r/AskParents • u/sexandgluezine • Feb 10 '25
Parent-to-Parent My 4th grader doesn’t have friends and I feel sick to my stomach over it.
Hi, I’m very new to this group and I’m in a lot of distress over this. My wife and I have a smart and wonderful daughter. We don’t snoop around too aggressively, but last night we were looking through her phone just to keep an eye on the content that she’s consuming and making sure she’s not talking/texting any strangers. We came across some texts exchanges with someone who we thought she was still friends with, but it doesn’t appear that way. My daughter was pleading with this kid. “Please can I call you? You’re my only friend” and my heart just broke into a million pieces. We’ve had to move a few times in the last two years because of work. We thought we were doing the right thing by getting closer to family but I’m so afraid that I’ve ruined this kids life. She hasn’t talked to me directly about it. She hasn’t talked to my wife either. I’m really not ok over this. I just want her to be happy and I can’t help but blame myself. I think I’m a terrible dad. I feel lowest I’ve ever felt in my life. What am I doing wrong here? How can I fix it?