The Shyness Breakthrough

July 21, 2003
Carducci (Shyness: A Bold New Approach), a director of the Shyness Research Institute in New Albany, Ind., has been studying shyness for 20 years. Here he focuses on shy children and how parents can help, maintaining that it's vital to learn how to address and manage shyness early on so that the shy child doesn't miss out on valuable experiences now and later in life. Exploring nature vs. nurture theories, Carducci concludes that although shyness has a biological basis, the trait is also influenced by parents, childhood relationships and an individual's feelings about him- or herself. Importantly, Carducci stresses that parents can help a shy child learn to live "successfully" with his natural temperament. Offering concrete strategies, Carducci guides parents through such essential topics as building social skills, making friends, mastering play skills, finding the right school and learning to confront academic and peer issues. A chapter on teens and the unique demands placed upon the shy adolescent is also included, with helpful suggestions on subjects ranging from how to deal with slumber parties to coping with shy kids who retreat from social situations into computers. Parents of shy youngsters will appreciate Carducci's compassionate tone and his underlying message that shyness is a natural, manageable trait that requires patience and understanding rather than a flaw that needs a quick remedy.

October 1, 2003
A self-professed "successfully shy" person, Carducci (director, Shyness Research Inst., Indiana Univ.; Shyness: A Bold New Approach) has written an in-depth, encouraging book about how to help your child overcome shyness. It thoroughly examines every aspect of shyness, including family sources of shyness, the nature vs. nurture question, shyness triggers for all ages of children, and strategies for overcoming shyness throughout a child's life. Strategies include improved communication with children about their shyness triggers, focusing on the familiar even in a "new" situation, and gradually modifying behavior. Relevant research and an excellent bibliography round out the text. The result, accessible to parents but useful to those in the counseling professions as well, updates two works titled The Shy Child. It offers new approaches and research not available in Philip G. Zimbardo and Shirley L. Radl's 1982 work (such as information on Asperger's Syndrome) while expanding the understanding of shyness offered in Ward K. Swallow and Laurie Halse Anderson's (2000), which defined shyness as only a personality type. Absorbing this book could mimic participation in therapy for those parents and children who take the time to read the entire volume and do all the recommended activities, including keeping a shyness journal. Recommended for all libraries.-Alice Hershiser, Reedville, VA

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