We all want to protect our children from things that might upset them, and while we're well aware of how mean kids can be, most of us want to make sure our little ones aren't becoming the subject of bullying. And one mum has been left horrified after finding a "nasty" note addressed to her four-year-old daughter in the post - as it had been delivered by another girl who lives nearby.
The mum claimed the note was signed by a girl that her daughter had recently become friends, but she believes the culprit could have actually been another girl, aged 8, who influenced her daughter's new friend to write it. Posting the contents of the note anonymously, the mum also said she was unsure about whether she should speak to the parents of the two children involved - who were caught posting the note by the family's doorbell camera.
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In a post on Mumsnet titled "[Am I being unreasonable] to feel disturbed that my daughter, 4, received this through the door", she claimed: "I got home tonight to find my partner with something to show me. He said, 'I didn't want to tell you this at work but two little girls put this through the letterbox for [our daughter].' It is a nice-looking card with my daughter's name on it, but with a nasty note inside, signed from a name of a little girl who lives round the corner.
"We have a Google doorbell and can see two girls dropped it through this afternoon. The two girls are from our estate, aged 8 and 4. The girls are good friends with each other but lately, the younger one has been playing with my daughter. She even came to our house last week to play briefly!
"When they were playing I heard the little girl say 'so you know, [my daughter's name], I don't want to be friends anymore'. My daughter didn't seem bothered and later on, they seemed fine.
"The handwriting [on the note] is good, [so] I don't think the 4-year-old has done this. We haven't told or shown our daughter or anyone else - what [should I] do about it? I do not know the mums well.
"It seems very nasty and can't believe this sort of thing happens so young now! Tell me if I'm overreacting."
The mum also shared a picture of the note which seemed to be written on pig-themed paper, and simply had the words "I hate you" scrawled on in child-like handwriting.
Commenters on the Mumsnet post encouraged the mum to go over and speak to the parents of the two girls, especially if they caught the footage of them delivering it on a doorbell camera.
One person said: "That's horrible, I'd go round and have a chat with the mums. Doesn't have to be nasty, just say the facts and that you're upset for your child. Glad your daughter didn't see it!"
While another added: "If you have it recorded on your google door thing, I would be straight over to speak to the parents. It's a horrible thing for those kids to do."
And a third wrote: "I would absolutely want to know if my child did this and I'd be furious with them. And if my son received it I'd be at their doorstep asking for an explanation."
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