genesis 37 on Child Development

Shame makes its way into our stories at an early age. So early, in fact, that we usually have no conscious memory of our initial encounters with it. This can take place as early as fifteen to eighteen months, and usually involves a child’s response to someone’s nonverbal cues—a glance, tone of voice, body language, gestures or intensity of behavior—that interrupt whatever the child may be doing, delivering a subtle but undeniably felt message of disapproval. This is something that initially is translated as something sensed and a child responds to primarily as a function of the body.