What Causes Childhood Shyness?

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According to the American Psychological Association (APA), shyness is the tendency to feel weird, worried or stressed in social situations, and a shy child is the youngster who finds difficulty mingling and interacting with others and likes to stay away from lights and just be part of the audience.

Almost all children feel shy from time to time, yet the life of some can be disrupted by shyness, and they end up as shy adults.

If you’re wondering about the possible causes of kids’ shyness, hereby are the most important ones:

Genetics: That’s true; some aspects of child’s personality can be identified by genetics!

Personality: A child with sensitive and emotional traits can turn into a shy adult.

Acquired behaviors: A child can learn some behaviors from his parents whom he loves to imitate and follow. Shyness can be one of these behaviors.

Family relations: A child who is emotionally detached from his parents or has experienced a discontinuous parental care, may be among the most exposed kids to worrisome and shyness. Some parents’ overprotection can also make a child feel afraid and confused especially in new and unknown situations.

Absence of social interactions: Isolating a child and not allowing him to mingle with others may prevent him from developing the types of social skills that will allow him to easily interact with unfamiliar people. 

Bitter critics: A child, who has been harassed and badly criticized by important people in his life like parents and older siblings, is more likely to act shy.

Fear of failure: A child, who has been pushed to do things above his capacities, may fear to lag behind while making any step further. And this kind of fear is the incarnation of shyness.

So if you doubt your child is shy and his condition is mild, just stay by his side, understand him and encourage him to break his fear and overcome his shyness. But if your child’s condition is severe making him constantly confused, then you will have to take him to a specialized doctor who can check on him and provide him with all the assistance he needs.

Read More: Tips On How To Teach Children Good Behavior