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Coping With Cliques

Your tween comes home crying because the kids she was friends with are suddenly leaving her out, spreading rumors and making fun of her.  Help her deal with the queen bee and her followers.


As kids work to navigate friendships, there are plenty of things parents can do to offer support.  If your child seems upset, or suddenly spends time alone when they are usually vers social, ask about it.


Sometimes it helps to talk about your own experiences.  Cliques have been around since the beginning of time.  Talking can help put the rejection in perspective.  There are surly times when your child has been angry with parents, friends or siblings, and those feelings probably changed in a relativly short amount of time.


Because you're outside of the situation you have the unique ability to shed some light on the social dynamics.  Acknowledge that people are often judged by the way a person looks, acts or dresses but often people act mean and puth others down because they lack self confidence and try to cover it up by maintaining control.


It your teen isn't a fan of your personal stories you can always look to books, tv shows and movies for inspiration. Movies like "The Breakfast Club", "Mean Girls" and "Clueless" and the book "Blubber" can be powerful ways to illustrate the importance of being true to yourself when facing difficult social situations.

Source: kidshealth.org/