How to Help Your Child Overcome Shyness
Shyness is something that a lot of kids deal with and it may be hard for them to overcome this, if not caught on early.
Being shy means a child does not have the proper social skills they need in life, which may cause isolation, being subjected to bullies and can compromise their performance at school.
However, there are things you as a mother can do to help your child manage their social skills and help your child overcome shyness.
Table of Contents
Track Their Progress
Most babies will be shy when they’re first learning to talk, which is usually when they are between 18 months to 3 years.
You should only be concerned if they don’t seem to be growing out of this shyness eventually.
When your child is shy and it doesn’t seem like they’re going to change, that’s when it’s time to start working with them.
Let Your Child Interact With Others
Getting too attached to one person can make a toddler or baby act really shy. This may cause them to get ganged up on by bullies which may make them not want to be social any longer.
While being shy can make a kid behave generally, they won’t be able to make friends or get into high anxiety situations they need to be in.
This can cause loneliness and a lack of friends which isn’t good at all. There are also issues like anxiety that can occur when a child is too shy.
Lead By Example
Kids learn by looking to adults to influence them which is why you want to be aware of how you’re acting around your children. The way you’re acting when you’re out and about will be copied by your kids which is why you need to make it a point to act how you want the child to act.
Try starting conversations instead of letting other people start them. When you’re out and about, try striking up conversations with others that are there too.
You probably don’t want your child to talk to strangers, but you can make them aware of when it’s appropriate to do so.
Always lend a helping hand when you can in various situations too.
Teach Your Child Basic Social Skills
Your child needs to get prepared for life situations and people by having things like birthday parties and family outings. Encourage your child to speak to others and do activities with others.
If they get nervous, let them know they can talk to you about it and that you’re there for them.
Positive Reinforcement
Make sure you’re giving your child reinforcement that’s positive. Let them know what they do that makes you happy, and tell them you’re glad they are the way they are.
This can help them to communicate with you when they have a problem, or it can just make them feel less anxious about you being around them. This really helps with being shy!
Role Play Social Situations
You can role play with your kid to teach them what to do when they have to go do something social. You can take the role of the other party that may be around and you can teach them how to react when they enter into that social situation.
Let Them Speak For Themselves
Don’t always think that you have to be the person to answer a question that’s asked to your child. Let them get their own voice and even if they have a problem speaking let them get out their words the best they can.
Shyness doesn’t mean that they can avoid social situations, so don’t let them get away with it.
Shyness can be overcome in most people with the right information. It’s hard to get through life being shy, but now you should know what can be done about it.
Use this information well and shyness will be a thing of the past!
