So my boy has never been a smiler, and takes a while to warm up to new people/ situations. He still cries when I leave him with the childminder he's gone to since he was 8 months old, but is playing happily when I come to collect him. If we go to classes/ groups he will cling to me for the first 10 mins, even if it's a regular class. He is very suspicious of new people, but chats and plays with the regular people in his life.
I am getting the sense that this serious, slow to warm up character might be his personality. As a someone who's always been confident in social situations, I don't know how best to support him! And, whisper it, I do slightly wish that he was a little more easy with new situations. His childminder talks about getting his confidence up, but I'm not sure it's exactly that. He was mobile early, walking at 11 months, and enjoys exploring and discovering. He is confident, he just needs time with new situations and people.
He's a bright little button, but...is personality destiny? What things should I be doing to help him? I know I should probably accept him as he is, but I'll confess to hoping I can support him to be perhaps a bit less frowny and suspicious in new situations/ with new people.