They stand facing each other on both sides of the
battlefield – ready for battle. Their eyes are focused; their faces are intent
with concentration, their bodies straight.
And then they unleash their secret weapon, a verbal volley
that cuts like a whip and lands on the other side.
“I am not your friend” one voice says.
“I am not your friend” other
voices pipe up following the leader of the Gang 1.
Gang 2 on the other side then
gets ready for their turn to fire.
“So what, we don’t want to talk
with you. You are not in our team. Katti.”
“But they are our friends” one
voice in Gang 1 dares to speak up.
The leader of gang 1, queen bee
in the making, glares at her.
“Last warning, if you want to be
our friend, you can’t be with them. Let’s go.”
Leaders and followers choose
their roles. The cooler gang wins and the other gang retreats. Amid hurt faces
and angry words, new equations are forged and new gangs are formed, which might
last at least for the next 1 week.
Meet the new warriors – six year old girls in the
playground.
They form groups, they gang up against other groups, they
change camps and friends as easily as they would switch TV channels, and when
they are hurt, they use words like weapons to cut each other down to size. Best
friends are no longer for life, like all things in life; friendship is transient
and very much, in the moment.
Cruel, you would say?
Maybe, but very much true. As a mother to a 6 year old
daughter with an ever changing cast of friends, I am getting trained in this
new art of war.
Of course, after a week or two all will be forgotten if not
forgiven. Kids are not vengeful by nature and would soon start playing again
with other friends and get ready for the next change in their camps.
So do you know who your kid’s friends are? Who does she
really like and who is she friends with to be considered ‘’cool”?
Better check with your daughter before you draw up the guest
list for her next birthday party. All you know, the list might be totally
different from last year’s.
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