Share The Mummy, it’s OK Love!
If you have one child who often act shy, this might be the kind of thing you want to look into and see if you can do something about it. Not that there’s anything wrong with being shy, but it can be painful in nature for many kids, and you can really see that they want things to be different, too. So if it becomes clear that this is something they want to try and tackle, the good news is that there are many ways in which you can help them with this.
In this post, we will look at some of the main ways to deal with your child’s shyness. All of the following are worth thinking about, and you should find that you’re in a better situation if you go through them.
Understanding the Shy
It is important to have a good idea first what shyness is and what it is not, so you can also pass this understanding on to your children, and so you can work together to overcome it more effectively. Being shy is not the same as being quiet, first of all. Your child may just be an introvert, which is not a situation that needs any help or change. Shyness is where they have painful experience trying to deal with other people. This is something you need to be clear in your own mind.
Understanding that difference can take time, as it is subtle and not always immediately obvious. But the more you understand it, the more your child will understand it, and so that’s something you need to make sure you focus on. Understanding shyness is a really important first step that both of you need to take.
Develop a sense of security
Often, shyness comes from not feeling secure in oneself, and not feeling secure in oneself stems from not feeling secure at home, in the family, or in other settings such as school. So you can often help your child build their confidence and avoid shyness simply by focusing on building their sense of security. It’s easier to do that if they are truly safe, which is why building a home they can trust and making sure the family is loving can be very beneficial here. But this is the kind of thing that can take time.
You can also try to start helping them develop their own inner sense of security, and it’s never too early to do this. The main thing is that you do everything you can to let them know that they are safe, no matter what. If you can do that, it’s the kind of thing that will make a big difference in how they feel.
Get Them to Talk
Although it is difficult for them, in fact a shy child needs to be encouraged to speak, and that may be one of the hardest but most rewarding things you can do here altogether. There are many ways to do this, and it may mean asking them to say something in public that they might find difficult. Or you might want to think of a more creative way to do it, like asking them to attend Stage School and seeing how they feel about that. In fact, many shy children become good performers, and this is often a useful way for them to start building confidence, so this is something you may want to consider.
However you do it, getting them to talk is an important part of it all, so make sure you do it.
Don’t Make Too Big A Deal About It
This is also really important. If you are too big a deal with them shame, there is every chance that will only embarrass them, and that they will struggle to come out of their shell. This is an experience that can be very difficult for the child, whereas if you can just encourage them in all the ways we have outlined above, that will be more effective than trying to force anything. This is a really important thing to remember.
