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It could simply be the developmental stage. As adolescence approaches, it is natural for a child to become more self conscious and more aware of how others might perceive him/her. I've heard from some of the music teachers who I know that it is not uncommon for kids entering middle school to be nervous about performances if they haven't got used to it by then.

We did have young students do Twinkle Twinkle and I think they did great. I made a mistake about the time of the 1st recital. It was 3 months after he started lesson. He played 2 pieces from Hal Leonard Book 2 for his first recital. According to the teacher he did learn very fast and progress quickly. For this third recital he played Russian Folk Song and Emperor Waltz. I don't think he is musical prodigy but he really likes it.

Here are the YouTube links to his recital videos:
1st recital
3rd recital

Lately we’ve been to some recitals that have lots of beginners and “average” students, if one dares to use the word. The easiest pieces that I’ve heard in these recitals are a five-finger pattern, played RH and then LH, and a violin piece that has only a G arranged in various rhythmic patterns. I honestly enjoyed these performances as well as the performances by 6 year old little wizards. I’m confident that most if not all parents in the audience feel the same way--I think audience who go to these recitals know that they are not going to hear world-class performances, they will hear kids, some more advanced than others, but are nonetheless all kids, learning to interpret and share music and appreciate others' music. Student recitals are not simply a progress report or an opportunity to show off, everyone should be able to share their music and get to know the joy of it. The vast majority of students taking instrument lessons will not grow up to be professional musicians, and they should be able to enjoy sharing their music without having to worry about whether it’s worthy of sharing in other people’s eyes.

Anyone should have the opportunity to perform. Performance is an integral part of the pianist discipline, yet only a small percentage of pianists will be able to perform regularly.

The only thing I can compare it to off the top of my head right now is the difference between talking to one person versus talking to a large group of people versus making a speech. Pianists need opportunities to grow in different ways and find their own styles through that medium.

Trauma or stage fright isn't a good excuse. Really, if you never do it, you'll never know, and you'll never get better.

Tons of people are self-conscious even in everyday life and years of living doesn't fix it.

Very interesting stories/suggestions/explanations! Thank you!!

For now there is nothing we can do as we like our teacher, who by the way is an active musician with gigs now and then.

Our son has only taken 3 lessons so far but I noticed right away that he is picking up things very fast. He can now play the main themes of Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, and some more songs from memory as I taught him for two months before he enrolled with this teacher (I simplify arrangements for him and he does not read music that well yet so he copies my playing for now). I do this as I want it to be fun for him to play the piano. Our teacher fully supports it and wants me to continue doing this on the side which is great.