Mom 'Heartbroken' After Noticing That Her 6-Year-Old With 'No Friends' Is Being Ignored By The Other Girls In Her Class
She admitted that her daughter is incredibly social and lovable, but is being isolated by the other girls in her class.
WESTOCK PRODUCTIONS / Shutterstock A mom admitted that she's unsure what to do after discovering that her daughter doesn't have any friends in her class.
Posting to the subreddit r/Parenting, she claimed that her 6-year-old daughter had been complaining about having no friends for months. At first, she didn't believe her, but she quickly noticed it was true.
She's 'heartbroken' that her 6-year-old daughter is being ignored by the girls in her class.
In her Reddit post, she explained that her daughter is in the first grade. Since the school year started, she's been hearing that the little girl has no friends and that the girls in her class actively turn their backs on her whenever she asks to play with them during recess. She told her mother she spent recess alone since they didn't want to include her.
"In the beginning, she would tell me these things during bedtime when we’d be laying down together and I always just thought it was partly made-up stories and that she was exaggerating everything, but I listened to her and tried to find ways to help her out in dealing with these kids," the mom wrote.
Photo: fizkes / Shutterstock
However, months passed, and her daughter was still complaining about not only having no friends but also that the girls were mean and excluding her from playing with them. She even cried over these instances a few times to her mother. It wasn't until she took her to a birthday party where a few girls from her class were in attendance that she saw the isolation happening.
The young girl's mom explained that when her daughter went up to one of her classmates and asked if she could play with them, the other little girl simply looked her daughter straight in the face before turning around and walking away. Assuming that maybe the little girl hadn't heard her daughter's request, she nudged her to ask again, but her daughter refused.
"She said, 'No, Mommy. She looked right at me and ignored me.' I now know what she tells me about them is true. I saw it happen with my own eyes," she continued. "Again tonight, she told me she was alone during recess today and she started to cry. She asked me if I could get her some crayons and a coloring book for recess so she can sit at the table alone and just color."
Now, the young girl's mother is questioning what she can do to solve this situation for her daughter because she's "heartbroken" over it. Unfortunately, children can often be cruel for no apparent reason, leaving parents to feel isolated and helpless when their child faces bullying at the hands of their peers.
People offered various suggestions to this mother about what she could do to improve the situation for her daughter, who has no friends.
Many Redditors agreed that the mother should schedule a meeting with her daughter's teacher. It's possible that her teacher can provide a clear solution to the problem since they are exposed to the classroom atmosphere and notice how the children interact with each other daily.
"Talk to the teacher. They will have the most insight about the social atmosphere within the classroom. Listen and decide if a change is needed," one Reddit user suggested, while another added, "This is really heartbreaking. Can you sign her up for an after-school program where she can make some friends? Soccer or drama maybe?"
The young girl's mother could even enroll her daughter in activities that she can do outside of school, including swimming, ballet, music lessons, or any other child-friendly activity where she can meet and be surrounded by other children who are not in class with her. Because the issue isn't her daughter, it's not as if she's severely incapable of making friends; she's just being isolated and, frankly, bullied.
Most importantly, this mother should sit her daughter down and explain that sometimes other people aren't very friendly and that it's not her fault. She should reassure her daughter that she is loved and valued and that she deserves kindness and respect from others. Encourage the young girl to be herself, no matter what, to stand up for herself when necessary, and to seek support from trusted adults if she ever feels unsafe or uncomfortable by the other children in her class.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.