Comments on: My Shy Child is Confident Too

By: Jill

Jill — Tue, 22 Sep 2015 16:48:32 +0000

I have a daughter who just started talking at the age of 3… She has been labelled as severe in her speech now that she is in kindergarten.. The thing is, she talks well and a lot at home and people she sees all the time as well as with a few of her little friends. In kindergarten because of the larger group and because she is a reserved child in large settings and if a person she knows talks to her she hides behind me… I know she can talk, I just want to get her comfortable when people say hi to her or if classmates say hi to her so she can say hi back 🙂

By: Alida

Alida — Fri, 07 Nov 2014 03:00:04 +0000

In reply to J. Thank you for sharing another perspective, that's something I hadn't even though about but definitely could be the case with some children. Of course there will still be shy/reserved children with excellent eye site too but the high anxiety for sure would be a warning of something wrong. Great job for listening to your instincts mama!

By: J

Sun, 02 Nov 2014 19:18:41 +0000

One thing to consider in a reserved or anxious child is vision problems. Although I’d been assured my reserved child’s sight was normal by both a pediatrician and a family doctor, I began to suspect vision issues around the time she was 4.5. Although she could seem to spot things that interested her OK, I had a nagging feeling something wasn’t quite right, and sure enough
when I took her to a pediatric optometrist, she turned out to be nearsighted and have severe astigmatism. With her vision corrected, her confidence has really grown. She is still somewhat reserved, but it’s not as extreme as it was, and her anxiety has improved a lot. Not being able to see details or interpret facial expression at a distance would make me anxious, too! Since young children only know what they have experienced, they can’t explain if they can’t see well, so if you have any suspicion of a problem, getting checked out is a good idea.