Ask Rene:
My Little Guy Is So Shy – I’m Worried!
Hello Rene,
I wonder if you have any advice you could offer for my situation.
I’m a single mom with an 8-year-old boy called Christian. Chris is a lovely kid and has a very sweet nature – but he’s also painfully shy when we’re around people.
If I take him to a birthday party he just sits in the corner and won’t talk to anyone. He has few friends at school. And when we go out he never wants to leave my side.
I’ll be honest I’m really worried for the future as I won’t always be around and I don’t know how Chris would cope on his own.
How can I get my son to open up and get out into the world more?
Thanks
Patricia, Ocean City
Hey Patricia:
I can so relate to this as my Casey was a very shy child and still is in certain situations. Not knowing or seeing Chris myself, I can’t determine whether this is more serious and he needs to see a therapist but I can offer you a bit of insight from my perspective as the parent of a shy child.
Before I delve into that though, I want you to know that Casey is thriving and doing well. She has a core group of girlfriends and when she is with them she’s like every other teenager so don’t panic. Let’s take a look at some things that might help.