defensive.  Hes giving up. The mom, on the other hand, has always been a pushover.  She lets the kids get away with their bad behavior. The kids hit, push and verbally abuse each other. They don't learn from simple punishment such as talking away possessions, or groundings.  It basically has to come down to threatening them.  What should my dad do? He's hoping he can wait the next 4 or 5 years till the older two kids are out of the house, but the situations so unhealthy.  These kids don't learn from anything.  Nanny 911 parenting skills just don't work on teenagers. :(