I just wanted to say, this is such a great board, and thanks to everyone for sharing their insights. DD was bullied last year by such a girl (who at that point was in third grade), and although I never talked to her parents about it because I didn't feel it was my place, I found it very disturbing. (Actually, I kept thinking about Cathy in East of Eden...but anyway). I don't think her parents understood what she was doing, and I know the teachers didn't, which led to a horrible year for DD (who she enjoyed manipulating) and us getting disinvited from the school. So it's really wonderful to see that some people see through this behavior and try to change it. I think this poor girl--who was not getting any help to change her behavior from either school or her parents, as far as I could tell--is very likely to become a manipulative grownup, with bad results all around.
