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Anonymous May 16, 2009
Anonymous
I have one child...a daughter...since they don't come with manuals...I'm at loss with the new things I'm hearing....the friend I had mentioned that gave me concern....I took some advice and allowed her back over...only to hear many horrible ( to me ) conversations. This little girl spent the entire night on her cell phone and mentioned "sucking" things with a boy on the phone....talking about boobs...she has them...other girls don't have any...etc...and my daughter sits and giggles or doesn't say anything at all...when she did....I thought I was going to faint...Are 11 year old girls that into exploring sex and having these types of discussions with boys these days??...what has happened to our children....I know I can't protect her from hearing these things...and I have talked with her...but should I continue to allow this little girl over when I heard my own child tell her that "everyone at school bets you will be pregnant before you're 15" ? They are 10 and 11....5th grade..
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Rockland
Rockland May 17, 2009
It can be easy to monitor what goes on in your home but no matter how well you control what goes on in your home it may not be enough to carry any weight once this girl leaves your house.
This is a harsh example and an extreme one at that but this is why we ended a friendship for our daughter.
Our daughter had a school mate sleep over after knowing she had some issues within her own home life, (parents are alcoholics) we thought we were protecting her and keeping her safe if she were to spend time at our house...boy were we ever wrong! No good deed goes unpunished.
What we did not know is that there was/is sexual abuse going on in her house and she brought it into OUR HOME! She touched my son inappropriately and tried to get into bed with him, she being 11 and my son is 9. Even while checking in on them, spending time with them all day and evening she found time when our backs were turned, bedtime. We found this out when she bragged about what she had done to my son to other classmates at school the following Monday. Police were involved, school, DCFS, and counselors. We were devastated, we still are!
This girl is no longer to be anywhere near our daughter at school and my special needs daughter knows how serious this was and knows this girl is not someone to be friends with. It was no question that this friendship had to end.

When it comes to the welfare of a child, even a child who has been disrespectful to the rules of your home, and who's parents lack the ability to teach morals in their own home, I have no problem saying "NO" to a friendship.

Ending a friendship hurts, no one can depute that. You are the parent, if this friendship means always having to fear or be wary of what they are doing together it may be in the best interest of your daughter to explore other friendships. Kids will always say and do things that are inappropriate but when will the line be crossed and how far over that line will it take before something goes badly. If you truly feel that talk will lead to action, maybe for this girl it already has, limit their time together sooner rather than later.
Child_Of_Ra
Child_Of_Ra May 16, 2009
My daughter is also 11. If I heard what you have heard, I would have no problem saying that particular girl would be no longer welcome to stay at our house, and I would also have no problem not allowing my daughter to go to theirs. Obviously there's a lack of supervision on their end of things. You might choose to talk to the principal of your school and ask to remain anonymous so that someone can be aware of what's going on and keep an eye on things, or perhaps even speak to this girl's parents.

But what happens with your family is your choice. It's not for anyone else to decide. So if you're not comfortable with this girl being a part of your daughter's life, that's completely up to you, and well within your rights as a parent.
Yes, these days very young girls and boys can be shockingly inappropriate in their language and their behavior.
You say it almost made you faint but you didn't step in. To allow these children over to the house is one thing - to allow them to do at your house what they do in their own is another thing entirely. The point of having them over is to have some control over the evening.
11 year olds visiting at your house should be told to go to bed at a reasonable hour. It's a sleepover and they like to stay up late but there's still a limit but you have to tell them what the limit is. You can nicely say to your daughter's friend - 'turn off the cell phone now, Susan - it's time to go to sleep." If Susan protests, tell Susan as nicely that you can't sleep until they're safely asleep and nicely ask if you can drive her home as she's clearly not tired yet and you are.
If it's mid-evening and she's trash talking on her cell phone, you can step in, sit down and say " let's play cards, girls. I'll deal. " If Susan the friend says she doesn't want to, Susan is free to ask you for a ride home. And you're free to say "all I hear is cell-phone talking in here, girls, it sound to me like you're bored if all you're doing is talking on the cell phone. Let's turn the cell phones off and save the minutes, girls."

If they were 5 and hitting each other, you'd step in. If they were 7 and the friends was throwing the cat out the window, you'd step in. If they were 9 and the friend was making prank calls to your neighbor or their teacher on the cell phone, you'd step in. If they're 11 and the friend is trash-talking on the cell phone to other friends, step in.
And as you felt faint, you could easily step in and truly say" I'm not feeling well, girls. I need some quiet. Let's turn the cell phone off." Or I'm not feeling well, let's call your parents Susan and have them come pick you up."

If you can't structure their time and don't feel comfortable taking charge of other people's children even when they're a guest in your house, then certainly you shouldn't allow her over. Even if her language and behavior were both perfect - there can still be moments when kids get together that need adult intervention. Some people are not comfortable intervening when it's not their own children and if that's how you feel, then you certainly shouldn't have to take on the extra responsibility that other people's children always are when in they're in your house.
1seremen
1seremen May 16, 2009
The good news is these girls are 10 and 11. In my area, girls started very early and I resented it as I came from another place.
Think about a limit on telephone and sleeping time. Check out some books from American Girls series for your daughter and her friend.

Good luck!
healthy11
healthy11 May 16, 2009
The fact your daughter is trying to "help" the other girl recognize that her talk/behavior is likely to result in early motherhood is a positive thing. It sounds like she already recognizes the other girl is "extreme" in what she says and does.
You might want to repost your question in this group: community.greatschools.net/groups/35870
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Any contributed content above is the subjective opinion of that member or external author, and not of GreatSchools. GreatSchools does not check for accuracy in community posts or verify the contributor’s identity. If you are searching for health-related advice we strongly suggest you seek professional medical support. View our Community Guidelines for more details.

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