Our Reader to Reader Question of the Week:

Dear Readers,
, let me say I am divorced and the father of three wonderful children. I love them very much, and I try to spend as much time with them as possible. At present, I am with them about three days a week. Recently, my ex-wife asked that my present wife, “Babette,” watch the children every day after school while she works. This means until 6:30 in the evening. It seemed like a great idea to me since the children get along very well with Babette, and our home is a pleasant and fa-miliar place to them. The problem is that Babette believes that she should be paid the same as any other child-care provider because she is performing a ser-vice for which my former wife has paid others in the past. My former wife feels that Babette is obligated to watch the children for free because they are, after all, my children and she is now my wife. Babette says it’s not so much the money but the idea that my ex-wife is just trying to take advantage of her. I love my children and am in the middle of a battle between these two women who are not crazy about each other to begin with. Do you have a solution? -Between a Rock and a Boulder in Colorado VI ANN LANIIERS