I was talking to a young girl, now in 8th grade, about how hard the transition was for her when she moved schools two years ago. It was tough. The girls were not as inclusive as they should have been and had a tendency to gossip and the boys in her class were rough and never missed a chance to tease.
But things turned around the next year. I asked her what happened. She said she didn’t share her problems with the other kids because she wasn’t sure they would use it against her. She said she started trying to find friends she could trust by working on different projects with different kids and getting to know them. Eventually, she found a different set of friends.
When I asked her what her advice was for other kids, she said, “Tell an adult. I told my mother and she listened. It made things better.”
Actually, listening isn’t as easy as it sounds. When I asked her mom about it, she said, “Listening. A lot of parents don’t do that but it’s the job. Moms worry about their hair or going to the mall more than listening to their kids but it’s the most important thing.”
In this case, it spared her sweet girl hours of hurt.
This mom should feel very proud.
