Dylan's Having a Hard Time

Sometimes I'm blown away by the things I hear coming out of Dylan's mouth. She's only four, but I'm already running into issues that I didn't think I'd face until she was much older.

There are two girls in her afternoon class  (C and A) who give her a very hard time. They exclude her from their activities and call her names. The teachers and I have spoken about this, and they try to just distract Dylan and keep her away from these soul-sucking leeches little girls, but poor Dylie really wants to play with them!

Yesterday, she told me that they said she is chubby. And today she reports that they call her a baby all of the time (big insult to a four-year-old). What really upsets me is how much this bothers her. Not only does she share her hurt with me, she also expresses it while doing creative play.

Dylan's bathtub is filled with Barbies and other little dolls. While she bathes, she makes up stories and the dolls talk to each other. It's adorable, and I love sitting quietly and observing her. Lately, though, the stories have been about her troubles at school.

Two nights ago, one doll was Dylan, one was A and the other was C. The Dylan doll said, "OK, here's the pattern. C plays with A for one day, and Dylan for a hundred days. One day, a hundred days, one day, a hundred days."

Tonight, the Dylan doll was being protected by a kindergartner who told off C and A on her behalf.

It just breaks my heart to see Dylie hurting like this. These little girls are making her feel terrible, and there is nothing I can do about it! I tell her to spend time with other friends, that sometimes boys are more fun, etc. etc., but she doesn't want to hear it. She is aching to be part of this ridiculous C and A clique and there's nothing I can do to change her mind.