5 Supportive Ways to Help Your Shy Child
Is your child shy? It’s more common than you think. Some parents think being shy is a huge handicap. Being shy isn’t the end of the world for your child. But there are simple things you can do to support your child.
I’m school assembly presenter Michael Kirschner. For the last dozen years or so, I’ve delivered impactful school assemblies to students in New Jersey, New York, Florida, and other states. For most of my career, I’ve focused on my bully prevention assembly. And I too was a shy kid growing up.
This article reveals five ways to help your child overcome their shyness.
Help Your Shy Child Tip #1: Patience
For an outgoing parent, this may be tough at times. Extroverted people often have a hard time understanding why some people are shy. They can’t relate to it. But having patience with your shy child is critically important.
Speaking as someone shy myself, I guarantee that no one asks to be shy. No one sets out to be shy. It’s just how some people are. A mix of personality, upbringing, and difficult social encounters leads a person to become shy.
As a parent, you are your child’s protector. They should feel as though you accept them unconditionally. Support and accept your child as they navigate their difficult journey of shyness.
Help Your Shy Child Tip #2: Similar Interests
What interests does your child have? They may enjoy video games, role-playing games, reading, or a host of other hobbies. Once you tune into what your child enjoys, you may be able to find a group or club that focuses on that interest.
Many school cultures place an inordinate amount of focus on sports. But there are likely other non-sports-related clubs in your child’s school. Schools often have a band or choir, giving your child a marvelous group activity to join. If none of these appeal to your child, seek out other organizations outside the school.
Once your child joins with others with the same interests, they may be comfortable coming out of their shell.
Help Your Shy Child Tip #3: Encouragement
What interests does your child have? They may enjoy video games, role-playing games, reading, or a host of other hobbies. Once you tune into what your child enjoys, you may be able to find a group or club that focuses on that interest.
Many school cultures place an inordinate amount of focus on sports. But there are likely other non-sports-related clubs in your child’s school. Schools often have a band or choir, giving your child a marvelous group activity to join. If none of these appeal to your child, seek out other organizations outside the school.
Once your child joins with others with the same interests, they may be comfortable coming out of their shell.
Help Your Shy Child Tip #4: Set Goals
If your child succeeds at something, it’s cause for celebration. Success also helps build confidence. You can help your child set goals and take steps to achieve them. But the way you set goals is important.
Simply telling your child to do something and succeed isn’t enough. Many kids (and indeed many adults) don’t know how to set goals. They see something they want to accomplish but have no idea how to get there.
The key is breaking the goal down into bite-sized chunks. Let’s use a marathon as an example. Waking up one day and deciding to run a 10K if you’ve never done it before is going to be hard. Really hard. So you start slow.
Learn about training and nutrition. Slowly work your way up. Depending on your fitness level, you may just start off running a few blocks. Then adding more and more distance. Eventually, you build up your strength and stamina to the point where running that 10K is something you can do.
Help Your Shy Child Tip #5: Problem-Solving
Some parents become overprotective of their shy children. They rush to do everything for them to make life easier for them. While protecting your child is admirable, going too far causes more harm than good. By doing everything for your child, they become overly reliant on you.
Teach your child problem-solving skills. Guide them through simple role-playing exercises. Get them to think about how to handle a given situation. Once your child learns they can figure out their own solutions, they will start building their own confidence.
Give Every Student Valuable Life Skills
Want to give everyone in your school a confidence boost? My “Abracabully” school assembly program teaches kids valuable bully prevention strategies. With impactful storytelling, magic, join-in fun, and more, I guarantee this program will inspire and help your school’s students. Contact me today for more information.