Thank you for your comments and I agree with you. The child is 10, which is definitely a hormonal time.. She is involved with soccer, Girl Scouts, and an art class. She is having problems with friends right now. My daughter spends a lot of time with her and her brother. She has been very disrespectful to her mother recently. Her mother receives no child support, although the father is in arrears a huge amount. He cannot be located. We think his family knows where he is but his mother commented that he is still ill. I agree that positive attention is a good thing and will be trying to help with that. I do not live in the same city.
I read several articles recently and it appears that her self image and trying to avoid being hurt are the areas that are most important right now.
As he had a major problem at that time ,is there any way her Dad could be found and have a part of her life , if he was sick then, he may not be now, but as he was the one who went he may need help to be part of her life again,just a thought, 2 parents even seperated are better than one, Dads have a great role in their kids lives, So how old is this child?is she pre- teen when sometimes little problems like hormones start to appear,does her Mom, who works full time, still have time to be with her daughter and give her quality time. Has she got sports and Games and friends and Fun in her life.Reading your post my feeling is she could use some positive attention and I am sure as her Granma you are doing your best.