It’s all about diplomacy. To help him gain self-confidence, offer him “guidelines”, offer him short scenarios showing him how to behave and offer him to act the scene, as you would before a job interview. ! This will gradually release his anxious tensions.
This role-playing technique is particularly effective if there is no audience other than you and him. The goal is not to bring your child into the Florent course but to give him enough self-confidence so that he dares to speak in class or in a small group.
– If he is afraid to call, prepare with him the three to four short sentences that allow you to introduce yourself and start a conversation. Then, ask him (for example) to call the bookstore to ask if they have the latest comic he wants and to inquire about the store’s opening hours. Let him do it and especially do not cut him off in his conversation and it is only after hanging up that you will show him how YOU would have done (unless his call deserves congratulations!)
– If he blushes as soon as it is necessary to speak in front of a “foreigner”, suggest to him, during an outing to the restaurant, to speak to the waiter to order the dishes of the whole family. He will learn to have confidence in himself and will dare to “push the limits” a little further next time.
– If he has trouble fitting into a group (at the sports club, in the day center, in the classroom, etc.), play with him a scene where he will have to introduce himself, by giving him some tips: “you are heading to the group of children in which you have spotted someone you know and you ask them something. When he answers you, you stay and you take your place in the group, even if you don’t say anything. »You will have thus helped him to take a first step.
– Gradually expose him to new situations, for example by offering to revise some of his lessons in a small group, at home.
– Register him (if he wishes) to a theater club: it is not he who will speak but a character that he will have to play. And little by little, he will learn to speak in public. If he does not feel comfortable, you can also enroll him in a contact sport (judo, karate), which will allow him to fight against his feeling of inferiority.
To read with him Max is shy Dominique de Saint-Mars Collection Thus goes the life, ed. Calligram We no longer present the Max and Lili collection, which talks to children about all the little worries that poison their lives. Max is shy is one of the “best of” because it treats shyness with seriousness and… humor and provides the child with keys to help him get to know himself and be reassured. |