Ren, I see where you are coming from. I talked with my friend again some today and she was talking about being "wild as a buck" when she was younger and being so scared of her kids doing some of the same things. She did say that her parents never talked to her about things though. And I do think that is key. Keep on talking to your DD and telling her the right things. Also, one day that older friend will be mean to her again and you can help her learn one of those lessons we were discussing in the earlier posts. I think helping our kids understand those lessons is very important too.
My DSs and I are very open about things. I have told them they can talk to me about anything and I keep a running dialogue with them about proper behavior and how we feel when someone does something mean or nice or whatever, to make them think about behaviors and their outcomes. Sounds like you are doing that with your DD too and that is great. My worry was that because my DS10 especially, is so very different from me, that my blunt approach might not give him the tools he needs to be able to fight peer pressure. From the sound of this conversation here though, it sounds like I am already doing what I can to help him the best I can. And I think you are too.
We can't keep our kids from making mistakes but at least we can help them understand the consequences of making mistakes by talking to them and by letting them make those little mistakes now that can mean so much later. We all just want the best for our kids and I think it is great that we can all help each other out. Hope this helps maybe a little bit!
