Childhood is not a race to see how quickly a child can read, write and count. It is a small window of time to learn and develop at the pace that is right for each individual child. Earlier is not better.
We not only respect babies, we demonstrate our respect every time we interact with them. Respecting a child means treating even the youngest infant as a unique human being, not as an object.
I wish children could grow according to their natural pace: sleep when sleepy, wake up when rested, eat when hungry, cry when upset, play and explore without being unnecessarily interrupted; in other words, be allowed to grow and blossom as each was meant to.
Every baby moves with more ease and efficiency if allowed to do it at his own time and in his own way, without our trying to teach him. A child who has always been allowed to move freely develops not only an agile body but also good judgment about what he can and cannot do.
An infant always learns. The less we interfere with the natural process of learning, the more we can observe how much infants learn all the time.
If infants are ready to do something, they will do it. In fact, when they are ready, they have to do it.
Let the child be the scriptwriter, the director and the actor in his own play.
When you hold an infant, hold him not just with your body, but with your mind and heart.
Remember, nobody can make another person fall asleep. How to relax and let sleep come is a skill your child, like everybody else, must learn all by herself.
What infants need is the opportunity and time to take in and figure out the world around them.