Hi. My dd is 11. She’s in year 6 and is, and has always, struggled with friendships at school. I don’t know why this is. I’ve had plenty of friends over at dd’s request over the years. Had a few sleepovers. Dd has never been invited for a sleepover.
She’s often in tears as she doesn’t know why she struggles with friends - in context, she’s a bright, kind girl, very pretty but with zero confidence. Last week, she told me that she felt it would be better if she was dead. Obviously I’m worried sick. I’ve told school, spoken to her teacher and to the head teacher about dd. She’s going to be seen by the school nurture team but nothing much else. One girl in particular is nasty to her , calls her fat, boring etc which is making things worse. I’ve told school about this but they glossed over it and told me to be positive about school. Does this count as bullying? Or falling out with a friend?
Dd is very anxious. Her anxiety has been bad for about a year. It’s OCD type issues - excessively handwashing in particular. Her hands are so dry, bleeding and sore. I’ve talked to her endlessly about it. I massage cream into her hands each day. She won’t sleep in her own bed as she’s frightened (my husband works away in the week) so dd is in with me. I’ve taken her to our GP, no help there, apparently there are no funds etc and the GP told me to talk to school. I asked if she might have ASD as my ds has ASD and is 15. This was dismissed out of hand. Dd was assessed some time ago and was deemed NT.
Dd thinks she ugly and fat. I’ve tried everything I can think of to support her - girls shopping trips, just me and her, lots of talking and reassuring.
Pretty clothes, treats. She does karate and is a brown belt now. I thought it would help to make her feel more confident. Any ideas what I can do ? Thank you xx