OMG! It's started already!!

Charlotte was, I thought, ages away from all that girly-peer stuff. You know the I'm friends with you today but not tomorrow because you don't have the right hairband/lunchbox/bag etc crap. But apparently I'm wrong.

Tonight after the bath I painted her toenails with polish which we've been doing on and off for months. Her face lit up and she announces "horay! now I'm like L*****". L is another little girl that she attends family daycare with. Then she announces she also needs stickers on her nails and requires fingernail polish as well.

I'm devastated. I was never one of the popular girls - I never had the right brand of clothing, bag etc and was never in the "in" group and that was one of the things that didn't really bother me too much because I had a core group of friends who were all a bit different - just like me. I was one of those girls who got along better with the boys which was also not the done thing when I was at school. The whole peer issue was one that I've become more aware of with Izaak going to school and although he is fairly insulated from it given his condition (he couldn't care less what anyone thinks!) I'm positive Charlotte will be alot different. I'm probably reading too much into the whole thing but I'm sad for Charlie. At 2 I want her to be thinking about playing, running and generally having fun, not about who does and who doesn't have nail polish! 2 of the girls at daycare see a fair bit of each other and their families outside of care so they do have a closer friendship - Charlotte is the 3rd wheel. According to her family daycarer there have been arguments lately between L, the other friend, J & Charlotte with much talk of who is "best friend" and who isn't and who is allowed to play with which particular girls. This has been consolidated by visiting my mum at work where 2 girls were sitting together having lunch (these are pre-schoolers so 4-5year olds) and one of the girls said to the other who was eating a packet of chips "you shouldn't eat them - you'll get fat". Where has childhood innocence gone?

2 years 8 months. 2 years 8 months and it's starting already!