Sophia has not napped the entire time we've been in Shenzhen. At least, not until today. You see, her regular naptime is from 2:30 - 4:00 and has been for years. It seems this time was fully ingrained in her system, because moving it up to 1:00 - 2:30 just wasn't working at all. So, we were facing an increasingly tired and grumpy Sophia every day.
Well, today the build-up became strong enough that she fell asleep immediately at 1:00. I woke her up at 2:30 and we've had a perky and cheerful child the rest of the evening.
Unfortunately, things are not so simple for Lilly.
Lilly is a cautious girl who prefers to watch things from the sidelines, observe the situation, and then wait to be invited in before she makes any friends. As of yet, no one has invited her in. She's decided that a new school and new friends are awfully hard, and she really misses the friends she had back in Shanghai. I think that sleep may be a factor for her as well, because she went to sleep at 6:00 this evening. But sleep won't be the only obstacle for her. Making new friends is a challenge for Lilly, and she fully realizes that. The spontaneous playdate with 3 other families this afternoon simply overwhelmed her and had her playing in the corner by herself. Certainly, this did not help her confidence.
I'll admit, I don't have any idea how to help her. Any readers who were shy kids, or parents of shy kids, please pass along any words of wisdom and advice. I know she'll be fine eventually, but that doesn't help her face tomorrow.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
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I have to admit that I don't have advice but, I was a painfully shy child. To this day my mom still worries if I am making friends at school or work. I have to admit that it took quite a while to change and I didn't really gain social confidence until high school or later. I think that your recognition of her challenges and your support of her even in difficult situations will be valuable in the long run.
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