(alternately spelled "frienemy") is a portmanteau of "friend" and "enemy" which can refer to either an enemy disguised as a friend or to a partner who is simultaneously a competitor and rival
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Definition: A frenemy is someone who pretends to be a friend, but is really an enemy. The term is a combination of the words friend and enemy. Tween movies, literature, and television shows are peppered with the term frenemy, and it is commonly used by tweens and teens to describe a peer. A group of frenemies may be referred to as "Mean Girls".
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Definition: The label "Mean Girls" is a tween expression used to describe girls who exhibit anti-social behavior known as relational aggression. The term was popularized by the movie
Mean Girls, starring Lindsay Lohan. Mean girl behavior includes gossip, verbal put downs of others, bullying, backstabbing, and using others to get ahead. Girls who are friendly one minute, and mean the next may be referred to as frenemies.
Mean girls can be found at school, on the bus, and at extra-curricular activities. They are particularly good at turning friend against friend, and they target girls who they are jealous of, or who stick out from the crowd. Mean girls thrive on drama, and often resort to cyberbullying to torment their victims.
Also Known As: Divas, Gossip Girls, Meanies, Frenemy, Relational Aggression, Queen Bees, and Poison Pals
Does this sound familiar in your child's world? This is common and frequently seen with girls. Why the drama, why the inconsistency?
It is usually fueled by jealousy, envy, social status, and appearance. How can you prepare your child for this? How can you teach them how to recognize if the have a "frenemey."
How to prepare and equip.
Teach your child that sharing personal information with their friend is very delicate. Be sure to help them understand the consequences for sharing information like, what
might happen, if the friendship goes bad.
Talk with them about their friendships, and how a real friend is suppose to support them, not bring them down.
Explain that their shouldn't be a competition in a friendship.
That gossip only hurts people, and how would they feel if someone was gossiping about them.
Here are some books which can be helpful.
"Girl Politics" by Nancy Rue
Girl wars: 12 strategies that will end female bullying, Part 357
By Cheryl Dellasega, Charisse Nixon
For a full understanding of BULLYING and how it looks and feel for your child from elementary-high school
purchase the "Bullying Issue" .
