Growing up, we have all known that one girl in class who is more popular than the rest of us, more attractive than the rest of us, richer, smarter, more charismatic, and most often than not they use these qualities to their advantage, and not in a good way.
You might not know it, but certain harmless, and sometimes even endearing, qualities your daughter exhibits at home may be signs that she is a mean girl. Mean girls are bullies, and no parent wants to raise bullies.
Here are 9 things to determine whether or not your daughter is a mean girl, as it appeared on Popsugar.
1. She is overly bossy and controlling
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“Bossiness comes with the territory of being a kid sometimes,” says writer Denise Stirk, “but there is a line, and if she crosses it time and time again, then she may be doing the same with her pals.”
2. She is always forming clubs (and excluding others from them)
“Does she have a club for everything? Girls-who-wear-skirts club? Girls-who-hate-so-and-so-girl club? If so, she might be forming cliques and excluding others by not letting them join her “‘club.’”
3. Makes a lot of threats
You might think that innocent threats, especially coming from children, may not carry any weight, but threats are still threats, and if they do it as a small child, chances are they will do it when they are older—and that’s not okay.
“If you ever overhear your daughter threaten another girl with, for instance, ‘If you don’t do this, I’m going to tell my family,’ then that’s a good sign that she’s up to no good. Talk to her about how making threats, even innocent ones, can be damaging to others.”
4. Tells and keeps a lot of secrets
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Telling secrets is part of the girls’ DNAs, Denise says, “but if your child is constantly telling and keeping secrets (and she won’t share them with you), then chances are she’s doing it with other girls, too.”
5. She uses the phrase “just joking” after being mean
“If your child likes to say rude or degrading things to other girls, but then follows up with ‘just joking,’ then she’s probably not being very nice.”
Just because she says something to soften the blow of her harsh words does not make it okay. It is the parents’ job then to talk to her about the errors of her ways and to make sure she never does it again.
6. She is physically aggressive
Regardless of where it comes from and who does it and at what age a person does it, violence is never okay.
“Some girls are a little more physical than others, but if your daughter is being physically aggressive with other girls (or boys), then she probably needs to be confronted and disciplined,” Denise says.
7. She always talks about popularity
“Is she obsessed with being popular or having a lot of friends? Does she always need to have a best friend, with whom she might be changing daily? Red flag!”
8. Her friends are mean girls
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The maxim “birds of the same feather flock together” rings true. Who your daughter hangs out with on the regular may be indicative of the kind of person your daughter is.
9. She doesn’t respect authority
“Mean girls often feel that they are top dog, and that’s even when adults are present.”
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