Hi Grama-Herc
All sorts of things can make a child be shy. I see it all too often in my job. It can be anything from a parent showing that they are scared of something and this being picked up and copied by a child (even though this is not intentinal by the parent) to hearing arguments at home, being told that they dont measure up to expectations and so much stronger stuff too. This can happen right from the early months of childhood. Children are very perceptive and no matter how much they dont want to pick up on vibes is it often not something that can be helped. Here's a non-harmful example from my own very early childhood (i must have been aware of this since i could understand speech or maybe even earlier) - my mother always hated wearing yellow clothes because it clashed with her hair - i'm the same like that too. I can't ever remember having liked the colour yellow but i dont mind whatsoever. She once made me a yellow dress when i was a child but the mind set was already enforced. Maybe that is a start to answering your question. Take care