An examination of young children who are extremely inhibited as compared to those who are uninhibited concluded there is a biological basis for childhood shyness. Only children were found to be shy just as often as children with siblings (Kagan, J.; Reznick, J.S.; and Snidman, N. “Biological Bases of Childhood Shyness.” Science, Vol. 240 Apr. 8, 1998, pp. 167-71).

In practice, it makes sense that only children would be less shy, not more shy. After all, they don’t have siblings at home they can “fall back” on. I had a brother 2 1/2 years younger than me, but I was painfully shy all through my school years. I can count the number of friends I had on one hand.

So should you worry about your only child being shy? Probably not. Society is changing - we schedule “play dates” for our children as young as 6 months old. Daycare and preschool are almost universal where only children can learn to fight and play with the best of them. My son stays home with me, so daycare is not a factor, but I have taken care of a little girl his age since they were both 7 months old. We go to church and put Joshua in a Sunday School class with 15 other children every week. We live in a mobile society, we are not sitting at home watching soap operas and eating bon- bons.