DD is in third grade and I swear there is more drama there than on a soap opera set. 
The latest one (ongoing actually) that is bugging me is this girl that wants to be "friends" with DD and a boy in DD's class. ("Ben") Keep in mind, this girl ("Hannah") isn't even in their class. She has never been in a class with either of them. As far as I can tell, the only time she could have gotten to know them would have been at PE and recess (30 minutes each) and car line after school. Maybe a little at lunch if their classes sit near one another, but I don't think they do....It's very regimented as to who sits where. In other words, it's hard to see how she could have built up any real affection or bond to my DD or Ben.
But Hannah wants to order DD and Ben to not sit by anyone but her in car line and to be her partner in PE and if they do otherwise, she pitches a fit. DD collects friends like most kids collect toys, so she is not about to let someone limit her. Hannah has even started getting nasty with Ben if he wants to sit by his little sister in car line. Poor little boy got so upset by her nastiness that he had to go see the counselor.
A little karma did come Hannah's way last week when she called Ben names for not doing what she told him to and the assistant principal happened to be right behind her as she said it. Apparently, she got into serious trouble. 
Today, DD came home and told me that she sat by Ben in car line and Hannah was so displeased about it that she started crying. So not only is the kid bossy and manipulative, she's a drama queen. A few weeks ago I told DD that people who always have a lot of drama in their lives can be very exhausting and she said, "That's Hannah!" I asked DD why Hannah doesn't hang around with the kids in her OWN class and she didn't know.
The thing that DD and Ben have in common is that they are both "nice" kids who like everybody. I think this girl may have latched on to them figuring they'd be easy to get to do her bidding, but she mistook "nice" for "spineless." My radar is going off because of the stalker issue DD had last year. Long story....a kid in her class was obsessed with her. This was not just my view. The teachers, his parents, the admin, his psychologist, everyone agreed. He was fixated on her and made that year miserable. He used guilt trips on her to make her feel obligated to be kind to him when no one else in the class would have anything to do with him. (He could be a scary kid.) So when I sense a child using emotional manipulation (such as crying when DD won't do what they want) that almost puts me in flashback mode. (There's a lot more to her extreme drama, but I won't get into it now.)
I'm aware there is female drama......I was right there in the middle of it.
But why do kids this young feel the need to be SO manipulative? She's not the only one I've come across, but usually it's because they're jockeying for social position, not twisting someone's arm into being their friend via crying jags. 
Thank goodness we can do a "do not place together" request at DD's school. If Hannah is this emotionally overwrought where DD is concerned and they're not even in the same class, I shudder to think what it would be like if they actually were placed together!
The latest one (ongoing actually) that is bugging me is this girl that wants to be "friends" with DD and a boy in DD's class. ("Ben") Keep in mind, this girl ("Hannah") isn't even in their class. She has never been in a class with either of them. As far as I can tell, the only time she could have gotten to know them would have been at PE and recess (30 minutes each) and car line after school. Maybe a little at lunch if their classes sit near one another, but I don't think they do....It's very regimented as to who sits where. In other words, it's hard to see how she could have built up any real affection or bond to my DD or Ben. But Hannah wants to order DD and Ben to not sit by anyone but her in car line and to be her partner in PE and if they do otherwise, she pitches a fit. DD collects friends like most kids collect toys, so she is not about to let someone limit her. Hannah has even started getting nasty with Ben if he wants to sit by his little sister in car line. Poor little boy got so upset by her nastiness that he had to go see the counselor.
A little karma did come Hannah's way last week when she called Ben names for not doing what she told him to and the assistant principal happened to be right behind her as she said it. Apparently, she got into serious trouble. Today, DD came home and told me that she sat by Ben in car line and Hannah was so displeased about it that she started crying. So not only is the kid bossy and manipulative, she's a drama queen. A few weeks ago I told DD that people who always have a lot of drama in their lives can be very exhausting and she said, "That's Hannah!" I asked DD why Hannah doesn't hang around with the kids in her OWN class and she didn't know.
The thing that DD and Ben have in common is that they are both "nice" kids who like everybody. I think this girl may have latched on to them figuring they'd be easy to get to do her bidding, but she mistook "nice" for "spineless." My radar is going off because of the stalker issue DD had last year. Long story....a kid in her class was obsessed with her. This was not just my view. The teachers, his parents, the admin, his psychologist, everyone agreed. He was fixated on her and made that year miserable. He used guilt trips on her to make her feel obligated to be kind to him when no one else in the class would have anything to do with him. (He could be a scary kid.) So when I sense a child using emotional manipulation (such as crying when DD won't do what they want) that almost puts me in flashback mode. (There's a lot more to her extreme drama, but I won't get into it now.)
I'm aware there is female drama......I was right there in the middle of it.
But why do kids this young feel the need to be SO manipulative? She's not the only one I've come across, but usually it's because they're jockeying for social position, not twisting someone's arm into being their friend via crying jags. Thank goodness we can do a "do not place together" request at DD's school. If Hannah is this emotionally overwrought where DD is concerned and they're not even in the same class, I shudder to think what it would be like if they actually were placed together!
