Canadian researchers study “kindergarten wallflowers”

On the first day of school when presented with an alien room, a stand–in parent and 20 unfamiliar cohorts, 5–year–olds react, some “clinging to parents’ knees and others blowing off their parents with a quick ‘Okay, Mom, bye-eeeee,’ ” says Kelly Williamson, a primary school teacher in Calgary, Canada. “It’s pretty chaotic.” While the majority of children soon overcome any initial fear of their new playpals, between 10 and 15% never do. These are the preschoolers hampered by what researchers call extreme shyness, a condition to which psychologists believe some children may even be genetically predisposed. Read more at theglobeandmail.com.