Confidence/social skills for teens

[emma6]

Anyone know of any classes to help build social skills in teenagers? Looking for something to help my son who is 14 and very shy.Needs confidence building type activities/socila skills...........any thoughts??

[joop]

Here's one that might interest you, they may have games and ice breaking activities in the program:

http://carrieacademy.com/academy_courses.php

[curiousgeorge]

Or, wait a few years. He's a teenager - being shy and grumpy is what they do at puberty.

[nakatago]

Anyone know of any classes to help build social skills in teenagers? Looking for something to help my son who is 14 and very shy.Needs confidence building type activities/socila skills...........any thoughts??

Formal classes would just make things weird and not help at all. Just insert your son into some social settings with people his age: parties, activities, clubs or classes (NOT about directly building social skills) in things he's interested in.

What is he into, anyway? That way, we can give more specific examples. I'm a shy person but when I was 14, extra-curricular activities helped a lot.

[The Ref]

Here's one that might interest you, they may have games and ice breaking activities in the program:

http://carrieacademy.com/academy_courses.php

I'm sure sending a 14 year old boy on a "Personal Make-Up" course would do wonders for his social outlook.

[the lynx]

Courses specifically for social skills will not work. If he is clinically anti-social, you are better off sending him to a professional counsellor.

I honestly find activities help. It takes away the awkwardness of "social skills courses" but at the same time, gives the real-life interaction with real people in real settings. Reality will bite harder but at least he will learn.

You can't get these in courses because people will be forced to role-play and that won't work.

[Akimbo]

When I was 14, till I'm 21 I was that kind of guy. Anti-social to some point...well, maybe it's more on I couldn't find "real friends" as I was already sick of all the bullsh*t superficial popularity at school I suppose...

What curiousgeorge, nakatago, and lynx say are right!

-14 years old, being "shy" is pretty normal, puberty will give that to you.
-Extra-curricular activities will help improve on social skills, particularly on activities that the boy would enjoy
-If the boy IS clinically anti-social, you should seek a counselor.

But no matter what happens, support the boy all the way it is, but don't smother him.

[sundaymorningstaple]

I think the shyness comes from too much gaming on the PC and xBox/PS2s. They started puberty playing computer games and not learning how to mingle socially, but only in an online presence. I've always been an introvert but had there been computers back in the day, I'd have been hopeless, or another Bill Gates. Not sure which.

[nakatago]

I think the shyness comes from too much gaming on the PC and xBox/PS2s. They started puberty playing computer games and not learning how to mingle socially, but only in an online presence. I've always been an introvert but had there been computers back in the day, I'd have been hopeless, or another Bill Gates. Not sure which.

Not necessarily video games; too much indoor activities would. I didn't spend too much time with video games back then but I did spend a lot of times indoors with nerdy stuff. Having activities in high school mitigated that though and certainly helped.