hannah's mommy

All of a sudden over the past few weeks, Hannah (6) has been saying some mean things about herself. She calls herself stupid, she thinks she's ugly, she says people don't like her...

We tell her all the time how bright she is, how special, etc. And she has a lot of friends. So why is she doing saying stuff like this? It hurts me to hear her talk like that, and I can't really imagine how she feels.

How do I deal with this? Is this normal for her to have these kinds of views about herself? What do I do to make her feel better?

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You know the only people who are always sure about the proper way to raise children? Those who've never had any.

Currently Reading: Naked Empire by Terry Goodkind

Lissa

Awww. That's so sad.

I would just make sure that she knows she isn't any of those things, just like you're doing. Do you know if someone in school is bullying her?

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fallon

my daughter is doing the same thing...I'm guessing it's the age plus the whole starting school thing. I just remind her all the time how special she is. I think kids are just mean to eachother these days... maybe in their minds everyone has to better than someone

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hannah's mommy

I don't think so, but we have parent-teacher conferences next week, so I plan on talking to her about this and see if she has input as well

__________________
You know the only people who are always sure about the proper way to raise children? Those who've never had any.

Currently Reading: Naked Empire by Terry Goodkind

hannah's mommy

Maybe it is her age then. I hate that she feels this way but at least if this is a normal phase I can feel somewhat better

__________________
You know the only people who are always sure about the proper way to raise children? Those who've never had any.

Currently Reading: Naked Empire by Terry Goodkind

Lissa

I would still talk to her teachers just to make sure.

Poor kid.

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fallon

yep...I brought it up at conferences and the teacher said she hadn't noticed anything. And since then she's been invited and gone to so many girl parties so I know the girls like her, it's just how they talk...some of the other mothers in their class noticed it from their daughters too. They have to be picking it up from some where though so I just make sure to spend a little time talking to the teacher a couple times a month to check in. I think it's so important to have good communication with the teachers and other mothers in the class

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hannah's mommy

I agree - I try to have a good relationship with her friends' parents

__________________
You know the only people who are always sure about the proper way to raise children? Those who've never had any.

Currently Reading: Naked Empire by Terry Goodkind

musicmom

My daughter tried pulling this crap with me. At first I amused it and felt bad and asked her why and had a talk with her. I even brought cupcakes to her class at lunch. I even asked her teacher if she had friends, etc and she did. Everytime I volenteer I hear kids saying hi to her like she's miss popularity.
So the next time she tried that I said "yup, I guess your ugly poor thing" and I walked away and she said "heyyyyyyyyyy" and I said "well..if you think you are then you must be huh? and she said "no I'm not!" Very stubborn and I said "well then don't tell me that garbage again. I think you are beautiful and it matters what you and I think not anyone else. We have each other. That was the end of that. The other two never did that. Just my stubborn one who likes to get a rise out of me.

hannah's mommy

I'm glad that worked for you guys - I'm afraid to try something like that with Hannah. She really is very sensitive, and I don't know if I could pull it off without making her cry!

__________________
You know the only people who are always sure about the proper way to raise children? Those who've never had any.

Currently Reading: Naked Empire by Terry Goodkind