I was a shy boy. At birthday parties, my sister and I clung to our mother’s legs rather than play with the other kids. At swimming lessons, I sat on the edge off the pool, terrified to jump in.
When I became a dad, I was so pleased that Jack was naturally outgoing. He played well with other kids, and wasn’t shy around adult family members and friends. He was even friendly with strangers, saying hello to everyone on the street and taking offence if they didn’t say “hi” back to him.
But in the last few weeks he’s become shy in certain situations. He clung to my leg at the birthday party of his good friend, and stuck close to Janet at another birthday party the following day.
Last week, I took him to his first day back at a kids’ theatre group. He’d been there before Christmas and been fine. But this morning, he refused to take part, and remained outside the classroom with me and Ella.
“I’m afraid of the kids,” he said.
I tried to coax him for a half an hour. Against my better judgement (and certainly Janet’s!) I even promised him a trip to McDonald’s if he took part in the class.
This only got him fixated on the trip to McDonald’s. It became clear after 45 minutes that he wasn’t going to the class, but nonetheless expected to go to McDonald’s for lunch. I relented to avoid a scene outside the theatre class.
I was a happy kid, but very shy into my teen years, so it worries me to see Jack like this. I may push him too hard sometimes because I fear his increasing shyness may turn into something long-lasting.
Then again, maybe the answer is frequent trips to McDonald’s, where he had a Happy Meal and ran up and down the climbing structure, playing happily…with other kids.
