My dd has become really timid and nervous over the last few months. She's quite small and never been particularly physical. As she is an only child we have always tried to encourage her to be sociable - she meets up with her NCT group most weeks and has been spending a couple of days a week in nursery since she was 9mo and really seems to enjoy it.
However, now she's started to refuse to play on slides and climbing frames if there is another child on it - even if they are younger and smaller than she is. She becomes very shy and clingy if adults talk to here (unless she knows them well). If she hears a sudden sound outside, she panics and says "whats that" all the time.
We assume this is just a phase, but I would really welcome any suggestions for what else we could do to help her confidence.