Social Challenges for Class Clown at Age 5

Photo by a.Berbe - http://flic.kr/p/zUKkM - For illustration only

Reader’s Question

My five-year-old son gets nervous and hyper in gatherings. He will start doing things he would never do at home, including getting too loud and seeming to forget all his manners, which at home he is very particular about. He does the same if ever we have guests over.

He is the elder of the two sons we have. There’s a gap of 3 years between them, and he is given a lot of attention at home. We are not very social and the only interaction he has with kids is at school and with his little brother.

Psychologist’s Reply

The class clown usually lacks confidence or experience in social settings to allow him to behave in an appropriate way. If he needs to learn social skills so that he behaves well and does not feel anxious, then group therapy might be good for him. Without it, the danger is that he will learn social skills by failing the few experiences he does have. Success in life and relationships is predicted by such social success. We hope our children can build on a series of social successes. Group therapy can give him an environment to learn how to make friends in a non-critical environment. Plus, he would have a lot of fun and learn that the kind of attention he gets at home is different from what he can expect outside.

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