No friends at school

[Blueace123]

Hi all. I have two daughters. Where the older one sailed through school being Miss Popular, my youngest has had problems making friends. She always played by herself during lunchtime and was only invited to two parties throughout primary school. She is now in year 9 and turned 13 on Friday, and nothing has changed! I now understand that she is being bullied because of she is soft spoken and gentle. My questions are....1. Are there any parents here with a problem like this? And what did you do about it. 2. Is there a group of parents with this issue? I look forward to hearing from people. Thanks.

My dd is 14 and has similar issues. It's really difficult as she is shy and has little self confidence. People have suggested that she joins things outside of school to broaden her horizons and meet people that way but she is too shy. Every September that she goes back to school I hope that things will be different. It may well be that it will take until she goes to college until she meets 'her people'. She has however never been bullied and I think that that's something that you will need to tackle with the school etc.

Hi Twinklylights, I am certainly going to tackle the bullying, because that's not on. I hope to get her to do other things like drama etc out of school. Hope things change for your DD too.

Miss Popular huh?

I think you are going to have to support this out of school with a hobby - anything that can become a mutual connection with other people without any pressure.

Does your DD like animals? Would she go horse riding? I know it is quite expensive but it is such a good healthy hobby.

@PersonaNonGarter, she definitely loves animals wanted a dog for the longest time. Never thought of horse riding, will research that. Thanks for the suggestion.

Riding can bring confidence and there’s always challenges/something to work towards and other teens who are doing the same thing. Plus, horses are gorgeous.

Volunteering at an animal shelter or wildlife centre could be similar (and cheaper) - although maybe fewer opportunities for friendship.

It is really important for that age group to have friends outside the school. (However popular they are). It means if things aren’t going so well at school, DC can remember there’s a world outside for making relationships.

Thank youso much! Haven't given volunteering much thought! Could have been doing this all summer!