I am looking for reassurance to see if others have experienced this or ways that I can help support him.
My 21 month old little boy is a typical little boy he’s wild, runs, sings, shouts and is very confident and is the same if it’s just myself and my husband or family members or one on one with children he doesn’t know who he meets at soft plays etc.
However whenever we go to other familiar settings and meet with other children his personality changes and he is very reserved and takes a step back and it feels like he’s holding himself back from being himself or getting involved and enjoying himself.
We are out and about most days at parks, and settings around other children and he goes to nursery twice a week and mixes, plays and talks to other children however it seems when I am there and he is around familiar children and friends he sees regularly he holds back and wants to just watch, doesn’t seem to be having much fun, isn’t as chatty and is like a completely different child.
He says that he has had fun afterwards and talks about the experience and mentions all the children and says that he has fun however in the moment it doesn’t seem so. He hasn’t always been this way so I wonder if it’s a phase or if he’s just becoming more aware.