It is not easy to believe now, but Zo used to be a very shy
child. Her parents did not push her to talk but they used to tell her that, “It
is good to wish people whom you meet on the way to kindergarten.” Zo never said
good morning to her kindergarten teacher until she was almost 4 years old. This
doesn’t mean that she did not like her teacher. It was just that she could not
say anything to her. She would not talk in the children circles or during rhyme
time. Her teachers, tried to encourage her all the time, but still Zo was not
able to let go of her shyness. She was very interested in art and craft and she
loved story times and playing with others. But whenever there was occasions where she had to speak it out in front of others she was unable to do that.
She could not sing in the Christmas function where every one else
participated. Zo’s mum and dad
used to feel sad sometimes, as Zo’s shyness was not letting her enjoy all the
fun of the kindergarten. Zo used to be a clingy child when they visited their
friends. Zo also missed not being part of any performance going on in the
kindergarten and after going home she used to perform them in front of the
mirror. Her mother used to watch her secretly!
Zo’s mother remembered that she herself was same as a child. Zo’s mother also remembered that there were so many occasions she herself missed chance for a performance just being shy. She did not want the same for Zo. She wanted to help Zo to get rid of her excessive shyness. She talked with Zo’s teacher. Zo’s teacher an experienced lady, very good in child pedagogy, listened to all the concerns of Zo’s mother and reassured her that it was fine for a child to be shy. There are all kinds of children just like there are all kinds of adults. She told Zo’s mother that Zo would find out her way from shyness in her own pace. May be she would never be a star performer at stage but she would find her own place in a stage called world. The teacher told Zo’s mum to be understanding and patient. To watch for her other strengths like her affinity towards scissor, paper and glue. She added, “Talk with Zo about several situations at school and how she reacted to them.” Zo’s mother started doing that and she started telling Zo about her childhood and how she was almost same as Zo. Talking with mum helped Zo and specially on knowing that mum was also a shy person helped her to be happy with the way she was. Slowly she started smiling at the neighbour and her teachers every morning. Zo’s mother used to find books in the library telling stories about shy children and about different situations, like making a friend, participating in a school drama, playing a game of football etc. Zo loved reading those stories. Her mother gave her a tip that in order to talk with others (other than mum and dad) Zo did not need to look at them, she could look to their nose or lips or somewhere else and say hello to them. With this tip in her mind, Zo found it very easy to say good morning to all the people she met on her way to kindergarten and then she also said a warm good morning to her teacher.
Zo’s mother remembered that she herself was same as a child. Zo’s mother also remembered that there were so many occasions she herself missed chance for a performance just being shy. She did not want the same for Zo. She wanted to help Zo to get rid of her excessive shyness. She talked with Zo’s teacher. Zo’s teacher an experienced lady, very good in child pedagogy, listened to all the concerns of Zo’s mother and reassured her that it was fine for a child to be shy. There are all kinds of children just like there are all kinds of adults. She told Zo’s mother that Zo would find out her way from shyness in her own pace. May be she would never be a star performer at stage but she would find her own place in a stage called world. The teacher told Zo’s mum to be understanding and patient. To watch for her other strengths like her affinity towards scissor, paper and glue. She added, “Talk with Zo about several situations at school and how she reacted to them.” Zo’s mother started doing that and she started telling Zo about her childhood and how she was almost same as Zo. Talking with mum helped Zo and specially on knowing that mum was also a shy person helped her to be happy with the way she was. Slowly she started smiling at the neighbour and her teachers every morning. Zo’s mother used to find books in the library telling stories about shy children and about different situations, like making a friend, participating in a school drama, playing a game of football etc. Zo loved reading those stories. Her mother gave her a tip that in order to talk with others (other than mum and dad) Zo did not need to look at them, she could look to their nose or lips or somewhere else and say hello to them. With this tip in her mind, Zo found it very easy to say good morning to all the people she met on her way to kindergarten and then she also said a warm good morning to her teacher.
Zo’s mother and her teacher were very happy on seeing this
development in Zo. Little did they know that this was just the birth of a
chatterbox!
Disclaimer: Published before in the "mom and me" blog
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