Lindsey, I think part of it is that he’s a boy and he’s 8. Up until their in their teens it seems that most boys are either painfully quiet or so silly you want to smack them. I’ve worked with Cub Scouts and boys that age for a while. And they are all silly. My husband has expressed concern that our 11-yr-olds are too silly and unsocialized and then I went to an activity with them and about 20 other public-schooled kids and I have to say, mine are doing just fine. Perhaps even better than I thought!
Don’t worry too much about it. He’ll mature and develop. Continue to support him by doing the mock conversations and such. Help him find situations where he can interact with other kids and adults. Park days. Sports. Scouts. Church. My boys have really shined when we take them to the zoo or nature/science centers (they’re big science nerds). During the day when it’s pretty empty the employees are dying to do something so they often take the boys behind the scenes and show them stuff you wouldn’t normally see. The boys converse easily and intelligently with adults they’ve never met! The first few times blew my mind. Take your little guy places where he has an interest and see if you can find a lonely worker to talk with him. A lot of pet stores will do this too.
For kids his own age or a bit older, again, I think it’s a time thing. But also helping him find common ground might be necessary. My kids had a hard time with the neighborhood kids at the park because they were all into Beyblade and my boys had never heard of it. So, we watched some episodes on Netflix (twaddle!) and bought them a few toys so they could ‘battle’ and all the sudden they were playing and talking with everyone. Huge groups of boys on our back porch, chatting up a storm. Don’t embrace those worldly things that are against your morals, but if possible, find something that will help him strike up conversations.
Hang in there.
Heather