3 Helpful Ways to Encourage Your Shy Child to Socialize
Source:https://talkingparents.com/
Labeling children as “shy” can be counterproductive. Parents should focus on helping children manage feelings of bashfulness or withdrawal rather than defining them by these traits. Shyness can manifest in physical reactions like blushing, sweating, or withdrawal. Parents should help children recognize that these feelings are normal. Encouraging healthy coping strategies is important.
Be an emotion coach: Parents are children’s first teachers, especially for emotional learning. Dr. Dewar emphasizes the importance of parents being “emotion coaches” for their children. Parents should have open, empathetic, and non-judgmental conversations with children about their feelings, fears, and anxieties. The goal of these conversations should be to understand children’s struggles and find productive solutions. It’s important to reassure children that feeling uncomfortable in social situations is common. Parents can share their own experiences with shyness and how they overcame it. Reading books or watching shows featuring characters dealing with shyness can help normalize these feelings for children. Increased exposure to stories about shyness can reassure children that it’s a common experience that can be improved with effort.
Practice social skills: Parents should teach children how to talk and interact with others. Children should learn simple phrases for meeting new people, such as:
- Asking “what” or “how” questions
- Giving compliments
Appropriate social behaviors to teach include:
- Greeting people with a friendly smile
- Making eye contact when talking
- Speaking with a clear voice
Children should learn to recognize friendly social cues, such as:
- Someone asking them a question
- Someone giving them a compliment
Learning how to strike up a conversation with someone you don’t know is a skill that must be practiced to improve. One piece of helpful advice from parents is to make a game out of acting out different social scenarios to help children become more comfortable with social interactions. This game allows children to consider various situations and how they would interact with others. These scenarios can be practiced by:
- Taking the perspective of characters in books or TV shows
- Having play-pretend conversations with toys
- Playing board games
- Telling short stories
Provide support and encouragement: Parental involvement is vital to a child’s success in school and life. Children need their parents’ support and encouragement to feel safe and secure. If your child has trouble making friends, it’s recommended to take time to observe him or her in social situations and monitor their social activities for these behaviors:
- Does your child have trouble starting up a conversation?
- Is your child more comfortable in one-on-one situations versus in large groups?
- Is your child missing social cues from potential friends?
- Are your child’s friends engaging in age-appropriate activities?
Support and encourage the activities your child enjoys. Participating in activities they enjoy will naturally help children increase their self-confidence and give them topics to talk about with other like-minded peers.
Read More: https://childreninfobank.com/safebank/3-helpful-ways-to-encourage-your-shy-child-to-socialize/
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