Question
I'm worried about my daughter who's 9 years old. She is overly concerned with what people think of her. She gets easily embarrassed and is highly sensitive. I feel like she feels everyone doesn't like her or accept her and has a feeling of low self-worth and I don't know what to do to change that in her. When I try to discipline her or show her right from wrong she thinks I'm picking on her. She thinks other girls are more favored and liked in her class also. She's in constant analysis mode of her friend and envies this friend and the attention she gets. She goes back and forth with being friends with her because this friend embarrasses her sometimes because as I said she can be highly sensitive. She has gone through several relationships in her class up and down with friends because she says they were hurtful to her or they let her down in some way. How do I teach her to be resilient and to believe in herself? More importantly how to love herself. I feel like I failed by disciplining her also.. expecting things out of her at this age that maybe I shouldn't. Emotionally she's not very mature. She's constantly comparing herself to her four years old sister and saying that we favor her more. She envies all the attention her little sister gets because she is the baby. I feel like I'm under a microscope when I parent her because she's analyzing everything I do. How I treat her in comparison to her sister for example. I must admit I find it easier to parent her sister because she has an easier personality more positive and happy and easy going. I feel bad for feeling that it is easier to parent her sister.
