Seeking group or activity to support tween self esteem
Hi!
My 10 year old daughter has a diagnosis of anxiety and is also being evaluated for ADHD. Her moods have recently changed to being pretty down/sullen. She often comments that she feels blah and that she is "bad at everything". She has been in therapy but seems to put on a smiling face for the therapist and never really opens up. We are continuing to look for a good therapist, but would also like to find her some sort of group or activity to help support her self-esteem. We have tried sports in the past but she hates it and says she doesn't like anything with competitive elements. Has anyone found a girls group that supports girls as they move into adolescence? Would love to find some sort of regular activity where she can feel good about herself and have other girls to support her/empathize with.
Thanks!
Parent Replies
Girls Leadership would be a good fit for her!
https://girlsleadership.org
They do parent/kid sessions that focus on specific topics geared toward different developmental stages. I did one with my daughter when she was in kindergarten, and I found it gave us really helpful language and techniques.
Love Your Nature runs groups for tweens and Teens in different age groups. They meet monthly with 2 awesome facilitators. They do activities and bonding. It’s been great for my teen. Groups rune the school year and are starting very soon.
https://www.loveyournature.com
We are going through similar challenges with our 11 year old daughter. We came upon an article that recommends choir for ADHD, anxiety and overall mental health.
The local youth choirs are just starting their year and this is a good time to reach out and join. For our child who has low self esteem and lacks confidence in singing, Sorella at Pacific Boychoir Academy seemed to be the best choice. They do not require the child to prepare anything to audition. They asked us to come and have a short 10 or so minute meeting with the director simply so that the director can meet the child, hear her voice and get a sense of her vocal range. It is a small group of girls who are very warm and kind. Our anxious child fit in beautifully from day 1.
Piedmont Children’s Choir and Oakland Youth Chorus are also a great choice. We explored these 2 options as well and our child chose Sorella which is a smaller ensemble with a less demanding schedule.
here is the article we found: https://academic.oup.com/eurpub/article/27/suppl_3/ckx186.259/4555873