Sofia Harris is like most other girls in her kindergarten class at Bill Roberts Elementary. She enjoys running around with her friends at recess, climbing on the monkey bars, swinging, and all sorts of other fun games. She spends most of her time with a few close friends from her class, but also hangs out with kids from other classes she knows from non-school activities. All of this is very normal, but parents Amanda and Jeff are a little concerned. “When I drop her off at school, she immediately goes and plays with her friend Emma,” said Amanda. “I mean, Emma is a great friend, and a sweet girl, don’t get me wrong. But, everyone knows that Nicholas and Vivian are the two coolest kids in the class. Why isn’t she getting time with them? Is she not cool enough for that group?”
Jeff shares Amanda’s concerns. “If she’s not at that level of coolness, what can we do to get her there?” asks Jeff. “Obviously, there are things we can’t control, such as if she is being too weird or not playing nice. But if it’s clothing, her lunch, shoes, anything, we can make those changes.” Sofia’s kindergarten teacher Kathy Moellering seems unconcerned. “Kids just find someone to play with in kindergarten,” says Moellering. “I have never seen anything that would suggest kids should be fighting for popularity as five and six year olds.” Amanda respectfully disagrees. “I always had the coolest birthday parties in school, and had the most friends show up. It’s why I became popular in high school and college, and why I am popular today.” Jeff says he and Amanda will continue to fight get Sofia into the cool group. “We will monitor her when we can at school and see if there is something she can be working on to be a little cooler. We hope by the end of the year, Nicholas and Vivian will run to her when she arrives at school.” ]]>