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Protecting My Daughter from Mean Girls

March 14, 2018 · In: Momlife, Lifestyle

Why do our girls have to go through the ‘mean girl’ stuff?! I seriously could not believe it when my 4 year old came home from Pre-K talking about how another girl in her class was mean to her. Kids are going to be kids, I get that. What I don’t understand is why does drama, bullying and just being plain out mean for absolutely no reason have to be present? My heart shattered when my 4 year old told me

Momma, I can’t wear this to school. Another girl laughs at me when I where stuff like this.

Now, I was not sending my daughter in a clown costume or any other silly Halloween (even if I was, still don’t think it would deserve ‘mean’ laughs). Her clothes were typical play clothes that I had picked up from Target. What is there not to love about Target, including the cute girl clothes?! There was obviously more to the story than my daughter looking ‘silly’. With the straightest face I could muster up, I told my daughter that there wasn’t anything silly about how she dressed. I somehow managed to hold back the countless tears that were beginning to stock up in my tear ducts.

Why do there have to be ‘Mean Girls’?

I felt the need to come up with an excuse for why the other little girl was being mean. There had to be some reasonable explanation, and it had to be one that my 4 year old could comprehend. I begin to tell my daughter that there are just some kids who are not happy for one reason or another. It could be that they have had a bad day or maybe something isn’t going right in their home. It had nothing to do with how my daughter looked, but more so that the girl had to take out her ‘bad day’ on someone. She was an easy target because everyone else knows that she doesn’t look silly and her heart is genuine. She possible knew that she would take the meanness and walk away without putting up a fight.

My daughter seemed to get that. The other girl was just having a ‘bad day’. What about years later? Can those ‘mean girls’ have multiple bad days that seem to affect my daughter every.single.time? Fast forward to almost 3 years later….the ‘mean girls’ have started to pop up again.

Sticks and Stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me.

Yesterday, my daughter (now in 1st grade) got off the school bus with a not so happy grin. I knew something was up. We mommas always know when something is bothering our children #momintuition. I asked her how was her day as she approached the front door. Her response, ‘It was good until I got on the bus.’

‘What do you mean until you got on the bus?’ I asked her. She hesitates to answer at first, then quickly responds ‘Some girls on the bus were mean to me. They said they didn’t like me. They weren’t talking to me, but were saying it out loud in another seat on the bus.’

And you probably can already guess what starts happening. Fuzzy ears start appearing on each side of my head, bear claws begin to emerge from what used to be my short-cut, unpainted finger nails. I was approaching momma bear status.

What the heck?! If you were to know my daughter, you would know that she has one of the biggest hearts. She would do anything for you and would never want to truly heart your feelings. She would be devastated to know if that were to ever occur. Why would some other girls have a problem with her? Come to find out, it was 2 girls much older than her. Wow.

So 2 older girls wanted to be ugly to my daughter. Was it out of boredom or maybe they were having one of those ‘bad days’ as I mentioned earlier. My daughter told me that before she got off the bus, she let the school bus driver know what was going on. THANK YOU.

I told my daughter that was exactly what she needed to do: do not engage back in conversation and to let an adult know what is going on. Being confrontational is not always the answer. I also reminded her about the talk of some kids just having ‘bad days’ as well as it quite possibly could have been that the girls envied something about her.

Just maybe those girls thought that by picking on a younger girl that they would feel some sort of confidence boost about themselves. I told my daughter that it was absolutely the most silliest thing to hear about older kids picking on the younger ones. I told her,

‘Just sit back and laugh it off. It is just plain silly. There is nothing about you that could ever be made fun of or not liked, especially by some older kids who don’t even know you.

On top of it all, who really cares what they think anyway? You don’t need anyone to tell you that you are not good enough. You have yourself to do that.’ She looked at me, smiled, and said ‘You are right.’

If there is anything that my children take away from me and can actually say that I am right about, it is hopefully that they are worth it. They are good enough and all the words that any other child mumbles in their direction is just words. Nothing more. Like that saying we use to chant as kids: ‘Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me.’

We all have our bad days, but if we can instill in all our children that words are just words and that each person is worthy, no matter what circumstance they may come from, just maybe we can stop the ‘mean girls’. Our daughters are better than that ‘mean girl’ status as well as those who are being attacked by the very words muttered by those ‘mean girls’.

By: Clair · In: Momlife, Lifestyle · Tagged: bullying, daughters, mean girls, motherhood, parenting, protecting

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Comments

  1. Mary Barham says

    March 14, 2018 at 6:45 pm

    This could not be more true!!! I pray each day my kids Know their worth, and the love our Heavenly Father has for them.

  2. Markie says

    March 14, 2018 at 7:15 pm

    The kids nowadays are so cruel it breaks my heart! Praying for them!!

  3. rizelle says

    March 14, 2018 at 7:18 pm

    ahhh i hate mean kids what I do I always ask my daughter every day if she is ok if there is someone being mean to her etc this way I know and can prevent it.

  4. Marjie Mare says

    March 14, 2018 at 7:22 pm

    I try to talk to my girls and make them believe in themselves. I also make sure they tell me everything and pray for them.

    • thesproutingminds@gmail.com says

      April 12, 2018 at 9:03 pm

      Yes! Some of the best things we can do for them 🙂

  5. Madison says

    March 14, 2018 at 7:26 pm

    I hope and pray my children do not have to deal with bullies! Especially a daughter I could possibly have! I remember the mean girls at my school and I want to protect mine from them!

    • thesproutingminds@gmail.com says

      April 12, 2018 at 9:02 pm

      I think having dealt with mean girls in school has made me even more protective of her. Praying the bullying ends soon for all of our children!

  6. Kristin's Peppermints and Cherries says

    March 14, 2018 at 9:13 pm

    People will disappoint in this life, but the Lord Jesus never disappoints. He is a Friend who sticks closer than a brother. Kindness to those who are unkind to us is super hard but the best way. Easier said than done!

    • thesproutingminds@gmail.com says

      April 12, 2018 at 9:01 pm

      More than true! 🙂

  7. Shannon says

    March 15, 2018 at 12:41 am

    You’re so right. It’s imperative that we teach our kids not to base their self worth on other’s opinions, and we must teach them to be respectful of others.

    • thesproutingminds@gmail.com says

      April 12, 2018 at 9:01 pm

      Yes! It is so important to teach this at a young age 🙂

  8. Jennifer Maune | Maune Legacy says

    March 15, 2018 at 12:53 am

    Awe, that is great advice that you gave her! Glad she knows you are right. (;

    -Jennifer
    https://maunelegacy.com

    • thesproutingminds@gmail.com says

      April 12, 2018 at 9:00 pm

      Thank you! Me too!

  9. Tabitha Blue says

    March 15, 2018 at 12:59 am

    Awe! It’s so hard to watch our kids go through these things! We just want to protect them from all of it, but I love how you’re walking through it. It’s so important to learn how to deal with things like that early.

    • thesproutingminds@gmail.com says

      April 12, 2018 at 9:00 pm

      Thank you! There are days where I wish we lived in a bubble, but then what good with that do us all. You know? It is so important to teach them how to cope early on!

  10. Julie says

    March 15, 2018 at 3:09 am

    Once during church on Wednesday night, there was a girl that told my daughter (who’s in Kindergarten) that her shoes were ugly. I thought, seriously? We told her that she was just being mean because maybe something at home isn’t going okay. She was taking it out on her, which wasn’t nice. Now she doesn’t want to go there and none of the girls are really “friendly.” They are so clicky already. She has lots of friends in her Kindergarten class and everyone says hi to her whenever they see her.

    • thesproutingminds@gmail.com says

      April 12, 2018 at 8:59 pm

      It is so sad how words are used in ways to hurt at such a young age 🙁

  11. Justine @ Little Dove says

    March 15, 2018 at 3:31 am

    It’s unbelievably sad to me how early the “mean girls” stuff starts. I’m sorry that your daughter is going through this, but it sounds like you’re saying all the right things to help her get through it!

    • thesproutingminds@gmail.com says

      April 12, 2018 at 8:57 pm

      Thank you so much!

  12. Ashley says

    March 15, 2018 at 3:15 pm

    Oh momma. This is such a hard part of parenting. I encourage my daughter every day to be kind to everyone no matter what. Praying little by little our sweet girls will inspire others to do that same.

    • thesproutingminds@gmail.com says

      April 12, 2018 at 8:57 pm

      Yes!

  13. Amanda Geist says

    March 15, 2018 at 3:37 pm

    Luckily, I have never had to deal with explaining mean girls to my daughter as of yet. But I’m sure once she’s into Jr and Sr high, we’ll have to have the talk. Until then, we have focused on teacher her to not be the one who is the mean girl, and that if she sees someone being bullied or treated badly, to be kind; be a friend, because sometimes that’s all it takes to make the person feel better about themselves. And girls are so impressionable, too, which makes it all the more difficult for them to get over another girl being mean to them.

    • thesproutingminds@gmail.com says

      April 12, 2018 at 8:57 pm

      Yes! So important to teach them not to be the mean girl. I have been teaching my oldest the exact same thing 🙂

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