Particular attention should be given to the opportunities which the environment presents or precludes for involvement of children with persons both older and younger than themselves.
Urie BronfenbrennerEvery child needs at least one adult who is irrationally crazy about him or her.
Urie BronfenbrennerIn the United States, it is now possible for a person eighteen years of age, female as well as male, to graduate from high school, college, or university without ever having cared for, or even held, a baby; without ever having looked after someone who was old, ill, or lonely; or without ever having comforted or assisted another human being who really needed help... No society can long sustain itself unless its members have learned the sensitivities, motivations, and skills involved in assisting and caring for other human beings.
Urie BronfenbrennerIf the children and youth of a nation are afforded opportunity to develop their capacities to the fullest, if they are given the knowledge to understand the world and the wisdom to change it, then the prospects for the future are bright. In contrast, a society which neglects its children, however well it may function in other respects, risks eventual disorganization and demise.
Urie Bronfenbrenner