My 11 (nearly 12) year old has always been happy-go-lucky in terms of friendships. In her Primary School, she was quite popular. Now she has joined Secondary, she is starting to flag a bit.
It's an all girls' school. It has a good academic reputation but also has one for bitchiness at times, though many parents who've had girls there have found their daughters to have risen above the groups famous for this and got on and made good friendships. I really thought my DD would be one of them because she is quite extrovert and she can fight her corner if need be although she doesn't look for trouble.
There are a couple in her class who will completely ignore her if she speaks to them directly. DD is a friendly girl and would never do this so she finds it completely baffling and upsetting. One girl who does this started off OK then changed, the other was at her Primary school and was a friend, although I thought she looked a bit of a madam as I saw her do this to her way back then.
A lot of the girls are growing up, getting into hair and make-up. DD is still fairly tomboyish. She is physically very immature as she is small for her age. She has not developed at all. Sometimes she says she feels like a little kid. Other times she has said she is a weirdo. She is so not a weirdo. Everyone who meets her says she is a lovely girl.
So far, I've told her to rise above it and focus on those who are friendly to her (and there are some) and ignore the snooty ones. I don't think she really feels she's fully got into a group yet. I don't know if it's too early but I think that would really help her.
Any other advice?
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Secondary education
11 year old and friendship
4 replies
gandalf456 · 15/04/2016 14:00
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