For a good part of third grade, I sat by myself in the school cafeteria during lunch.
I don’t exactly recall feeling lonely during those isolating moments with my peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich, but I certainly feel sad as I look back today.
I just didn’t fit in—and that’s a truly awful feeling.
Some degree of shyness is normal and common in all children. For most, it’s a healthy cautiousness in reaction to a novel social encounter.
Here’s an example:
At a neighborhood barbeque, 4-year-old Tommy wouldn’t show his face, and buried his head in his mom’s skirt behind her. Mom gently encouraged him.