My 13 year old is going through a few friendship issues and I don't really know what advice to give her.
She is a bit socially awkward and is quite shy, it wouldn't surprise me is she was autistic but that is a bit of a side issue I think. I was also socially awkward and shy at school so feel I have no good advice regarding teen girl friendships as I was so bad at them myself!
She told me that she is feeling left out and people have arranged to meet up without her, also that she feels some people in her group dislike her - nasty comments that are 'jokes' etc. She has a few people outside of this group that she likes to hang out with at school- the main problems seem to be with the group that she travels to school with (about 40min on the bus and a 15min walk to school from bus).
So far my advice has been to focus on the people who seem to like her and try not to worry about the others, even though their behaviour is hurtful- that they're showing that they're not really her friends by doing this. I've also explained that friendships can be really up and down in Y8 and Y9. Some of the group seem to talk about people behind their backs. I've advised my DD not to get caught up in any of this and just to focus on being herself, be friendly and polite to everyone but spend her time and effort with the people who she has a positive relationship with.
Is there anything else I could say or do to help- or a book that could help? I feel a bit clueless tbh and I remember feeling the same way at her age.