My 13 year old dd has very little confidence and I don't no what to do to build it up. As a little girl she was very confident she would speak to anyone and had no problem mixing and joining in with other children and was always happy to leave me. But in the last couple of years since probably the last year of primary her confidence has dropped she did have some problems the last few months of primary where her and her best friend kept falling out to the point where they stopped talking to each other until they started secondary also her friends left her out of a group arrangement to go to the taster day at there new school together meaning my daughter had to go on her own. I Remember her being very sad but when I would try to talk to her about it she didn't want to. what made it hurtful to me one of the girls was my cousins daughter who used to be close to my dd and her mother did not see this as a problem.
When she started secondary things seemed to pick up she made a new best friend and quite a few new friends and even made up with old best best friend I remember having to struggle to fit nine girls in my living room for her 12th birthday sleepover and she happy confident and had a busy social life. But then at the start of year 8 her new best friend had moved away which she was upset about but I thought she would be fine because she had so many other friends but all these friends from year 7 seemed to just disappear as far as I no there was no falling out they apparently just hang about in different groups. She did start hanging out with a new group of friends but doesn't seem very confident to invite them to do things with her she'd rather they ask. Which means if there's a film at the cinema she wants to see she would rather go with me than ask a friend which I don't mind but I just think she should also be doing stuff with friends too she has no friends round where we live so spends most her time in her room on her iPad either watching shows or writing stories on what pad she hates having to talk to people and her school reports although are very good all say that she doesn't volunteer answers. She will put herself down and say she is stupid fat or ugly she always say it in a jokey way but I think she means it I always say to her don't put yourself down your not. I try to build her confidence by praising her and spending time with her and taking an interest in her interestes but I don't know what else to do I also try to get her to talk more in social situations ie ordering her own food in a restaurant paying for stuff in shops just so that she has to talk to someone. She has very bad acne so always has her hair in her face to try and hide it she does own makeup and foundation that she could use if she wanted but she chooses not too saying she prefers to be natural she also prefers to where jeans and baggy t shirts and a hoody most of the time even in hot weather.
I really don't no what else to do to boost her confidence I have suggested clubs to her but she's not interested I don't think she's depressed as when she is at home with us or with family she seems happy and full of sense of humour.
Please or to access all these features
Please
or
to access all these features
Parenting teenagers has its ups and downs. Get advice from Mumsnetters here.
Teenagers
How do I build daughters confidence
25 replies
Hello247 · 14/07/2016 18:23
OP posts:
Don’t want to miss threads like this?
Weekly
Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox!
Log in to update your newsletter preferences.
You've subscribed!
Please create an account
To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.