Mum Michelle Icard is a bit of a regular at her local Starbucks.

 

A parenting handbook author, Michelle works from home she likes to pop out for a coffee during the day to immerse herself in the outside world.

 

But yesterday, the North Carolina mum-of-two wasn’t happy with what she came across.  

 

Drinking her coffee, she was shocked to overheard three teenage girls talking about a fourth girl who wasn’t there – and suffice to say, their words were not very kind.

 

“I’m crawling out of my skin sitting next to three very pretty, very boisterous, horribly behaved young teenage girls at the Cotswold Starbucks,” she wrote on a Facebook post.

 

“So far, they have laughed about 1) a girl who wrote a song for the talent show about being a lonely cell (She is so weird!), 2) the crappy presents they have gotten in the past from friends, 3) girls who copy them (the worst).”

 

 

As if that wasn’t bad enough, she adds: “OH and just now, how ‘Carolyn wanted to be the lead singer but we took a vote and everyone wanted me instead so sorry Carolyn you can be the manager.’”

 

“It is taking all my restraint to keep from exploding so I’m complaining to you all instead. Good luck, Carolyn, wherever you are. I hope you find nicer friends.”

 

But Michelle, who’s mum to a 14-year-old girl and 12-year-old boy, didn’t just leave it at an open post.

 

Ninety minutes after leaving the café in disgust, she went to do her grocery shopping. From the store, she could see the girls still sitting in the café. So she drove home, grabbed a piece of paper and wrote a quick, heartfelt note.

 

“Then I ordered three mini frappuccinos on my mobile app and headed back to the Starbucks,” she wrote on a follow-up post.

 

“They were still there. I walked up to them and said, ‘Hi Girls. You don’t know me but it looks like you’re here studying and I wrote you a note of encouragement.’ I handed them the card and walked away.”

 

 

And it's some note. It starts out with a compliment for the teens.“Hi Girls! I sat near you today in Starbucks and listened as you talked,” she wrote.

 

“You three are obviously pretty and hard-working. I wish your kindness matched your pretty exteriors,” she wrote.

 

Then she got down to business.

 

“I heard you talk about a girl who sang a song about being lonely in the talent show – and you laughed. About a girl who couldn’t be lead singer because you got all the votes, about crappy presents other people have given you…and you sounded so mean and petty.”

 

She signed off with this: “You are smart and you are pretty. It would take nothing from you to also be kind.”

 

While some people might think that she overstepped the mark by interfering in the girls’ business, Michelle feels that the teens needed to be told.

 

“I have a pretty strong mind-your-own business policy, but I was sitting there having such a visceral reaction," Michelle told the Chicago Tribune.

 

 

"I thought, 'Maybe nobody else is going to give them this feedback. I don't know that they're going to hear this any other way.’”

 

Since her post was uploaded, some people have questioned why Michelle felt the need to highlight the girls’ appearance.

 

But Michelle thinks she had good reason to.

 

“I think it’s an important part of the story,” she said. “I think that’s a way a lot of girls hide their bad behaviour, by fitting in perfectly physically.”

 

Fair play to Michelle. Sure, the girls’ conversation wasn’t directed at her, but her words might just make the girls think twice next time they get the urge to denigrate others.  

 

You can view Michelle's full post below. 

 

 

SHARE to encourage other teens to play nice.

 

 

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