PRETTY YOUNG THING

Every parent wants their child to be confident. Confidence ensures your child isn’t afraid to join in and so the confident child has lots of opportunities.  As this Sixth Form in London suggests, children who are provided with the right opportunities in life will grow up to be empathetic and confident leaders who are never afraid of a challenge.

Socially, children need other children and confidence helps children to make friends more easily. Friends are a vital part of childhood – we learn from our friends and the bonds we forge can sometimes last into adulthood.

How can I help my shy child?

Some children are simply shyer than others. This isn’t something they can choose – it’s who they are.

Putting your child into situations they might be uncomfortable with will not help them to become more confident. What will help them is choosing challenges for them which play to their strengths.

Success builds confidence

For example, a very shy child being made to join an acting class will also be a very miserable child.

He or she will be horribly aware of their own shortcomings and will feel the sting of failure.

But the same child placed in a club or class which focuses on a subject they excel at, will grow in confidence quite quickly.

Sports and acting are often the areas in which naturally confident children excel. If your child is shy, consider looking at areas where they already excel. Here are some ideas.

Art and craft classes

Music

Choir

Science club

Creative writing classes

Animal interests – helping out at local stables or animal rescue

Environmental action groups

All of these are brilliant for helping quieter children to find their own strengths. Making friends outside school will help your child to begin to see themselves as an individual. Adding strings to their bow will help round them out into accomplished, confident adults who are not afraid of challenges.

Other ideas

Talk to your child. Find out what’s at the heart of them. What are they feeling about themselves. Remember that smaller children often don’t have the language or the experience to recognise their own feelings. A sad or unpleasant feeling is simply scary – they don’t know that it’s based in fear or worry. Let them know that all children and adults feel worry at times. And that those feelings can be dealt with.