Five Top Tips to Help Your Child Overcome Shyness

Shyness in kids is very common, and “everybody can feel shy in certain situations,” says Professor Jennifer Hudson, a clinical psychologist and research fellow from Macquarie University’s Centre for Emotional Health . While mild shyness is not defined as an anxiety condition, approximately one in five children will have a problem with exceptional shyness and anxiety, such that it significantly interferes with their daily life. Professor Hudson’s latest longitudinal research into the role of temperament and stressful life events in the development of childhood anxiety found that shy children experience fewer positive life experiences because of their inhibitions.