Q&A with Dr. Kim Har!
Perezito.com‘s educational expert Dr. Kim Har, director of early childhood education at the Aristotle Circle in NYC, knows that many parents are concerned that if their young child is shy, he/she will not socialize well in school.
“There are a wide range of personality types, and a certain level of shyness is pretty typical in many youngsters. An inherent sense of uncertainty around new people or in new environments is not necessarily a negative thing, and can often serve as a protective mechanism for children. However, feeling too much uncertainty or fear can also keep kids from doing the things they really want to do. Fortunately, there are simple things parents can do to help their children be more at ease around new people,”
says Dr. Kim Har.
Dr. Har suggests the following tips to help your child “practice” interacting with people:
— When you go to the grocery store, give your child the money so that he/she can interact with the cashier.
— Instead of going to your usual neighborhood park or playground, find a different playground where your child will meet new kids.
— At a restaurant, have your child order his/her food directly from the waitperson. Encourage the appropriate use of ├óΓé¼┼ôplease├óΓé¼┬¥ and ├óΓé¼┼ôthank you.├óΓé¼┬¥
— At the library, your child should check out his/her own book selections and interact with the librarian directly.
By encouraging small, natural interactions like this in your child’s daily environment, he/she will gain confidence in social settings and begin to see that interacting with new people is not such a scary thing.
That’s incredible!
Thanks for the advice!!
For more information on how to prepare your children for school, CLICK HERE.