I have a shy kid who is quite introverted who I worry struggles to make friends and doesn’t have too many.
For that reason, I was very excited to be asked to review educational psychologist Christine Fonesca‘s latest book, Raising the Shy Child: A Parent’s Guide to Social Anxiety
It was a quick reference and instructional read and is full of diagnostic tests, hypotheticals, quizzes, tips and suggestions.
The book includes examples of kids from toddler to college age who Fonesca has encountered in her years of practice and through these case studies, readers can ascertain whether their own child at home closely matches the scenario presented.
It’s a very useful tool for a parent who wants to help but doesn’t know how and what to do.
Many parents may not even be aware that a child who is shy, has behavior avoidance (avoids social situations) or is introverted may also have social anxiety disorder.
This book does an excellent job in explaining the condition, breaking down the biology of the social anxiety, and helping a parent and child diagnose the condition via quizzes, info side bars and anecdotal examples.
A parent or the child can then compare his or her situation with the case studies to help determine if they’d react in a similar fashion. It breaks down the biology, early warning signs and sets you up with a plan and strategy for the future.
Once empowered with this information, a parent can then have a candid and open talk about their child’s thought process and then determine whether to seek outside help or to change their language or take some other steps to help out. There are loads of intervention suggestions and strategies also in the book.
I like the fact that the book is written in non-technical language and in a conversational non judgmental tone
“Raising a Shy Child” also speaks to educators, teachers, instructors and also care givers and provides insight on how to help the “shy” kids in their care and class as well.
And it’s organized well so that it is very easy to go through. I’ve had the book for a while but when I sat down to read it for context, it only took me two days.
I’ve implemented some of the suggestions personally in the book with my kid and I can tell you we’ve already seen a noticeable difference and my son is making changes for the better. My kid and I even had a good time going through the quizzes together. It was a bonding moment for us. I am grateful for that.
I highly recommend this book for those parents who want to help their child overcome stressful social situations, make friends and come to grips with and accept their shyness or introvertedness.
As they say, “knowing is half the battle”. This book gets you to awareness and from there, you as the parent are empowered to make changes .
Get it for under $12 from our partners at Amazon.com!
I am going to give away a copy of the book starting this Monday so you can try to win your own copy!