Should Daughter Have to Make New Friends?

Dear Peter and Molly,
I live in a pretty tight nit neighborhood, and there are lots of children that are near my kids' ages. My daughter has struck up a particularly close friendship with a girl "Marlene." Her and Marlene do nearly everything together. Marlene is a fine friend, but I'm worried about my daughter because she's going to be starting high school in a year, and I want her to attend a school that focuses on high achieving students, and I doubt if Marlene will be able to attend. They have grown so close, that I'm worried my daughter will fight me on going to the better school so she can stay with Marlene. In addition it just seems inappropriate for a young girl to be so closely attached to one friend, what can I do to help her open up, so she can move on with life?
Sincerely,
Mother Knows Best

Peter: Mother, if your daughter were to write into us, I'd probably tell her to do what you tell her to, but since it's you writing in, I'll just say this, everyone has different lives. If your daughter is good friends with Marlene, then let it be, you admit she's not a bad influence, not everyone has to have lots of friends. The end of middle school is a normal time for school friends to part, I'm sure your daughter will understand, and since their neighbors they'll still have plenty of time to be together.

Molly: I agree with what Peter is saying here, but I'm worried that maybe there is more going on here than you're letting on and that perhaps Marlene isn't quite such a good influence. If that's the case let me give you a couple of ideas on how you can help your daughter make new friends. 1) Sign her up for new activities, whether it's dancing or art class or chess club, give her some place she can spend time away from Marlene. 2) Offer to throw slumber parties, and make sure the guest list is big enough. Since she'll be the host she'll need to interact with the other girls. 3) Give her new responsibilities at home, Marlene surely won't want to help with chores, so it will give your daughter some time alone to begin creating a separate identity.

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