Skip to main content

Yes, I'm Shy: A Children's Story


It has always bothered me that shyness is often treated as a character flaw.  Anyone who knows and loves a shy person, knows that they have a lot to offer in the world!  I wrote this Children's Story hoping that it could help kids understand that there is nothing wrong with being shy. If you enjoy my story, feel free to share it with the awesome shy and not-so-shy munchkins in your life!



Yes, I'm Shy!
Written By Heather Scharf



Everywhere Bobby went, people asked his Mommy if he was shy. They always had a sorry look on their face when they said it. Bobby didn't know what it meant to be shy but he felt like it must be a very bad thing.




One day, they went to the Grocery Store and Mommy saw her old friend, Sally. Sally looked at Bobby and said, “Hi Bobby! Wow, look how big you are now!” Bobby did not know what to say back to her, so he hid behind his Mommy's legs. Sally looked sorry for him and said sadly, “Aw, is he shy?”

“Yes, he's shy!” Mommy replied with a big smile on her face. Bobby was confused. Why was Mommy smiling about this shy thing?





The next day they went to Gymnastics class for the first time. Bobby was very nervous because he didn't know what would happen at Gymnastics class and he was scared that he would look silly. When his teacher, George came over to introduce himself to Bobby and take him to the trampoline with his class, Bobby felt like all the busyness and noise around him were too much, so he hid behind his Mommy's legs. George looked sorry and said sadly, “Aw, is he shy?”

“Yes, he's shy!” Mommy replied with a big smile on her face. Bobby was even more confused. Why was Mommy smiling about this shy thing?





A week later, Mommy took Bobby to the park to play. A little girl came right up to Bobby and asked him if he wanted to play tag. Bobby felt very unsure because he would never ask another child to play if he didn't know them, but he also kind of wanted to play with her. He thought about it for a second and then hid behind Mommy's legs. “Aw, is he shy?” asked the little girl sadly. Mommy smiled and happily said, “Yes, he's shy!” Bobby was so confused now! Why was Mommy smiling about this shy thing?




Bobby couldn't be confused anymore. He had to find out what shy meant. It must be something really bad because everyone always looked at him like they felt sorry for him when they said it. Maybe it meant that a dinosaur was going to eat him one day! Maybe it meant that he was going to lose all of his toy cars one day! Maybe it meant that something was wrong with him!

But what confused Bobby so much was that Mommy always smiled when she would proudly look at him and say, “Yes, he's shy!”





Bobby walked into the living room and said, “Mommy, what does shy mean? Does it mean that a dinosaur is going to eat me one day? Does it mean that I am going to lose all of my toy cars one day? Is there something wrong with me?”





Mommy calmly and lovingly looked down at her little boy. ”Bobby, there is absolutely nothing wrong with you. You are perfect just the way you are. Some people will treat you like being shy is a bad thing but the way I see it is that you think, feel and see things that other people don't think, feel and see. I think you are very lucky to be shy. It means that you are cautious with your heart. You notice things that make people have to earn your love but that also means that once they do earn it, you will give them all of your heart and love them in a really big way.”






Bobby stopped feeling confused right away. He could almost feel his heart bursting through his chest! Mommy was right! Suddenly, he felt very proud of being shy! And the very next time someone looked at him with a sorry face and said sadly, “Aw, is he shy?”, he peaked out from behind his Mommy's legs, smiled big, and said happily, “Yes, I'm shy!”


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What's Up With Play-dates?

Am I the only Mom who groans a little bit when I hear a message on my voicemail about arranging a play-date?  Am I the only one who finds the term "play-date" slightly annoying? I suppose this could be my own introvert tendencies coming to the surface but frankly, I think we parents could afford to relax a little bit about having our kids' days scheduled to account for every single minute and worrying that they won't acquire the social skills they need in life if they don't have at least two play-dates per week.    I drop my son off at daycare at 7:30am and I pick him up between 4:30 and 5:00pm most days. That means he gets about 30 minutes of time to play with his daycare buddies before leaving for school, 20ish minutes walking to school with his buddies, 20ish minutes walking back to the daycare centre with his buddies and then at least an hour to play with his pals before I pick him up. That is roughly two hours of playtime with friends outside of school t
Post a Comment
Read more

10 Things I Have Learned From My Dad's Life and Death

    My Dad should be turning 79 today.  I can see the backyard party at my parent's house now.  Hot dogs, Mum's homemade potato salad and a huge cake lit up with a ton of candles for the old fella.  Unfortunately though, my Dad passed away 16 years ago and we won't be celebrating his day today.  The thing that makes me saddest is that he will never meet his Grandchildren.  He would have been the best Grandpa a kid could ever ask for.  My son actually calls him "Papa" and talks as if he knows him, but that is a whole different post!  I figure today is a great day to spend some time reflecting on how my Dad and his death shaped who I am today.  He was so many things to everyone in our family.  I know that there are many, many more things I learned from my Dad and his death then just ten, just get me started.... 1. Family is #1:   My Dad used to call home on his lunch break everyday, just to see what we were all up to.  He took pride in his work for sure but we all
1 comment
Read more

To Costgo or not to Costgo

Here I sit on a peaceful Saturday morning, sipping coffee and debating whether or not to brave  frightening Costco on the weekend.  I normally make it a Friday night stop, doing a cheap dinner and fairly calm shop without much fuss.  Except that, as I wrote in a past post, during the summer my schedule goes out the window.  So now I am faced with the decision between the need to get some things done and the fear of Saturday Costco. The first negative will be the parking lot.  It isn't even that difficult to find a spot.  The frustrating part is navigating a giant metal death machine through the shoppers who feel like they can walk here there and right down the centre of the road,  just because they have an overflowing cart of bulk buys.  Then there are the shoppers who will step out in front of the car without a second thought and shoot you a grumpy "I-just-spent-two-hours-in-weekend-Costco-I-dare-you-to-mess-with-me" look.    Don't even get me started on try
Post a Comment
Read more