Tips for Having a Party to Help Your Shy Child

As a parent, you can help your painfully shy child make friends. Let your child "host" a party for a holiday, event or birthday. With your supervision, this will help your child interact more with other children. Help build your shy child's confidence with these tips for having a party.

When letting your child throw a party to invite other children, let him or her choose an event. It can be for any reason. The point is to have the party and make it around an event or theme other children will enjoy.

After choosing your event, I used the following tips to help my shy child host a party.

1) Help them make a guest list. It could be as simple as inviting everyone in one of your child's classes at school. Let them pass out the invitations. If invites are to be mailed, allow them to address the envelopes, place the stamps on the envelopes and put them in the mailbox.

2) Arrange for games at your party. Let your child become familiar with the games beforehand for more confidence when other children are present. Have them "model" the games for the other children before beginning when possible. The more practice your child has beforehand, the more willing he or she might be to show the other kids how it's done.

3) Have small prizes available for the winners of the games. If your child is the winner, also have him or her let the runner-up pick a prize as well. This is a way to show your child's kindness to the other kids.

4) Encourage your child to talk with the other children during the party. One way of doing this is to include games that require pairs or teams. Switch up the pairs or teams so different children have the opportunity to interact.

5) As guests are leaving, have your child let each guest choose from one of the leftover prizes. Be sure he or she thanks each guest individually before each leaves.

There are many opportunities for your shy child to socialize at a party, especially when you help them host it!