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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To tell DD to stay away from this kid?

29 replies

PaperDoIIs · 19/02/2024 08:08

Background: In the summer holidays DD lost her friend group. Long story short, she didn't toe the line , so she got called names, was left out, got threats and even the girls not directly involved were pressured to drop contact with her, which they did. We're on the other side of this, DD has settled well at secondary, has a new group of nice friends and all these girls are blocked. There's a lot more to it, but basically she's doing well, and out of the drama, at least on her part.

One of the ringleaders keeps asking DD(through others ) to unblock her. I've heard she might be having a hard time, and not getting on very well with the girls , but I don't trust this kid as far as I could throw her. Some of the girls have done this before, apologising, pretending to be nice for a day or two and then exploding all over DD once again.

DD asked what to do , as she veers between being worried something starting at school (I've alleviated these fears) or feeling sorry for her in case she is lonely/miserable (I told her it's not her problem). Basically, I told her not to unblock her and ignore, she's out of the drama and she needs to stay out. They're all at the same secondary and only y7, so it could be years of this.

Internally, I'll be honest, I don't give a shit what the situation really is , even if she is genuinely reaching out , DD is not some kind of emotional support animal and she (all of them really)did this to herself.

It also annoys the shit out of me that it's been months now and they still pop up like an unwanted rash .

OP posts:
PaperDoIIs · 19/02/2024 12:31

5128gap · 19/02/2024 11:23

You need to help your DD reach her own decision on this, as just telling her won't have the same impact as coming to her own conclusion. Get her to talk to you about the pros and cons for her of responding to the girl. Why is she considering it? What are the positives, or the risks she sees in ignoring her? Get her to imagine likely future scenarios if she allows contact to resume and if she doesn't. What's the best outcome? The worst? The most likely?

I did talk to her. Her main worry was that if she isn't available online to this girl then she/they might start something at school. Then we talked about how likely that is to happen and what protective factors she has. Then a small part was what if the other girl is trying to break away from the group and she has no friends and that's why she's reaching out. I just told DD that's not her responsibility and just how she managed to make all new friends, this girl can too.

DD doesn't actually want this girl in her life but is fretting over doing the right thing. I find this so fucking frustrating because it's over it has been over for months, they're not in DD's life,she's not in theirs. Why the fuck do they keep coming back up and bringing it all back?

OP posts:
5128gap · 19/02/2024 12:44

Your poor DD. She sounds like a very nice child. If it were me I'd tackle the 'but what if she has no friends..?' by reminding DD that she once was in that position and has built up a new group and is better for it, so that's probably best for the other girl too. Tell her it's better to make a new start than to try to revisit former failed friendships. You've already tried to tell her it's not her responsibility but for someone who thinks like your DD she probably needs the extra reassurance that the other girl will be ok. You sound like you're doing a good job in giving DD practical tips to manage approaches at school.

PaperDoIIs · 19/02/2024 18:55

5128gap · 19/02/2024 12:44

Your poor DD. She sounds like a very nice child. If it were me I'd tackle the 'but what if she has no friends..?' by reminding DD that she once was in that position and has built up a new group and is better for it, so that's probably best for the other girl too. Tell her it's better to make a new start than to try to revisit former failed friendships. You've already tried to tell her it's not her responsibility but for someone who thinks like your DD she probably needs the extra reassurance that the other girl will be ok. You sound like you're doing a good job in giving DD practical tips to manage approaches at school.

She is a pretty good kid. Not an angel by any means ,but fairly decent.

I reminded (thanks to a PP mentioning it) her that she can always use me as an excuse if she doesn't feel comfortable enough to "own" it herself. I'm always happy to take the blame.

OP posts:
Slanabhaile · 19/02/2024 19:03

I completely agree with your approach, it sounds like an awful time for your poor DD.

If your DD is asking you, I think she's seeking permission/support to keep her blocked.

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