Get child to be more sociable?

Question

my 10 month old is very active at home. she crawls and experiments with toys. But when she goes to day care, she is uncomfortable and will not move from her place. She is also uncomfortable when we visit friends or they visit us. How can I get her to be more sociable and encourage her to interact more with others?

Answer 1

She's a baby!  It's normal for her to shy away from strangers and strange environments.  In fact, it's a good thing - you wouldn't want her to happily run off with a stranger, would you?  

Keep bringing her out and about, but other than that, let her be.  Some kids just weren't born to be social butterflies.  Let her be herself without trying to change her personality.

Answer 2

You need to keep going to places that force her to be out of her element. She may be more introverted and prefer to be alone but day care and friends houses will be good for her. Don't give up!!

Answer 3

Exposure. It's that simple. But I wouldn't worry about it too much this early on. Kids usually hit a shy stage at some point. Usually it's later.

The good news is, she feels safe and secure at home! That's pretty crucial for her emotional development.

Answer 4

Some children are born shy or social, but studies show that a shy child can overcome this by what the mother does. Take your child with you to gathering and be around people you know. She'll learn that its okay to interact with people.

I've seen this with a toddler in one group I'm a member of. He was incredibly shy when he first came, but we gently coaxed him to play with the other kids and to interact with people, and now he wants to be with everyone.

(He even tackles me first chance he gets)