We know that kids who grow up in an environment of warmth and support will thrive and function in whatever environment they find themselves. What we need to do is to do more to help poor kids have such an environment.

The radio was an improvement on the telegraph but it didn't have the same exponential, transformative effect.

The brain is highly structured, but it is also extremely flexible. It's not a blank slate, but it isn't written in stone, either.

We'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.

You read a bunch of books and you get a bunch of how-tos, and you take a bunch of classes and you learn a bunch of techniques. You set yourself goals and benchmarks. I think people have imported that into their experience of taking care of children.

What teenagers want most of all are social rewards, especially the respect of their peers.

Adults tend to think they have much free will. Kids younger than six are less sure. They may be more realistic!