Helping a shy child can seem challenging. As I know from experience, shy children seem to be born and not raised. The question is how to get your child to overcome their shyness in order to grow into a responsive, social individual. Shyness can get in the way of many aspects of life: making friends, showing manors, being responsive, and general communication. If your child is struggling, here are some ideas to help them find their voice.

How to Help a Shy Child:

• Try Not to Overwhelm Them. Shy children can have a harder time with stresses, so try to simplify things for them.
• Set a Positive Example. If children see that you can remain calm, talk to others, and hold eye contact, they will know what is expected of them.
• Don’t Label the Child as Shy. If a child hears repeatedly that they are shy, this will be how they see themselves. It will give them a reason/excuse as to why it is OK and not help them in outgrowing it.
• Clearly Explain the Expectations. Remember that they are little. They are ready to learn, so clearly state how you want them to respond and with patience one day they will get there.
• Encourage Them. When they decide to look someone in the eye or talk to someone, applaud them for it. It reinforces the good behavior. Even if it’s not perfect just say “I love the way you____. Next time you just need to speak a little louder.”
• Practice at Home. Learning how to respond in other places to strangers might go better if they have regular practice runs in an environment they are comfortable with and with people they are comfortable with.
• Practice Outside the Home. No one gets better at anything without practice. Yes your child might not be in love with the idea, but take them out. Join a playgroup. Visit the mall. Check out what your local library has as far as kid programs. Practice is a key to success.
• Accept Your Child. Each one of us is unique and different and has something great to offer. Push your child to be the best version of themselves and love them for all their wonderful strengths.

If your child was not shy before and seems to be going into some sort of shyness, it might be related to some other stress in their life. Has something recently changed? Is their an illness? Have you moved? Is their arguing in the house? Any sort of stress to a child can cause a wide range of effects. The best idea for children in this situation is talk to them, help them through it, and if possible try to not involve them in the stress. As soon as the child feels back at ease, they should return to their non-shy self. If you have further concern, please talk to a doctor about your child.

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In the digital age, there are so many wonderful resources available for kids. I came across this great resource lately. It includes 10 free learning websites for kids. So although you may be limiting the amount of time your children spend in front of the screen, when they are using your computer, they can be learning at the same time. Learning is best when it is fun! Even when I was teaching in the classroom, I found that children did best when we made games out of their curriculum. It keeps them engaged while striving to reach their educational goals (because they’d want to win, and there’s nothing like a personal challenge to keep things interesting!) So while you are having fun with your children this summer exploring the wonderful world around them and seeing all the things that they can’t quite get while they are in school, keep them engaged in learning and retaining their past curriculum with some online fun. The includes some of our favorites, like: PBS and Starfall, but also some new ones worth checking out.

If you know of more great learning websites for children, please share them 🙂

 

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Transitioning to a toddler bed might seem like a daunting task for your little one, but here are some things to help when making the move to a big kid bed:

• Let them pick out their own sheets and made a big deal out of it
• Tell them that they aren’t allowed to get out of bed by himself
• A sticker reward chart for each night he stayed in bed or something else to positively reward/enforce good behavior
• Having the bed in their room for a while to help them get used to the idea and talk about what it is there for
• You might need a gate at their door so that they can’t “get out” of the room.
• Plan on them falling asleep on the floor the first few nights
• If it helps, they can sleep on the mattress on the floor to eventually got the hang of sleeping on the bed.
• Make a big deal about them staying in bed, special breakfasts or whatever help them feel like they really are doing great work
• If they get out of bed walk them back and say “it’s bed time” then kiss them said I loved them and walked out. If they get out again say NOTHING and walked them back to their bed and walk out, and if they come out again say NOTHING and walk them back again, until they eventually stay in their bed or in their room
• Keep positive so that they don’t sense your nervousness and your child might just be super excited about it!!

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As a parent, it can seem a daunting task to get your child school ready. Here are five key elements that will help your child find success in school. It’s not only academics. It’s social and emotional and so much more as well, and if your child is prone to shyness, you wonder how to make sure they are ready. Here is a great illustration I found on helping your child find success as a school ready child.

So if you are truly bonding with your child and engaging them in conversation, you are truly helping them be school ready. And as the information shows, they are not only preparing for preschool and kinder but early childhood success can be a predictor of success later in life.

Emotions and play are more keys to school ready success for your child. This means setting boundaries, while letting your child be a child. Your child needs to know your there for them, while also knowing your in control. They also need opportunities to play and explore. It helps them to make since of this great big world that they are fairly new to. When you help to build a child that is school ready by listening, loving, and giving them opportunities to grow, it provides them with a great base to grow from. A school ready child is: confident, collaborative, empathetic, curious, cooperative, creative, self-controlled, persistent, and a problem solver. It is important to remember that each child is different so some of these might come more naturally to them. Every individual’s personality contains its own strengths and weaknesses, but it is important to try and help your child overcome their shortcomings, while truly appreciating their natural abilities.

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Getting your child to sleep alone through the nigh in their own bed can be challenging and exhausting. Here are some ideas to help both of you get a peaceful night’s rest.

First: Assess the child. What is enabling their sleep pattern? What steps do you need to take to change things?

Second: Assess what stage you are at. Is it an all night thing, or somewhere in the middle of the night they end up in your bed? Are they in their bed and just having a rough go of making it through the night?

Third: Take the next natural step for your child. Come up with a road map for your family and stick with it. Nothing great happens without a plan and people that will see the plan through. Think of this as your personal agreement to getting your child to sleep alone through the night in their own bed and to saving everyone’s sanity.

Ideas for your Road Map to Getting your Child to Sleep Alone…

You could: let them sleep on the floor next to your bed, let them fall asleep and move them, snuggle with them in their bed. My son’s sleep is a little out of order lately because I’ve had some recent health issues, but normally to get him to sleep where I want him to it uses a little bit of reason, a little bit of reinforcement, a little bit of love, and a little bit (or lot) of patients. It all depends on what makes your child tick and motivates them. Do they like their bed? Are you projecting any anxiety over the big kid move? Assess the full situation, take it all into account, and then lay down the rules about how the night routine is going to work. Special clocks, special doors to keep children locked in and following the plan (I like barn style kid room doors personally), and great bedding might just work. Good luck on this great adventure!

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