I have a friend that I actually met as another school mum but over the years we have become very very close. Our older sons are fairly good friends but we became even closer when our daughters who are the same age started school together. Our husbands get on and we’ve been away as families and spent New Years together etc. My friend was a SAHM as she actually had an older child as well but over the last 18 months has started work. I’m a working mum too and understand the stresses associated with this and she has had to go c bc ack pretty much full time due to the nature of her work. We always helped each other out with pickups/drop offs as the boys and girls are at different schools. I’ve always loved her kids and I can honestly she and her husband are the nicest, kindest people I know. However over the last year her daughter (aged 7) has become a horrible little girl (and I really do deserve judgement on kids as I know their personalities tend to flip-flop at that time). She has said incredibly mean things to my daughter culminating this Friday in an episode that has kept me awake most of this weekend. As we walked to meet her father, she was singing something to my daughter whose hand she was holding tightly. As I drew closer, I realised she was singing in a ‘cutesy’ voice ‘Nobody likes you, nobody likes you’. As soon as she saw me, looking shocked at what I was listening to, her manner changed and she started laughing. She has previously said horrible things to my daughter in my presence but this was the downright meanest. My daughter is fairly thick skinned and about a year ago told me about the problem (they used to be best friends) and spoke to a teacher about it who moved her in the lunch room. I questioned my daughter over the weekend and ,oddly, I think she now lets this behaviour wash off as it’s a fairly large year and the two girls aren’t in the same class plus my daughter has her own friends. My main fear is that I have witnessed this behaviour and feel that this little girl now thinks she has free rein to do as she wants in front of me. She continued to sing this song in spite of me watching but stopped when we bumped into her dad a few seconds later so she knows it’s wrong. I love my friend and she is very important to me but my daughter comes first. Even my husband (who is a lovely man but really wouldn’t notice an anvil falling out of the sky unless it had a Man Utd sticker on it) has also witnessed a change in behaviour and has suggested backing away from drop offs/pick ups. We were planning a half-term getaway in Feb but I’ve made some excuses. I’m sure my friend is also hurt that I’m not offering to look after her kids more now she’s working which I don’t want to put my daughter in an unhappy situation. I have tried to tactfully talk to my daughter about how this girl is to other girls at school. She is in ‘ School council’ which is an elected post suggesting she is fairly popular but equally my daughter did say that this girl is good at giving a good election speech whereas other girls that age tend to be shy. I don’t know if and how to broach this subject with my friend. I can’t imagine that it only my daughter this girl is like this too but I feel if I don’t do anything then my daughter will become an easy target as this other girl will think I am a weak parent who won’t protect my child!!! I have previously interrupted when the back seat chat has become particularly viscous with ‘ shall we be nicer to each other girls?’ Etc but now feel I really ought to let the mum know but don’t know if it’s my place. Help!!!