How to build toddlers confidence?

[Happppiiiii]

Any tips? Appreciate if people tell me he’ll grow out of it too! He’s my first child so I’m learning with him :)

DS is 3yo. Around 19-20mo he started getting shy which I’ve heard is normal development. He had a phase of meltdowns at new places/people/things. I still went to the family get together, the parks, the soft plays. Worked through it with him as I didn’t think sitting in the house would help him.

He is more confident now I’d say! He just sticks to me like glue, is quiet and turns away but this is a step from meltdowns.

He’s in nursery 4 days a week (was 3 but I had to up my work days after mat leave with his baby sibling) and we do want an extracurricular club for him. But one that’s low pressure, on 1/2 of my weekdays off with him I’d go to rhyme time and tbh he sat at the side reading books (picture ones haha) and playing with the trains! His 11mo sister joined in more

me and DH spoke about swimming as one of us would be in the water with him for a few lessons and it’ll help build his confidence in water as on holiday he was nervous about it

So we’ll try swimming (there is a class for his sister’s age too near his so we’re going to take her too! To help him also and see her do it too)

What else can we do to help him?? We’re your very shy nervous toddlers now more confident kids?

Bumping x

Give him lots of things to do that are easily achievable. ‘Put the toy in the box’ ‘climb up the steps’ ‘cuddle your sister’
loads of praise and encouragement and celebrate all his small successes!

Give him lots of opportunity to make choices between 2 things. Endure either choice is an enjoyable experience for him.

My wee boy was exactly the same as yours. He was always upset/stressed in new situations as 1-2 year old. Once he got to 3 he would tolerate them but was always sat next to me and would never run off on his own to play or join in.
He's 5.5 now and very confident and happy to do things much more independently. All we did was encourage him but not push him too much if he was uncomfortable. I would say now he is happy to play with his friends/ join in parties / soft play without us but if it is anything new he will risk assess the situation and maybe observe others first. I think a lot of it is a personality thing. He is a perfectly happy and sociable boy now and had similar worries to you a few years back.

Unless there’s more to it than what you’ve described here, then, kindly, it doesn’t seem like too much to worry about.

He’s still really, really little and has had quite a big jolt to his life with the arrival of a baby sibling.

Kids change so much at this age.

My DS was quite similar to how you describe but we just kept gently supporting him and let him follow his own interests. He’s 6.5 now and while I’d still describe him as shy with new people, he’s got super friends in school, is a whizz at anything physical, and is generally great at having a go at things.

my DC were both very shy. I think it helps to be very consistent so they can know how the world works and that mum/dad will always be there.

Thanks everyone! Quite reassuring to see it’s most likely a phase I can help him through :)

love the idea about
Small successes

thank you all for your responses