Today my daughter told me this, "Aiya,my friends will not come to my birthday party one la, cos I don't have any friends." My heart broke silently. She has always had difficulties making friends in school. She's the one who changes best friends everyday. And hangs out with girls from another class because the other girls in her class doesn't wan to hang out with her during recess time. Every parent teacher meeting, her teachers will bring up the subject of her not being able to socialise well. At the age of 8, all she wants is to have her friends like her and count her in as part of the group. Acceptance. But for the past few years, she has been struggling with that. And I could see that her self esteem is slowly eroding. She has a bossy nature and I know her friends don't like it. But she's only 8. She doesn't have strong self control unlike us adults. As a mum, I want so badly for her to feel accepted. Trust me, I've told her and taught her about controlling her bossy nature. I love her for who she is, her bossy nature cos she's a great leader. And I dont know what else I can do to help her. I'm just sharing this here cos I can't share on Facebook. I hope I have the wisdom to teach her to love herself no matter what.

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Hi there Mommy. Reading what you've written reminded me of my childhood, especially when I was in primary school. I was not outspoken and assertive like your little girl but I didn't have that many friends in primary school because I was the tallest in class (even amongst the boys), I was quiet and was awkward. Kids can be mean and oh boy were they mean to me. Unlike your daughter, I didn't dare say a thing to my parents because I didn't know what they would say. I eventually found another girl who was just as "weird" and it made things easier. As I grew into my teens, moved on to high school, I grew into my looks, my quirks and I embraced who I am. Tell your daughter that it won't always be like this -- things will get better and she should never compromise her personality too much just to win the approval of others. I hope your daughter will feel better soon and never ever question or doubt her personality ever again. And I hope she will find a friend or friends who will adore her for who she is, like how mine did :)

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