Hello everyone. My little brother is starting pre k in a few months and a lot of people said I should try to get him time to socialize with other kids before then because he hasnt really had the chance to spend a lot of time with other kids.
Now he is very very shy and doesnt talk to anyone but me really. I tried to set up some playdates with some other parents with kids the same age and he is just way to shy to really intract with them. He just stays quiet and keeps to himself mostly. He just doesnt seem willing to want to do anything with the other kids.
So I was just wondering from anyone else with shy kids, what can I do with him that helps him practice socializing with others? I don’t want him to think it’s bad or wrong to be shy because its totally okay that he is. But I dont want him to get too overwhelmed when he goes to school with a bunch of kids for the first time and im not there.
My daughter is currently at the phase where she is starting to play with others instead of only next to others. It took her over a year to steadily get there. Some children are shy, others are outgoing. My recommendation is to not be discouraged if there is little or no interaction between the children - that will come eventually.
As I understand, a primary function of kindergarten is exactly that socialization. An awful lot of kids spend the first day crying. I did. He’ll be fine.
Thanks. I just want him to know its okay to make new friends
Playing near other kids comes before playing with other kids. Even if he’s playing ball or playground or going for a walk with you while being around other kids, he’s still learning.
How old is your brother, different places start Pre-K at different ages? If he’s younger than 3 that’s pretty normal, social play starts at between 3-4 yrs.
If you’re still trying to socialize him try taking him to the park, bring a soccer ball and kids will just randomly join in. Check if the library has any events for his age as well.
He’s 4
Here in Korea there are so called Kids Cafes which are basically indoor playgrounds where you pay an entrance fee. There are often quite many children different ages and we take our kids there sometimes.
The more obvious one would be just the normal public playground, check when other kids usually are there and join them. If you do it regularly you will find that there are more or less the same children there at the same time.
But the biggest problem for the child in first day Kindergarten is that their parent suddenly disappears, over time they get used to it bit even after years in Kindergarden there are days where they don’t want to go :D
