How Playgrounds Can Help Shy Children Get Fit andFit In

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What do Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Carrie Underwood, and Tom Cruise have incommon? While just about everyone knows their name today, they were shy as children. This childhoodshyness is perfectly normal, but none of those people would have reached the levels of fame thatthey did if they hadn't been able to overcome it — unaddressed shyness can have a large effect on achild's development and social skills, and severe shyness can affect them well into adolescence.

According to The Shyness Breakthrough author and doctor Bernardo J. Carducci, PhD., kids are born tobe cautious in new situations as part of their basic survival instincts. Shyness may be triggered by anumber of factors such as strangers, crowded playgrounds, and even harsh experiences at home. Asnatural as shyness is, it is critical that kids overcome it. Preschool is an especially crucial time wherechildren should be leaping forward in the development of their social, mental, and physical skills, but 75%of children displaying shyness are expected to retain this attitude or personality as they reachadolescence.

To overcome this developmental gap, it's important to understand how shyness can be controlled as a

positive part of your children's development. One key way is to bring children into new settings with newpeople, like playgrounds, while giving them the comfort of a parent who is right there to back them up.

What is Shyness Really?

At its most basic level, shyness is anxiety. It's a state where children feel a mix of conflicting emotions suchas excitement and a desire to have fun along with tension and uneasiness about a new situation.

Shyness is brought out when children are presented with unfamiliar social settings. A shy child may feelanxious, inhibited, and uneasy around strangers. Even in activities that parents would think are natural forchildren, such as being in a classroom or new play situation, shyness may be exhibited. Theaccompanying discomfort and embarrassment may lead children to avoid participating in games andactivities, and this could lead to them having difficulties making friends or feeling unhappy when they missout on the fun everyone else is having.

Shyness can be identified through the actions a child displays. The typical shy child will not seek out socialconversations with other kids on the playground and may keep to themselves. They will often avoidstrangers while constantly seeking the presence of familiar people. This behavior could lead to the shychild becoming the subject of bullying.

Everyone has been shy at one point in their lives, especially when they were kids, but it's somehow stilleasy to forget what triggers shyness. Just look into the eyes of a child as they get to a crowded orunfamiliar place and watch as they cling closer to a parent or older sibling. These feelings can beexaggerated when they are presented with a situation in which nothing is familiar or when they seethemselves as having nothing in common with the other children (such as special needs children).

How to Help Shy Kids on the Playground

For young children, playtime isn't just about having fun. It helps them develop social and mental skillswhile also channeling ways to get fit and burn off excess energy. During the early years of development,particularly preschool years, playtime may just be the most effective tool to address the issue of shyness.To help them, search out activities that naturally bring kids together and make it harder for them to go offon their own.

Early on, stay near your child on the playground to observe interactions between them and other children.If your child lingers near you, smile at other children and parents around you on the playground so yourchild can see you acting confident and relaxed. If other children approach your child to play, wait to seehow your child responds. If your child is ignoring them, or if no other children have noticed your child, thenlook for other children with their parents who you can introduce your child to. If your child's shynessprevents them from interacting positively, step forward and encourage your child to engage with peers in afriendly and relaxed manner. Teach them simple icebreakers like "What's your name?" and "Would you liketo play?" Don't just focus on correcting negative behavior as that will only increase their anxiety. Keepleading by example by striking up conversations with nearby adults and children to show your child howenjoyable it can be to interact with others in a social situation. After watching your conversations, yourchild may even join in, too.

As with any learning, the key to success is to keep reinforcing their social skills by providing constantopportunities for playtime with other children. Bring your children to a variety of settings such asneighborhood playgrounds, church playgrounds, indoor playgrounds, and backyard playgrounds so theyget used to seeing both new places and new faces. Try to encourage them to play near sandboxes, slides,and water features where groups of children are most likely to congregate. Playgrounds with equipmentsuch as jumbo Tic-Tac-Toe games and climbing walls naturally bring kids together and sharpen their

knowledge on strategy and logical thinking skills. When your child begins to choose favorite activities andfriends they want to keep seeing, bring them back to those locations, but also bring them (and maybe theirnew friends) to new places so they can remember how much fun it is to try new things and meet newpeople.

Don't Have a Playground? That's an Easy Fix

In today's spread out world, it's easy to find yourself without a playground that's easy enough to get toalmost every day. You may find yourself making excuses not to go and the gaps between playground tripsgrowing longer and longer. If you feel that way, there are probably many families nearby who feel the sameway, and a new playground can help bring both kids and adults together.

Component Playgrounds manufactures affordable, high-quality playground equipment for schools,churches, apartment complexes, homeowners' associations, and parks. We even offer residentialplayground equipment so your home can become the play date destination of choice and give your childan easy way to make new friends. You can check out our trampolines, swing sets, slides, and sportsequipment here, and we also have benches, tables, and bike racks to make life easier on the parents.