A Parent’s Guide to Teaching Girls How to Survive Difficult Friendships

Girls’ friendships can be complex, supportive, and painful all at once. It can be especially confusing when a former best friend suddenly becomes a worst enemy. Relational aggression describes behaviors intended to sabotage friendships such as exclusion and spreading rumors starting as early as pre-school. While both genders report experiencing relational aggression, the psychosocial damage goes right to the heart of what matters most to girls: connection to peers. At some point, most girls experience some degree of friendship conflict involving elements of relational aggression. As a parent, it can be hard to know how to support your daughter through a “frenemy” situation.

Learn how to:

• Recognize the signs of relational aggression
• Gain insight into your daughter's world
• Respond the right way to friendship trouble
• Teach problem solving and coping skills
• Partner with the school to address problems