My daughter is 12 and has just started middle school. She's tiny, scrawny, she looks like a 9-y-o and is pretty goofy, playful and she can't stand still. She's also into books and school.Yesterday she cried for hours, telling me that she feels so different from her friends, who are all much taller than her, growing breasts, into boys and shopping and Instagram, and trying all their might to look aloof and bored all the time. She says she feels "immature" compared to her friends, that they sometime roll their eyes at her when she shows enthusiasm for school or anything that's not teenager-approved. She says she feels, physically and emotionally, years younger than her friends and she fears rejection.My heart was broken because her feelings mirror mine at her age. I was the same, I was also tiny and skinny and ADHD and a bit of a nerd and a reject, and I want to make sure that I offer empathy and not sympathy (in the sense that I don't want to get carried away by her fears so I can stay supportive and reassuring). It's hard. I'm so scared of rejection for her.Your tips on how to help my daughter become confident in her difference are more than welcome. I think she's funny, clever, awesome, and that her playfulness is a strenght, and MY GOD I prefer her "immaturity" to her friends' aloofness. I'd like to help her grow into a confident, goofy person.Thank you! via /r/Parenting http://ift.tt/2yrVOzD
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