Anonymous wrote:I remember one day like that as a teen. The boy I was crushing on (I was convinced it was true love) asked one of my friends to homecoming, and she said yes. When I got home I threw myself into my room and wouldn’t come out. My mom waited an hour or two, then knocked on my door. At my tearful “come in” she popped in with two big bowls of ice cream - my favorite kind, which I knew we’d been out of that morning. She said something like “I can tell you had a sucky day, and I’m so sorry to see you sad. I don’t need the details unless you want to share them. But know that, whatever it is, there are people here who love you and will be with you long after this passes.” Then she sat down with the ice cream and just chatted. I was still sad, but the hopeless feeling passed almost immediately. My kids are younger, but I’ve always kept that script in mind for their teen years.

Anonymous wrote:I remember one day like that as a teen. The boy I was crushing on (I was convinced it was true love) asked one of my friends to homecoming, and she said yes. When I got home I threw myself into my room and wouldn’t come out. My mom waited an hour or two, then knocked on my door. At my tearful “come in” she popped in with two big bowls of ice cream - my favorite kind, which I knew we’d been out of that morning. She said something like “I can tell you had a sucky day, and I’m so sorry to see you sad. I don’t need the details unless you want to share them. But know that, whatever it is, there are people here who love you and will be with you long after this passes.” Then she sat down with the ice cream and just chatted. I was still sad, but the hopeless feeling passed almost immediately. My kids are younger, but I’ve always kept that script in mind for their teen years.

Anonymous wrote:Tell her she's not alone; virtually every woman I know has had some variation of this happen in her life. She will move on and there will be other frogs in her life, but eventually she'll find her prince. Let her wallow. It's normal. But also go out for ice cream.

Anonymous wrote:It might also help to acknowledge that teen boys also struggle with unrequited crushes and nebulous situations. Neither gender holds all the power. Neither gender has it all worked out.

Anonymous wrote:I would acknowledge and validate her feelings. It does suck and it is hard and just let her be sad about it. Do the things you would do with a friend who was dealing with some sucky part of life - ice cream, Netflix, shopping. It won't take away the pain, but help her through it.