The Shy Child : Overcoming and Preventing Shyness from Infancy to Adulthood

by Philip G. Zimbardo, Shirley Radl

Two out of every five people in the U.S. regard themselves as "shy." Yet, shyness can be cured, says Dr. Philip Zimbardo, the nation's leading authority on shyness. With co-author Shirley Radl, Dr. Zimbardo presents a program for overcoming and preventing shyness from infancy to adulthood. The book is based on pioneering research conducted at the Stanford Shyness Clinic, including surveys of people in the U.S. and abroad, with children, parents, and teachers. The book documents which parenting "style" encourages self-confidence in a child, helps with the problems of being shy and provides methods for building a child's trust and self-esteem. It explores the role that school plays in contributing to a child's shyness, and suggests ways to improve the quality of the classroom experience for every child. THE SHY CHILD is the only book to provide an effective program for conquering childhood shyness, before it has a chance to limit a child's options and determine the course of the child's life. " ... offers parents and teachers alike valuable approaches to helping children conquer shyness before it adversely affects them." -- Childhood Education"...offers strategies for combating shyness, encouraging independence and teaching the child to be a social being." -- L.A. Herald Examiner"Of the dozens of how-to books that crossed our desk this year, this seemed particularly helpful..." -- Washington Post"Run to your nearest Bookstore and buy The Shy Child." -- Ann Landers"Shows parents how to create an environment most likely to build confidence and self-esteem in children from pre-school through college" -- Science News"Written in a pleasant, conversational style, unlike many research reports, it is a comprehensive guide..." -- Childhood Education

Genres: Parenting, Psychology

276 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Philip George Zimbardo was an American psychologist and a professor emeritus at Stanford University. He became known for his 1971 Stanford prison experiment, which was later criticized severely for both ethical and scientific reasons. He authored various introductory psychology textbooks for college students, and other notable works, including The Lucifer Effect, The Time Paradox, and The Time Cure. He was also the initiator and president of the Heroic Imagination Project.

Reviews

[Moe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book which talks about the reasons of shyness in children and ways to socialize children into being more extroverted. What I liked about this is not only did they have numerical data but also real life case studies to complement the facts. The best part of this book is it talks about shyness in different age groups, starting off with the pre-school years, elementary, middle and high school, and college years. So definitely, this book would appeal to those who are new parents. It still can appeal to those who have children who are older, in that case, they can skip a few chapters and start reading the chapters specific to that age group -- but I feel it's important to know the causes of how your children ended up being shy by reading the earlier chapters. This book definitely does a great job at that.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jestem trochę rozdarty w ocenie tej książki.

Z jednej strony, uświadomiła mi kilka ważnych rzeczy na temat nieśmiałości, o których wcześniej nie zdawałem sobie sprawy (ludzie nieśmiali skupiają się zbytnio na sobie w sytuacjach społecznych, są krytyczni wobec siebie i innych, sami siebie postrzegają jako mniej interesujących, ale ocena ta nie jest podzielana przez innych). Nakreśliła styl wychowania i sposób myślenia, jakim powinienem się kierować, aby uniknąć nieśmiałości u swoich dzieci. Dała również kilka bardzo konkretnych narzędzi do zastosowania w tym celu.

Z drugiej strony, mam wątpliwości zarówno co do słuszności przekonań profesora Zimbardo, jak i skuteczności jego metod. Badania, którymi się kieruje, opisuje dość pobieżnie, charakteryzują się one jednak często wątpliwą metodologią i bardzo małą próbą. Wnioski, które wyciąga z tych badań czasami wydają się zbyt daleko idące (należy tu przyznać, że używa nierzadko takich słów jak "wierzę", "wydaje mi się") oraz nie mające powiązania przyczynowo skutkowego. Ponadto, w wychowaniu syna stosuję się do niemal wszystkich zaleceń od narodzin syna (intuicyjnie, bądź na podstawie tej samej wiedzy pozyskanej z innego źródła), jednak dalej borykamy się z problemem nieśmiałości.

[Seçil Erdem · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utangaçlık ile ilgili çalışan ya da bu konuda bilgi edinmek isteyenler için oldukça bilgilendirici bir kitap. Kitabın bölümlerinde utangaçlıkla ilgili akla gelebilecek pek çok soruya yanıt bulunuyor. Aynı zamanda kitap akademik dilden uzak ve oldukça yalın bir anlatıma sahip.

[Jeff Ford · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book useful.