HOW TO HELP YOUR SHY CHILD
BE A ROLE MODEL. If you act and appear confident when interacting with others, even in your day-to-day encounters with cashiers at the shopping mall, or over the telephone, your child will follow your example. When chatting to strangers, make eye contact.
WATCH HIM CLOSELY. Get to know how your child behaves in different situations. Be aware of the times that he is more shy than normal. Once you understand what makes him anxious, you can talk about it and figure out ways to overcome his anxiety. Remember, you cannot live vicariously through your child. A child that is under pressure to perform academically can become withdrawn because he is afraid of disappointing a parent. PRACTISE HOW TO ACT DURING DIFFICULT SITUATIONS USING ROLE PLAY. He might think that it’s silly to practise how to greet someone at a birthday party, but it will make him feel more self-assured. Another solution is to talk about what situations make him feel anxious. Come up with solutions on how to overcome it together. YOU CHILD MAY NOT BE SHY OR WITHDRAWN,
but if you are constantly telling other people that he is, he will begin to believe you. Tell someone what a great child he is while he is within earshot. When you get home, deliberately tell your partner how well he interacted with his peers. Involve him in decision making, especially when it comes to how to handle the problems he faces in his life. A friend could be hurting him at school. Involve him in finding a solution to the problem. DON’T DOMINATE OR OVERPOWER HIM.
If he feels dominated in his relationship with his parents now he could develop a tendency to dominate other relationships when he is an adult.