Check out some similar questions!

jrb252000 · Jul 29, 2007, 10:06 AM

Greetings... my five year old is going to be starting school soon. I'm a bit nervous because he is really shy. Once he is around other kids he is fine. However around adults he doesn't seem to relax and rarely will speak. He also gets frustrated when he has to repeat himself. I have taken him to see two doctors and they think his IQ is higher than average and to have him tested. He has no other problems and of course I think he is really smart. I have already talked to his school about the problem and of course will meet his teacher the first day of school. The school said it has seen many problems like this and everything will be fine. Anyone have any tips or been in a situation like this? I'm more afraid that they will think he is slow. First time mom maybe I'm just paranoid.

spacefire5458 · Jul 29, 2007, 11:43 AM

Calm down its fine he will do what is natural not what you force him to do just calm down and let things take there course.

NowWhat · Jul 29, 2007, 12:59 PM

My daughter is shy - especially around adults. Once she is comfortable - she is fine. I am sure your son will be too. I am guessing that he is starting kindergarten. Is it possible to hold him back another year and let him mature a little more? We started ours when she was 5 (she is almost 7 now) and because of her maturity level - we are holding her back in the 1st grade.

Her first year - I took her to school everyday and had to walk her back to her room. I tried to drop her off like all the other kids - just pull up to the door and say bye - but she would FREAK out and start to cry. Around Christmas of that year - her teacher asked me if I could stop and let her be more independent (as if I was choosing this) - after a while she was able to do it.

He will probably be fine. Talk to his teacher and let him/her know that your son is really shy and it could take him a bit longer to adjust. They have seen it all, so don't worry. I doubt they would think he is slow.
Good Luck.

jrb252000 · Jul 29, 2007, 01:39 PM

I don't want to hold him back because he is going to be 6 in Feb. Of course if the teacher feels it is necessary I will take there advice. I feel bad for him too because he is already so tall about 48 inches. I had my son go to a preview day and they took him to a different room with other kids while the adults went to an orientation and he was talking about all the fun they had. It was only for about 1/2 hour though. I just want to make sure he is prepared and I'm just anxious being new to this all. THanks for all the advice. I will be crying more than he will the first day. LOL. My husband thinks I'm overprotective.

lostinatrance · Jul 29, 2007, 03:30 PM

Don't worry unless things don't fix itself. If you see no improvements in I'd say, five/six months, try taking him to a Child Psychiatrist, Elective Mutism is a possibility.

bballrules910 · Jul 29, 2007, 03:36 PM

When I first went to kindergarten I did not know the kids in my class and I was very shy and I was 5. now I'm going in to 6th grade and I can talk to them about every thing.

jrb252000 · Jul 29, 2007, 03:40 PM

Originally Posted by lostinatrance

Don't worry unless things don't fix itself. If you see no improvements in I'd say, five/six months, try taking him to a Child Psychiatrist, Elective Mutism is a possibility.

I did take him to a child psychiatrist and he did talk but he always looks at me before he says anything. I never heard of selective mutism but looked it up. Thanks for the information. :)

lostinatrance · Jul 29, 2007, 03:43 PM

Anytime, hopefully that's not it but anything is a possibility. Good luck :)

J_9 · Jul 29, 2007, 04:57 PM

I wouldn't worry. This is normal for first time Moms, LOL.

I have been through this 3 times now, the 4th will be on my birthday. My littlest one leaves for kindergarten on my birthday.

They all go through this and the teachers are VERY aware and used to this sort of thing. Just keep in touch with his teacher, without being a pest, LOL and you both will get through this just fine.

NowWhat · Jul 30, 2007, 06:16 AM

If he had a good time with those other kids - then chances are he will be fine in school.
We had an orientation the night before the first day - we were able to go and talk to the teacher, show our daughter where she would sit - where her cubby was, etc. It was nice, she knew what to expect (sort of).
He will see the other kids and see how they interact and he will be fine.

crazymomjulie · Aug 9, 2007, 06:47 PM

I have a 6 year old that is extremely shy. He is even shy around family that he interacts with all the time that he will hide behind me when they come around (which is ALL the time).And I had the same concerns when he started school last year but it turned out there was no need to worry because he fell right in to the groove of everything. It seemed that once he felt comfortable with the other kids he just followed there leads as to how things worked and he did excellent. His teachers said he still was rather quiet but that he was a wonderful student and that it would have been nice to of had a few more of them on the quiet side like him.