Shyness isn't something that just children feel. Anybody can feel shy. And one reason we feel that way is that we're not sure other people will like us just the way we are.

The roots of a child's ability to cope and thrive, regardless of circumstance, lie in that child's having had at least a small, safe place in which, in the companionship of a loving person, that child could discover that he or she was lovable and capable of loving in return.

We need to help people discover the true meaning of love. Love is generally confused with dependence. Those of us who have grown in true love know that we can love only in proportion to our capacity for independence.

The bond between baby or toddler and its mother is potentially very strong. It can stand a great deal of competition.

When I see a baby quietly staring at his or her own hands... or a toddler off in a corner putting something into a cup and then taking it out, over and over again... or a preschooler lying in the grass daydreaming, I like to think that they, in their own ways, are "alone in the best room" of their houses, using the solitude they need to find the courage to grow.

The way you would draw a tree is different from the way anyone else would draw a tree-- and that's the way it's supposed to be.

What seems to help parents most is trying to distinguish what is possible for their children and what isn't.

A love of learning has a lot to do with learning that we're loved.

For children, play is a serious learning.

To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now--and to go on caring even through times that may bring us pain.