I've recently moved in (3 months) with my boyfriend who shares custody of his 5yo daughter with his ex. We've both been careful to explain everything to her about the change in situation and have spent lots of time getting to know one another without forcing anything. We've really fallen for each other, me and her, but she's recently started being quite horrible to her dad when I'm around sometimes, and can act conspiratorial, taking my hand and leading me out of the room to talk to me or whispering in my ear so that he can't hear what she's saying.
I'm never mean to him in front of her, so it's not something she has learned and is trying to impress me with! Is it just her way of letting me know she likes me? Is she trying to manipulate him? She does do that anyway - he's a big softy when she's about, but she knows how to push his buttons.
I'm delighted that things are going so well between me and her (so far!), but it makes me and her dad feel sad when she behaves this way. I am trying to make sure that she sees me and him are a team and that I am also seen as an authoritarian figure and not just someone fun to play with, and I'm hoping this will even out eventually. She's only with us for short periods of time, so we do want to make her time with us count, but I just wondered if anyone had any tips on how to respond to this?