Painfully Shy in Public, Spirited at Home (What's Up with That?)

Painfully Shy in Public, Spirited at Home (What's Up with That?)

July 28, 2026 · 26 min

About this episode

Janet Lansbury discusses a parent's concerns about her daughter's shyness in social settings and offers insights on fostering confidence.

A parent describes her 3.5-year-old as fun, loud, and opinionated at home, but "painfully shy in every other social setting," even with relatives and peers she knows well. She's greeted with enthusiasm but won't join in. Instead, she asks her parent to play with her. This issue is especially noticeable at gymnastics, where she'll happily do an activity, then suddenly refuse to continue. No amount of encouragement will get her to budge. "It's like once she clams up, she can't get out of it." With preschool just around the corner, this parent wonders how she can help her daughter feel more comfortable around other children. Janet offers an alternative perspective on this child's behavior and explains how it will further this mom's goal to help her daughter "feel confident and happy and proud of who she is."  Janet's "No Bad Kids Master Course" is available at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠NoBadKidsCourse.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠JanetLansbury.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Please support our sponsors! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: Janet Lansbury

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: JLML Press, No Bad Kids Master Course, JanetLansbury.com

Places: preschool

More episodes of Respectful Parenting: Janet Lansbury Unruffled

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Respectful Parenting: Janet Lansbury Unruffled podcast page.