West Ridge Academy says that there is no need to push the panic button if your kid is shy if he is still at a very young age. Although after passing through a certain age, it may already be considered unhealthy for your child to still be overly shy or withdrawn as this can become a hurdle to his social development.
Children aged two or three years old are often shy under social situations. Most of them overcome this initial shyness rather easily though, once they get the hang of things and they find other kids to play with. Kids who remain overly shy after reaching the age of three or four however may have to be closely monitored.
Even though some people are inherently shy, most of them actually conquer their shyness if they are asked to articulate their opinions on certain matters. If a person lets his shyness get in the way however, he may not be able to experience some important things in life, such as expressing his opinions during social gatherings or meeting new friends.
West Ridge Academy says that to ensure that your child will not fall prey to this debilitating social impediment and live his life to the fullest extent possible, you need to take note of the following factors:
Acceptance: Do not pressure your child into becoming something that he is not. As we have already discussed, the inherent shyness of a person must not be taken negatively as long as he is aware of this and is able to control it if necessary when called for in certain situations. Avoid attacking his shyness directly as a fault, as he may lose his self-esteem even more and this is the exact opposite of what you want to happen. It is better to just concentrate on his good characteristics and encourage him to articulate his opinions in certain situations.
Stay away from labels: Never attach labels. This has a self-fulfilling effect in the sense that if you repeatedly call a child “shy” then he will ultimately buy into this and accept it as true, even if he may have had the capability of overcoming it initially. What's even worse is that he may hide behind these labels in order to extricate himself from difficult but otherwise would have been manageable situations.
Use encouragement: Do not force him to go into social situations. Instead, influence him into joining the group on his own will by coming up with creative and fun ways that he will surely appreciate. Holding his hand as you approach the group will be very helpful for him to overcome his shyness. It is not good to compare him with the other children because he might feel inferior and he will lose his self-esteem even more.
Practice: West Ridge Academy shares that you can actually shore up his confidence by resorting to role-play games, especially if you use his favorite characters in it. It will give him ideas on how to approach a play group on his own, essentially solving the problem on his own. For example, you may ask your child how his favorite superhero would approach a group of kids in order to make friends with them. Subconsciously, he will be able to absorb these strategies himself and apply it to actual situations.
