From an evolutionary perspective children are, literally, designed to learn. Childhood is a special period of protected immaturity. It gives the young breathing time to master the things they will need to know in order to survive as adults.
Alison GopnikWe don't measure the quality of our other relationships by how well the other person turns out, for instance whether my husband is a better person after 10 years than he was when I first met him.
Alison GopnikWhat teenagers want most of all are social rewards, especially the respect of their peers.
Alison GopnikOne of the most distinctive evolutionary features of human beings is our unusually long, protected childhood.
Alison GopnikBabies and young children are like the research and development division of the human species, and we grown-ups are production and marketing.
Alison GopnikWe're in a culture where everything is either consumption or production, so child care is either a very, very bad-paying form of work or a very expensive luxury that you purchase. There isn't a good place in our picture of the world for what caregiving is about. Even teenage babysitters have sort of disappeared from the scene.
Alison Gopnik