As Dr. Phil says, you have to decide "what is her pay off?".
I agree with the suggestions here. The family should be in therapy, she should be in therapy, and parenting classes wouldn't hurt. They may give ideas that had never been thought of before.
I, too, work with kids and the ones who are hardest to love, need the most love (and usually some help).
and keep us posted.
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“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” ~ Maya Angelou
Karma is a boomerang.
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