ABSTRACT
A child may grow up with low self-worth, because the emotional connection between him and his parent/s was never strong enough. Some children suffer from low self-esteem because they never sense that simply being who they are is enough to make them lovable. Children quickly learn to adapt to their parents' view of what is loveable or 'good', even if it goes against who they are and what they feel. The young child has neither the cognitive nor the emotional resources to defend against contemptuous shaming looks of their parent or other significant adult. A child is all the more susceptible to the legacy of a deeply troubled body-self if his family culture was devoid of natural, loving physical contact – spontaneous hugs and cuddles. The child can be the 'carrier' of all manner of family problems, relationship difficulties, feelings of hate, resentment, frustration. Children are such easy targets for displacement and projection.
