As a 9 year old (hitting puberty early) I changed schools and the girls at the new school were heartless.  I nearly failed the grade by trying not to tick any of them off by being better at school than they.  Thank goodness it happened at a time before thoughts of suicide even entered my little mind.  The funny part is that because of the treatment I recieved for that year I became such a better person and friend to all the future people I met in my life.
I've broken up some 'girl meanness' at the park.  The older girls were saying mean things to my daughter (not knowing I was watching and listening) and it broke my heart into a million pieces.
I called the girls out and explained to them that my daughter thought they were SO COOL that she wanted to hang out with them.  It was okay if they didn't want her there but they didn't have to be mean to her.  I hope this changed their perceptions for the future... I can only hope.
