Parents of young children hope for a successful
kindergarten experience that will set their youngsters on the right path
of their educational journey. Some worry about their kids not adapting
to the school environment, particularly when the children are talkative
and overactive. Yet, a new study by the University of Miami (UM) shows
that overly shy preschool children are at greater academic risk than
their chatty and boisterous peers.
The study is one of the first to follow the social and academic
progress of children throughout the preschool year. The report shows
that children displaying shy and withdrawn behavior early in the
preschool year started out with the lowest academic skills and showed
the slowest gains in academic learning skills across the year. The
findings are published online, in advance of print, by the Journal of School Psychology.
