Understanding Child Development

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Repeated humiliation in childhood can quietly shape how a child responds to frustration and conflict.

Learning difficulties combined with ridicule may increase feelings of shame in children.

Aggressive behavior in children sometimes reflects deeper emotional pain rather than defiance.

Early recognition by parents, teachers, or caregivers can redirect a child’s emotional path.

Santiago was about 11 years old when I first met him in a private school in Bogotá. At the time, I worked there supporting students who struggled with learning and adjustment in the classroom. Santiago had arrived through a government program that placed children from underprivileged neighborhoods in private schools when nearby public schools had no space available.

From the beginning, it was clear that Santiago felt different from his classmates. Many of the other students came from families with greater financial resources, and the difference appeared in small details that children notice quickly. Some commented on his worn shoes or the way his uniform looked slightly older than theirs. Others noticed his books or the old backpack he carried every day.

To adults, these moments may appear minor. In many schools, teasing is dismissed as something ordinary between children. For Santiago, those experiences slowly accumulated. Day after day, he sat in the same classroom with the quiet awareness that he did not fully belong.

The Signs That Something Was Wrong

Academic work soon revealed another challenge. Santiago struggled with reading and writing tasks that many of his classmates seemed to manage easily. When reading aloud, he often hesitated or lost his place in........

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