My 12-year-old daughter has just moved schools for high school, and I’m concerned about one of the girls in her class. My daughter is quite young for her age socially and can be naive, so she’s the type to be easily influenced.
I’ve seen this girl talk back to teachers on more than one occasion, post fairly depressing and mature things on social media, swear, and generally come across as someone who could be a bad influence.
Because of this, I’ve tried to stop my daughter from getting too close to her. I told her to unfollow the girl on social media, which she refused to do and it turned into an argument. I also wouldn’t let her stay back in the library to “study” with her, because realistically I have no way of knowing whether they would actually stay there.
The complication is that my daughter says this girl has been including her in her friend group and helping her settle into the new school. She says the girl makes her feel safe and supported in a new environment. What worries me even more is that my daughter seems to really admire her and is starting to idolise her, which I find quite concerning.
I’m not sure if I’m being overly cautious so I’d appreciate some outside perspectives.