Should parents try to combat their child's shyness?

If you had a child who was especially shy, would you make an attempt to combat their shyness by arranging (forcing) for them to be apart of social activities, or would you allow them to grow out of it in their own time?

I'd try to look for middle ground between forcing and doing nothing. I'd be more about encouragement and looking for situations to get them more comfortable with being outgoing. I don't see why it has to be ignoring or forcing.

I dont think shyness is a good thing but I wouldn't force them to be social. I would encourage it tho.

I was an extremely shy child, not with other kids, I could get along with them fine, but around adults, whenever they'd come to the house I'd run off to the back and hide. And it's so ironic because today I can get along with anybody. Nothing was ever done about it, I just had to outgrow it.

Forcing them to participate in activities won't work. I was a shy child, and my mother made me take 4 weeks of karate class as a way to get me to actively socialize with other kids my age when I was 7 and I hated it. Didn't make me more social. I think shyness comes from parents over coddling. Don't overbear them as babies and toddlers and chances are they won't be that shy/anti-social.

I would let them develop naturally as they should and hope they would grow out of the shyness eventually.

I'd try to find out why they were shy. Is it just their personality or is something making them overly introverted.

I'd let them grow out of it.....if they're going to. Being shy isn't a bad thing. I'm still shy.

It depends on the child. Every shy kid has their own unique hang ups on why they are shy. For me, I was shy because I had parents who never fostered anything about me other than being cute for their friends. So, I learned early on that as long as I looked cute, and stood quiet, I would be admired. That doesn't work so much past first grade!

For my son, I don't know why he was shy, he just was. He would get compliments and accept them weakly, as if he was arrogant. So, we did teach him that he was wrong in not being more gratified by compliments. He did blossom and now he is one of the most confident persons I know. So, us lighting a fire under him worked for him.