Shy preschooler

[Motherinferior78]

DD is nearly 4 and has always been shy. She has got a lot better with talking to adults but actively avoids communicating with the children at her pre-school. She has one special friend who comes to play once a week and seems quite relaxed with him but it breaks my heart when I pick her up from pre-school and she's always playing alone. Apparently she joins in with adult led group activities but will not talk to the other children. The other children seem so much confident talking to each other. She's an only child and I'm a SAHM so I worry that somehow I've caused this by the decisions I've made in life. How do I help her without making too much of an issue out of it? My biggest worry is that her shyness will make the transition to school much harder.

This article is excellent. The main thing is that your DD is only 3,she has a lot of social maturing to learn, try not to make a big deal of it especially as she seems happy and has a friend. Not everyone can be a total social butterfly but she may yet become one :)

Article

Our dd5 was the same, except she wouldnt talk to adults... even my friends she saw daily. Would only ever play and talk with one or two kids at nursery, wouldnt speak to staff, wouldnt even nod to confirm her attendance at register time. The last year at nursery they actively prompted her to partner up with other kids. Was sooo worried about her starting school this year, but shes been fab! Her teacher admitted to us at parents evening that he was worrying about her on her first day, but she quickly settled once she knew him and has been fairly vocal since.