I'm slightly baffled by the choices and things being said by the parents of some of my daughter's friends.
She is 12, heading off the secondary school. A lot of the girls have completely blanked her over summer.
We spoke about it and I said she would make new friends not to worry about them.
I check her phone regularly and she isn't doing anything wrong. She is quite a sensible kid, stroppy in the morning but a good kid generally.
I bumped into another mum who said her daughter and the rest of the friends are hanging out with other cool kids and maybe my daughter could hang out with them but that she would have to maybe change her style and starting making her hair pretty.
I was really shocked. I could see a kid saying something like that but an adult to a 12 year old?
Apparently, being kind to one girl who is a bit socially awkward has put my daughter firmly in the uncool camp.
The mum was laughing about how quickly they have gone to cool kids and nerds. Almost boasting about it. It was very odd.
Are there really more parents out there who think being cool is more important than being a nice person?
I just cannot believe an adult saying it. What hope do the kids have when that is the attitude of the parents at home! I despair! I'm trying really hard to make my daughter comfortable to be herself and that she doesn't have to follow the crowd if she doesn't want to. Am I setting her up to have no friends?