Baby Shy: 6 Proven Tips to Help Your Child Build Confidence

Some children can sing and dance freely in public and can express their ideas in front of strangers, but some baby shy and even be speechless when they greet guests at home. This is all due to the shyness of children, and this shyness is often not completely eliminated even in adulthood.

Some parents may be very anxious when seeing this, but in fact, shyness is a very normal phenomenon. Many children will experience shyness. Shyness is a common psychological defense mode of people . Generally, it is not a big problem. However, if a child is too shy, it may affect his normal study, life and communication, and even affect his future social development. As long as the child has a happy and positive attitude when interacting with others, and the parents can give timely encouragement, even a child who is born shy may become friendly and confident.

Generally speaking, children will show shyness when they are 2-3 years old. At this stage, children’s self-awareness begins to sprout , and they need adult attention, have the need to interact with friends, and expect to get more attention, which leads to shyness.

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There are many reasons why do baby shy.

1. Frequent criticism from parents

Children are naughty and will do wrong things, which often make their parents angry. Sometimes, when parents are angry, they can’t control themselves and scold their children loudly or even hit them. This kind of violent behavior will hurt the child’s self-confidence and self-esteem, making him shy. Parents should respect their children, be patient when encountering problems, reason with their children, take the initiative to discover their children’s strengths and praise them more.

2. Too dependent on parents and lack of independent ability

Some parents dote on their children and do everything for them, which results in their children not being able to exercise their independent living ability. As a result, the children cannot be independent when they should be, and become parasites who cannot live independently without their parents. If things go on like this, the children will doubt their own abilities, their ability to develop independently will be greatly affected, and they will gradually develop a shy and timid mentality.

3. Children have too little social interaction

Some children stay at home all day to study or play, rarely go out to interact with others, and lack opportunities to socialize. Once such children come to a new environment or meet strangers, they will be shy and at a loss.

It is normal for baby shy during their normal growth and development, and parents do not need to worry too much. Parents can use the following methods to cultivate their children’s self-confidence and improve their shyness.

1. Take your children to interact with others more often

Children rarely interact with others, which is the main cause of shyness. Therefore, in order to avoid baby shy behavior, children should be allowed to experience interacting with friends as early as possible and get a pleasant experience from it. Parents need to pay attention to the following: when children show social behavior, they should be rewarded immediately to help reinforce this behavior.

It is easier to interact with children younger than oneself because one is older, which increases self-confidence, and makes one feel safe and comfortable. Parents can encourage children to play with non-aggressive and gentle partners. Playing together in a friendly environment can help children build self-confidence and experience a good feeling of ease and pleasure. Parents can also let children play relevant roles in non-pressure games to gradually cultivate their ability to handle various relationships in an anxious environment.

2. Enhance children’s self-confidence

Children’s self-confidence is not given by adults, but is cultivated over a long period of time. Parents can often point out their children’s strengths to give them a sense of accomplishment. You can find jobs that are within their capabilities but slightly challenging, so that children can develop self-confidence through repeated successful experiences.

When children want to join in the fun when they see others playing, but don’t know how to do it, parents can give them pointers, such as saying to them, “Why don’t you go over and let those kids see your new doll?” Then try to stay with them for a while longer, and when the children are having fun, parents can withdraw.

3. Provide a warm and harmonious family atmosphere

Since shy children generally lack self-esteem, the most important thing to help children build self-esteem is to show love to them and accept them from the bottom of their hearts. This kind of love and acceptance is unconditional, giving children the opportunity to express their opinions, including negative opinions. Then when children get along with others, they will not feel embarrassed to reject others, and they can also learn how to reject others.

4. Encourage children to express themselves

Shy children become very silent when they arrive at kindergarten or are in a group. Parents can often organize group activities among relatives and friends, encourage children to actively participate, and train children’s enthusiasm for participating in activities through performances, dancing, poetry recitation, etc.

5. Don’t label your child as “shy”

Especially when talking in front of others, calling a child “shy” in front of a child will hurt the child’s sensitive heart. Parents should also avoid praising cheerful and sociable children in front of their children, as this will hurt the shy child’s self-esteem and aggravate the degree of shyness.

6. Parents should accept and adapt to their children’s shyness

Shyness does not determine a child’s development. If a child still cannot change his or her shyness despite the care, love, education and encouragement of his or her parents, then there is no need to force the child. Parents should start from the actual situation of the child, accept and adapt to the child’s shy personality traits , help the child understand himself or herself, and come up with a lifestyle that suits him or her.