Teen Daugther

I suggest that you stop trying to change her. She doesn't need girl friends her age to be happy and well adjusted. At 16 she's able to choose who are her friends. If her friendships are satisfactory to her and not getting her into trouble, be glad that she's happy.

Now, if she's unhappy then I'd get her into counseling so that she can learn what would make her happy and how to make that happen.

Let go, Mom. She is her own person and does not need the same things that you need.

Yes, her behavior is normal, based only on what you write here.

I would encourage her to build relationships with people who share the same core values and interests as your daughter.... regardless of gender.

I don't think it's abnormal for her to be friends with mostly guys if she has interests that are more aligned with what "typical" activities guys like. If she's not at all into shopping or makeup it is going to be uncomfortable for her to try and have conversations when the interests are so mis-matched.

What is normal? If the kid is happy and well adjusted, let her be.

The important thing is that she has friends who she spends time with who have similar interests. I don't think it's too important if they are girls or boys. Actually girls that age can very catty, judgmental, talk behind each others backs, etc, while boys just want to get together and have a good time. I can't blame her. Don't make her feel like something's wrong with her because of her choice of friends. No such thing as normal. It's normal for her. What you can do to help her is be supportive and positive of the choices she makes that are not hurting her or others. I know you love her no matter what, but tread carefully putting your concerns on her she will likely take it the wrong way and feel like you are disapproving and it will hurt her self esteem .

If she has friends, leave her be. I got along much better with the guys (my senior lunch table was 11 guys and me) because they were less catty, bratty, annoying, etc. I had friends that were also girls, but gah, the drama sometimes....I wouldn't force her to have unnatural or superficial friendships. She may change over time, especially when she gets to college and there are more diverse people to hang out with. Nowadays I have more women as friends but I still have some very good male friends and probably always will.

Leave her alone. She has friends that she gets along with. The only problem I see is that you have a problem because she is different than you and you just don't understand her. Open your mind and get to know who your daughter really is.

Do nothing. Her preference for boys is fine. I found that most of my relationships with girls in high school tended to be disappointing: many of the girls were into makeup (I wasn't) or pining after boys OR hating the other girls that the pined-after boy was looking at. With the social media we have today, I'm sure that's only exacerbated.

Don't worry...I went from graduating with ONE good girlfriend (who I'm still regularly in contact with, 26 years later) to having a whole circle of awesome women friends. Just give her time.... and say nothing to her about it, or she *will* think something is wrong with her. :)

My 20 year old DD has one, maybe two female friends. She prefers guys, less drama she says.

Is this behavior normal? Yes, for some girls. I was one of those girls. My best friends throughout my high school years were mostly guys, because I was more interested in swimming, biking, and hiking than I was in shopping, make-up, and boys. I did not have a steady boyfriend until I was 18.

I did have some female friends left over from early childhood, and some others who I met through common interests - music and dance. Perhaps helping your daughter find groups of girls who are also active people would help. But please consider that it is possible for her to have healthy, satisfying friendships (not romantic) with boys, too. She and the girls around her may simply not be in the same place developmentally or have the same priorities. And that's okay.

When I was 16, many girls my age at that time were simply more interested in their appearances and in finding and keeping boyfriends than they were in doing things. I found more female friends at university. I think it was easier when we had all grown up a bit more and could relate to each other better.

Do not worry overmuch about this. There is nothing wrong with your daughter.

She is 16 and hangs out with boys. I would leave her alone if she is happy. Hanging out with girls is not what it cracked up to be. She can have best friends with boys. Let me tell at 16 other girls will be jealous she is with the boys and they are not. Nothing wrong with a tomboy, I have a 25 year old daughter who is just like yours. She hated dolls and anything girly. She has a lizard, collected snakes and frogs all her life. She fishes with the men and her only friends are men. On a rare occasion the girlfriends of the guys will ask her to hang out. She usually hates to go. Her boyfriend likes her just the way she is. So no worries.

I swam in HS. I was in the pool by 5:30am and got showered and dressed in boxers, a t-shirt and flip flops for class. I brushed my hair - no make-up. My dad I think got worried, since he once said to me, "Why don't you try wearing a little make-up?" I was like, "Why? Don't you think I'm pretty enough without it?" Not to be conceited, but I'm not ugly and I wear mascara for make-up....still, at 38 years old. I was a hit with the guys. I hung out with guys mostly. I also dated a ton....and wore make-up when they came to pick me up. I didn't have much in common with girls - back-stabbing, drama-causing yuck. No thanks. I turned out just fine. My best friend is a 62 year old woman, who is a mom of a guy I dated. LOL I have a few girlfriends, but they are women who have lives and don't cause drama, so we don't hang much with our lives (kids and careers) and we are ok with it. It's enough. Totally content.

Encourage healthy relationships....boys or girls. Don't stress. It sounds like SHE knows who she is.

Hi there, do you remember when you were 16? Girls nowadays are so mean and spitful. Boys are the best friends any girl can have. My daughter who is now 21 was only hanging with the boys at 16. She would be invited to the boys birthday parties and be the only girl. I have to say it was a bit unnerving but the boys treated her like them but with a bit more respect. The girls didn't like her because she could actually "TALK" to boys without being weirded out. It is a very good thing and she will be fine.