Social anxiety in 3 year old?

[cherylsx]

Hi everyone,

Feeling a bit sad tonight as I had a bad day with my almost 3 year old DS.

The past few weeks he has been so scared of everything, leaving the house, the wind, the list could go on.
Today we went to a Peppa pig show, and the minute it started he started crying saying it's " too noisy mum" and we ended up just leaving as he was so upset.

He is always so happy and a little hyper & boisterous, he is a great speaker and communicator, he's always been a little sensitive to loud noise ie the hoover.

He is the only child in the family and isn't around children often which I'm starting to feel really guilty about. He is starting nursery after Easter and me and my husband are a little concerned how he will cope now.

Not sure what I'm hoping for posting this but I just wanted to find out if anyone has similar issues and maybe any advice.

Thanks in advance x

Have you taken him to the GP to see if there's anything going on with his hearing?

No, I hadn't thought about his hearing, he's just got over 2 viral infections so maybe something underlying?

I remember this time last year he was the same, then the better weather came and he was out playing more and got more confident.

X

Social anxiety and being scared of loud (or unexpected) noises are very different things; he could just be a little sensitive to loud noises, and if there are no other concerns then there is normally nothing to worry about, i.e. he is just a bit sensitive. You mention that he is a great communicator, how is he communicating with children of his own age? so children he might have bumped into while in the park, playgroups, toddler classes, etc? he could be a little shy, but shyness is not a bad thing at all (if the interest/motivation is there then he will get there eventually).

Nursery will certainly help; I imagine that it will be the first time that he will not have you there (to deal with situations) and he will have to navigate the social landscape on his own (which will be a very positive development). One thing to note is that starting nursery after 3YR, on average, is a little on the late side and there will be other children that would have been there since 2YR or younger so while at first he might slightly struggle (compared to other peers) he should be able to catch up very soon :)

Thank you for your reply

To be honest he hasn't been around other children too often, he attended playgroup 1 day a week from 18months ( until they stopped the group last year)) but I was always with him, he always coped quite well, he always got quite excitable around other children, around snack time he would rather play than sit around the table.
Me and my husband both work and he is with different family members 4 days of the week and is always fine.
We are lucky enough not to have had to put him in a private nursery whilst we work, so always just thought he would be fine just starting at pre school age 3 and to be honest I thought that's what most children do.

Thanks