Morning. I just got off a chat with a good friend regarding this and just wondered if anyone has any more ideas. Going to bullet point just to make it easier:
- NT 7 year old, not had one normal school year due to Covid
- 1 of 2 DDs, her sister is 4- they get on amazingly well, no jealously, but DD4 is extrovert and extremely adorable and chatty
- DD7 is introvert, likes asking questions and reading about things and new ideas- would spend every day just me and her if she could.
- DD7 has a tendency to respond very quietly to other known adults and doesn't maintain eye contact well with them.
- She does say hello to them but will barely respond to a question if she's asked how she's doing/feeling/what's she enjoying at school. I have to prompt her to reply and sometimes it's a shrug and a smile.
- She doesn't do this if it's her friends parents, grandparents, aunties/uncles etc. But she can be quiet about those she knows well and has known for a long time- former childminder, old pre-school teacher, current teachers, neighbours of 5 years etc.
- She does chat to her main teacher well and is forthcoming with putting her hand up etc. But walking into school, she always claims she greets the teacher checking people off the list but I don't hear it. I wonder if she just zones out.
- She seems happy at school, but bored at times for sure.
- Could it be to do with so much time spent away from other adults due to Covid? Am I answering for her too much and it's made her just stay quiet when asked a direct question?
- This may sound trivial but I worry about her coming across as rude, which is not what she is at all. Is it selective shyness and should we just work on her feeling confident to just answer very simply?
- After we have seen people she chats happily about them and wonders about what they might be doing or if they have pets etc, which is hilarious as she almost didn't acknowledge their greeting just minutes before
It would be great if someone has experience of anything similar. I want DD7 to feel as though she CAN talk to people who are close to her and could help her if she needs to.
This is very trivial in the grand scheme of things but I just want to ensure that I am checking my behaviour as a parent and aren't expecting too much from her. When we move by the end of the year we are going to start both DDs at drama/musical theatre which they are both excited about.
Any additional things we could do to make her feel more confident would be great. Maybe it's about something else I am missing or doing which I need to change.