It is very difficult for a shy teenager to build relationships with peers, he is deprived of the main joy of this age - communication, friendship, love. Psychologists give some tips on how to help teen's parents overcome shyness.
Don't let anyone call your child shy
The ratings and opinions of others greatly affect the self-esteem of a teenager. Therefore, it is important that feedback from teachers, mentors, acquaintances, etc. helped to raise the adolescent's self-esteem in his own eyes and in the eyes of others.
Encourage eye contact
Eye contact, eye contact is an essential part of establishing trusting communication, psychologists say. An insecure person usually avoids eye contact, so encourage eye contact when communicating with you. At first, if your teen finds it difficult to establish eye contact, you can look at the bridge of the nose.
Teach your child to start and end conversations
The teenager is afraid to start a conversation with a stranger, to say something wrong, so as not to be rejected or ridiculed. Help your child practice these skills in a safe environment, try to give examples of situations where you can start a conversation, what to ask, suggest options for possible topics of conversation. Also teach your child how to end a conversation properly. All these skills can be practiced in a telephone conversation with a benevolent interlocutor, traveling companion, etc. Having received a successful communication experience, a teenager will be able to independently transfer it and use it in communication with peers.
Practice behavior in certain situations
Help your teen get rid of the fear of certain situations by role-playing them. You can act out an example of meeting a new student in class, a situation at a party, at a friend's birthday. You can switch roles several times until the child begins to feel more confident and is ready to use their skills in real communication.
Practicing communication skills with younger children
As a rule, when dealing with younger children, shy teenagers feel much more confident. Encourage such communication for short games with the children of your acquaintances, a cousin or sister, etc.
Create conditions for paired play with peers
Create conditions so that the teenager can invite one of his peers to visit, or to jointly prepare homework, etc. Try to reduce external, including your own, interference to a minimum, it is also better to give up TV and computer games. Face-to-face communication with the teenager's most trusted peer allows the shy teenager to feel more confident and is the first step towards real friendship and overcoming shyness completely.
