Poor Ben is going through a really weird phase right now. He is acting shy around anyone new (and even people he knows, for the first few minutes) and is very reluctant to try anything new. He doesn't like people looking at him, and I think he's a little nervous about doing something wrong in front of others... for example, he said once that he didn't want to get out on the field with his soccer team because he didn't know how to play. We tried to explain that none of the kids knew how to play - that the practices were a chance for everyone to learn - but he still wasn't confident enough to go out.
It's so difficult to watch him behaving this way. He's always been extremely outgoing and anxious to try anything new. I know that many kids go through this kind of shy phase - I just hope that's all it is. I was incredibly shy as a kid, and I hate how much I missed out on because of it. I hope he will outgrow his nervousness soon, before it becomes a habit that is more difficult to break. I know that he will have much more fun if he's willing to go out and play and try new things with new kids. I don't want him to miss out on anything.
We keep encouraging him and praising his hard work whenever we can (stressing the effort he's making rather than the results, because we don't want him to be anxious about doing something "wrong") and hopefully he'll work through it soon enough!
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