Hey @Anxious_Mum77  It sounds like things are really overwhelming for you and your daughter at the moment, it's great that you've reached out for some support.  I imagine feeling like you can't communicate with your daughter would be really draining. I'm wondering if you have any friends or family you can chat to about how you're feeling? Or if either of you have any support from a therapist at all? You may also find some tips in this article that may help the communication between you and your daughter going forward. I'm going to send an email to you also, please look out for that coming your way soon. ... View more

Hi @Anxious_Mum77  Thank you for reaching out! It sounds like you have a really good relationship with your daughter and it’s great to know that she was able to call you when this happened, it is a real reflection of how supportive you are and how much she trusts you. It must have been a difficult situation for her to be in and it sounds like she handled it really well and did the right thing. It must have been hard to stand up to her friends and I understand how this would add to her concerns with seeing her friends again at school. I have included an article about talking about bad friendships along with one around peer pressure. I was wondering if you felt comfortable speaking to the school to raise your concerns and see if they could offer any support?           ... View more

Hi @Anxious_Mum77 and welcome to the forums I'm really sorry to hear about the bullying your daughter went through - I imagine that must have been so hard for her, and for you to see it happening.  I'm glad she loves her new school and that she's made new friends.   That sounds tough re: the conflict over Snapchat. Just in case it's helpful, we have some articles about social media use on our website here, and there is a Parents Guide to Snapchat here that has some helpful tips about things like privacy settings, using Ghost Mode and other ways to improve the safety of young people using the app.   I hear that you want to keep your daughter safe, and it must be hard to see that desire come into conflict with her priorities - i.e. how important Snapchat seems to be to her right now. I noticed you said she is using Snapchat out of a desire to fit in... I'm wondering if there are any other needs you think Snapchat might be meeting for her at the moment?  Do you think there are any other ways she might be able to work on meeting those needs so Snapchat might seem less important?    I was also wondering what it is about Snapchat that's worrying you most and whether there's any way to reduce your concerns? eg. If your daughter might be open to discussing ideas for using Snapchat in a safer way. If you'd like to talk about it some more, we're always here, or we also have a one-to-one parent coaching service in case you'd like to connect with them.  Please keep us updated with how things go.  ... View more