My child seems very shy, should I be worried?

My child seems very shy, should I be worried?

Eileen Hayes (Editor in Chief - Your Family magazine) gives expert video advice on: At what age do children normally start to make friends?; Why are friends important for children?; How can I help my child to develop good friendships? and more...

Part of shyness is part of an individual child's personality and probably can't be changed. Not every child can be completely outgoing. But you can teach a child to at least be able to go out and approach another child. Just explain to them the words to use, you know, "can I play with you?", "would you like a turn?" Those sorts of things, you can actually explain to help a shy child. And also, if you are shy yourself, you can try and give a good example of going up and chatting to people, so that they understand it's okay to do that. But not to worry too much, because, you know, lots of people are quite happy being, in a sense, shy and don't need to have a whole circle of friend around them.