help with extremely shy 3yo boy

[Anonymous]

my second son is extremely shy. it takes him longer then the average child to warm up to new situations, but he generally will get there if it is a smaller group. for example we i signed him up for soccer, he spent the first class hanging on my leg, but then two classes later participated through the whole class....actually this is probably pretty normal.

we have been working through this shyness problem with his teacher at school since september. I do think he is becoming more comfortable at school and has some friends. my toddler will speak to his teacher if she pulls him aside at the begining or end of the day, and speak to his friends individually, however my concern is that he will ignore all questions addressed to him, lacks any response or emotion if they are in a larger setting. for example the teacher asks bob, do you want more snack....no response.

I am curious if anyone has had to deal with a severely shy toddler, and what did you do that seemed to help? thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:my second son is extremely shy. it takes him longer then the average child to warm up to new situations, but he generally will get there if it is a smaller group. for example we i signed him up for soccer, he spent the first class hanging on my leg, but then two classes later participated through the whole class....actually this is probably pretty normal.

we have been working through this shyness problem with his teacher at school since september. I do think he is becoming more comfortable at school and has some friends. my toddler will speak to his teacher if she pulls him aside at the begining or end of the day, and speak to his friends individually, however my concern is that he will ignore all questions addressed to him, lacks any response or emotion if they are in a larger setting. for example the teacher asks bob, do you want more snack....no response.

I am curious if anyone has had to deal with a severely shy toddler, and what did you do that seemed to help? thanks!

This could have been written by me. My 2 1/2 yr old DS is exactly like this. I'm curious what other people say because I have yet to find a good solution either. I will say, I was pretty similar to this as a child and no one would call me shy now.

[Anonymous]

I care for two children who were very much like this. It seemed to upset them more if we tried to push them into socializing. We let them go at their own pace. Some kids (and adults!) are shy and take longer to warm up. It's perfectly normal.

After a year in preschool they opened up more. They're still shy upon first meeting or at the beginning of a play date but they warm up quickly.

I have a couple friends who read this book and liked it. It's geared towards adults but it may help you understand where your child is coming from. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0307352153/ref=mw_dp_mpd?pd=1&qid=1366738570&sr=8-1