My child is 5.5 years old and since her early childhood she shows signs of being scared/shy from new guests/strangers etc. even when I am around.At first I was glad she doesn t mingle with strangers but I encouraged her a lot to go for kids reading sessions that takes place weekly and she begins crying and asking me to be around her. Once I forcibly took her to the session and I was still present but she left it within 5 minutes and was crying bitterly. Last week I went for a dinner there were around 400 people, there were also many kids young and elder to her, she began to cry bitterly as soon as she lost my sight for a while. Worried and concerned mother
Hi, What you are describing is called stranger anxiety which is very common in kids. The best way to deal with it is to try to convince the kid that it is not only her but many kids of her age have this problem, and they yet have to do what they have to do. Keep the child with you but try to be more interactive socially with others when the child is still on your lap so that she will learn to socialize and to be near strangers. Distract the child through play activities or with toys and music. Observe the child without her noticing and see how she behaves. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.