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- A woman said she feels a “wedge” between herself and her mom friends
- She claimed the divide started after she opted to send her child to private school instead of the local school in town
A woman said she feels “low” and “isolated” by fellow moms after opting to send her child to a local private school.
The mom detailed her experience in a Mumsnet post, detailing that she and her family relocated to a rural area near where she grew up.
The mother said that while she and her partner “love living more rurally” and “don’t want to move back to the city,” she also has found the experience lonely — especially because her child attends a private school outside of the local community.
“We want our child to go to the private school, as the local one is basically two rooms ranging from ages 3 to 11, and our child is very happy at the current school,” she explained.
However, the Mumsnet user claimed that her child’s education has come at the cost of her personal social life.
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“I feel completely left out of the [small town activities] now [that] my child has started private school,” she said, adding, “We are not invited to parties … there were three Halloween ones last week and [I saw] all the photos up [on social media].”
The mom continued, “I do socialize in [town] and have made efforts to chat to the other moms and meet up with them, but [I’m] often asked if my child will move back to the local school, and I’ve always said I’m not sure and tried to be vague, but it feels like a wedge between us.”
“Feeling really low as I love my friendships and would have loved to have been part of the fun and events in [town],” she then wrote. “Is this just my life now? Feeling totally isolated?”
The majority of the commenters suggested that the woman should try to get involved in volunteer work or other activities that will help her forge friendships with the local community outside of her child.
“I’m sorry you’re feeling down, but I always think people put too much stock on other parents for friendships,” one person said. “If you really want to be more part of the town I would get involved volunteering at local events, but in all honesty I found so much more peace when I made friends with people outside of my children/local parents.”
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Another commenter wrote, “Part of the issue I imagine is that you have rejected the school where they send their children. That can feel quite personal, and maybe the parents feel rejected too. My own child had friends who went to private school, and they never had time for them anymore.”
They then suggested, “I’d try to find another way into village life, maybe through organizing things yourself, volunteering or getting involved with whatever is going on.”
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