BY VICTOR LOPEZ

Shy children aren’t just the ones who cry when dad drops them off, cling to mom’s leg, or seem nervous and insecure when a teacher addresses them. Shy children are, more often than not, some of the most intelligent and creative kids we see in our performing arts school. They are naturally observant and analytical, and they invariably make fantastic team players due to their ability to spot how others feel and interpret group dynamics. 

Although the performing arts are often stereotyped for being great for loud, outgoing, and confident children who always want to be at the front of the stage, there are some incredible ways shy children can benefit from participating in acting and music classes. This post will explore some of the top reasons shy children benefit from performing arts.  

Why Shy Children Should Participate in the Performing Arts

1. Build Confidence and Self-Esteem

This list needed to start with the benefit of improved confidence and self-esteem, which is often something parents are keen to help their kids with, especially if they seem shy in public. 

Kids can often get discouraged when they get something incorrect. This is especially difficult for shy kids, where the competitive nature of the school system can ruin their confidence and self-esteem. 

Fortunately, there aren’t right or wrong answers in performing arts. Therefore, the performing arts can be a great extracurricular activity for shy children to allow them to rebuild some of their lost confidence. 

Children in our programs also learn how to communicate with our tutors, which can help them when conversing with adults. This, in turn, can help them overcome the worries of interacting with adults outside of our classes and feel more confident asking their teachers or other grown-ups for help. 

2. Enhance Their Problem-Solving  Skills

A shy child isn’t a cookie-cutter definition. No two children will be exactly the same in their personalities, even between siblings. And many times, children can exhibit nervous and timid behaviors in specific scenarios yet be the most outgoing person in another space. Therefore, context can play a huge role in a child’s behavior. 

When a child feels capable, they are more likely to engage in activities, try harder during lessons, put their hand up and ask for help . An effective way to increase a shy child’s conviction is to develop problem-solving skills to use in new scenarios. This allows them the chance to assess a new situation and use their investigation skills to make appropriate judgments that can enable them to thrive.  

One way to help aid your child’s development of problem-solving and decision-making skills is to register them for music lessons or a group arts class. Music can thicken the decision-making areas of a child’s brain, known as the cortex , while participating in group activities may help them develop reasoning skills and teamwork. Therefore, encouraging your shy child to try the performing arts could help their development and acquire skills to help them later in life. 

Read more about how performing arts benefit children in their early development here. 

3. Increase Expression

A shy child may fear rejection or struggle to express themselves. This may leave them feeling like they haven’t had their needs met. 

Performing arts can help shy kids develop skills to express themselves. For example, when they are given an opportunity to act as another character, they can experience new feelings without fully taking on the emotion internally. This allows them to explore new emotions through the eyes of the character they are playing. 

Similarly, a child can explore new emotions using their skills as an instrumentalist. Not only can they learn about expressing themselves to improve their musical ability, but it can also improve their emotional intelligence and allow them to communicate their needs better. 

4. Allow Them To Suck at Something

As we mentioned in reason one, there are no right or wrong ideas regarding the performing arts. Therefore, classes can offer your shy child a safe space to learn that it is ok to be ‘bad’ at something. 

This is an approach that academic schools may fail to teach our children as it is usually about getting top marks and competing with classmates. However, sometimes the best thing a shy child can learn is that it is ok to make ‘mistakes’. The performing arts, in our opinion, are one of the greatest ways they can learn this valuable life lesson. 

Our teachers will always uplift children for trying their best, reward hard work and give them a non-judgemental space to try something and suck at it. Our classes are not about being the best but about giving your all and learning lifelong skills along the way.

  When Should a Shy Child NOT Participate in the Performing Arts? 

Although we are passionate about promoting the performing arts to children with a wide range of personalities, we recognize that being on stage, music, and drama isn’t for everyone. 

For example, if your child suffers from social anxiety, forcing them into performing may exasperate their anxiety. However, if you read our previous blog post, you may remember that studies have demonstrated a link between children with musical training and a reduction in anxiety. So it may be a worthwhile pursuit if your child is open to the idea of taking part in the performing arts, even on a trial basis.  

Fortunately, we also offer private lessons in acting, piano, and voice training, if you worry that your child may not thrive in a group scenario in the performing arts. These can be an excellent option for kids who want to try performing without the pressure of being in a class setting. Our instructors are specialists at understanding individual children’s needs and catering to them accordingly so you can drop them off knowing they are in exceptional hands. 

Bring Out Your Child's Inner Performer

If you are based in the Washington DC Metro area, we would be delighted to coach your children at our performing arts school in Reston, VA. With over 25 years of experience in arts instruction, our instructors are experts in readjusting activities for shy students and bringing them out of their shells while making them feel included and part of the group. 

Get in touch today to see how to enroll your children aged 4-18 in our school to find their passion for music and theater.

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