My son is 10, nearly 11. He has always been shy, particularly around adults. He used to struggle with eye contact with adults, now he will speak when he's spoken to but it tends to be one-word answers. If he does wants to say more, I can see it takes him so long to build up the courage that the adults has usually moved on or another child will speak up and he then misses his moment.
He has always been popular, however. He has a solid friendship group and seems well liked. Lately though, his shyness is around his friends too. He struggles to talk to them initially and I've observed him in the playground at the start of the day, often standing in silence and waits for others to talk to him. I am worried he'll get left behind or that his peers will think he's rude.
He plays sport, and previously had been very good. His shyness seems to be affecting on the pitch now as he will often sit back and not get involved much in the games then comes away feeling disappointed. He doesn't seem to have the grit and determination that others have.
With secondary school looming, I am keen to try to help him through this. Does anyone have any suggestions or experience in helping a child overcome shyness?
He already plays 2 different sports, goes to scouts, has a tutor. We go on lots of adventures (camping, skiing, walking etc) and lead a varied social life.