9 Ways To Help Your Shy Child

Parents of shy children are worried about how they could help their children that are highly sensitive to their environment, or are introverted and are so absorbed with themselves that they fail to socially interact.

Ways to help your child who is shy:

1) Parents can help their shy kids with noticing and responding to their needs; they could help these sensitive children to learn how to calm themselves and manage their emotions. Their heightened sensitivity could be converted into an asset, with them becoming more responsive to the needs of their peers and in negotiating group situations.

2) Parents need to be empathic to the feelings of their shy kids; this would not only convince the kid that nothing is wrong with him/her, but would also make him/her learn how to  empathize with others and develop social skills.

3) Parents set an example in social behavior for their kids; putting up a confident behavior when you interact with other people helps the kids to follow suit.

4) Parents are the children’s first teacher in teaching their kids how to behave socially with everyone. Parents can role play or play games to teach their shy children how to make eye contact, shake hands, smile and respond to polite chat. 

5) Role play is the best ways to initiate your child to learning how to make friends; you could role play about how to join a game in a playground, how to introduce oneself and also about how to initiate a play date. Shy kids would soon learn how to first observe, decide whether he/she fits in the group and join it.  

6) Your shy child needs to learn how to tackle teasing and bullying; use role play to teach him/her to stand up for oneself.  You are sure to find good books on how to train your child in social skills as well as how to help them deal with bullying and teasing.

7) Shy or introverted children need time to start interacting, so provide ample opportunities for them to interact with others. Be empathic, but never over-protective as it is not good for the child; also applaud every small step your shy child takes on his/her own. 

8) It is futile to label a child as shy; it would help to acknowledge his/her fears and point out situations when they overcame their fear. Pointing out to a child that he/she was first uncomfortable in a birthday party, but soon started having fun and mixed with all his/her friends helps.

9) Lastly it is important for parents to not force a shy child to have many friends; the child needs to have just a few friends that he/she can interact with and be happy.

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