Hi, my little boy has just turned 5 and he seems so shy. He is a only child, although has an older half brother but he is 17 and hardly visits. He’s fine at home with us or with family and close friends but if we go somewhere new with new people or people he hasn’t seen in a while it takes him forever to get warmed up and I have to push him to join in and play. We had been taking him to football on a Saturday and he kept saying he wanted to go but once there would refuse to join in. This weekend we took him and again he refused to join in even though some of his school friends were there, so he did know people.
I know what it’s like in big groups and I’m not the most confident person although easier to hide it now I’m older, so I know how he may be feeling but I really don’t want him to feel like that and I really want him to join in and be more confident.
I don’t know if it is shyness or refusing to do something he doesn’t want to do.
My partner just gets really frustrated with him and then I just feel guilty that my little boy is feeling that way. I have tried to talk to him about but all he says is he didn’t want to do it.
I’m worried that it’s because he’s an only child, he is at school and we see friends regularly (obviously lockdown hasn’t helped with any of this).
I just feel a bit of mum guilt.