My DS is 6 and for the past year or more he has become very self-conscious and worried about how he seems to other people. I wouldn't call it shy because he has friends and will open up and talk to others in a very animated way when it suits him but he clams up and gets self-conscious easily.
When he was 3-4, he was very talkative, would randomly make friends at the park and always high energy and full of enthusiasm. Since he started school, however, he has become very self-conscious. I don't know if the school is a problem or if it is a natural side of his personality coming out. He is easily embarrassed, even at home, so I can't blame the school for everything.
We see it in small things like when we come up to the class to drop him off, his friends will be running around chasing each other and having fun and he will just stand there looking awkward and self-conscious. In class, the teacher has said he does participate but any time I am there, he seems so quiet and scared to ask for help.
Is this a form of anxiety? He seems very worried about being laughed at or talked about badly. There isn't any bullying at his school, as far as I can tell.
The reason it worries me is because I was like this as a child, very socially anxious and stressed about group social situations in particular. I found it hard to join in on games and worried a lot about being laughed at. I had always attributed this to me just being an over-sensitive child with older siblings who teased me and very critical parents but my DS doesn't have this. He is the oldest child and DH and I try very hard to be positive with him and praise him. Is this just an inborn trait or can I do anything about it to help him be more confident? Other kids his age seem so carefree by comparison!