Reply to Speechless

Forum Index » Elementary School-Aged Kids

Reply to "Speechless"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]When I was about 10, I had 4 or 5 girlfriends over for a sleepover, and they proceeded to ignore and ostracize me. It was awful. I went upstairs to my parents' room and told them about it.

It was the end of elementary school, and we talked about what makes for a good friend and the fact that in MS I'd meet lots of new kids and make friends based on shared interests, rather than just living in the same neighborhood. My parents let me stay with them as long as I wanted and said we could end the sleepover, if I wanted. But they also said that it was important to understand how to deal with kids' being mean and how to look at the big picture. I went back downstairs eventually and slept the night with the other girls. I honestly don't remember how the rest of it went; I think the fact that I didn't freak out probably took some of the fun out of being mean for the other girls.

But I will always remember how amazing it was that my parents balanced being supportive and loving with giving me perspective and teaching me how to deal with a difficult social situation myself. They took the same approach when I thought a teacher had treated me unfairly--said I should discuss my concerns with the teacher before they would intervene.

It's so hard to see your kid unhappy. I can't say with certainty what I would have done in OP's situation. But I hope that if I find myself in that situation one day I'll have the clarity of mind to handle it the way my parents did. Teaching kids to handle difficult situations is an invaluable gift.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics