The ability to establish good relationships with children is one of the most important pillars in the education of teachers and educators. An understanding of subjective meanings and playful interactions helps children to develop their relationship skills and their sensory perceptions. They learn how to self-regulate their behavior and to acquire cognitive achievements. This is a central theme in education and yet often remains poorly understood.In this volume Hermann Staats describes how we can better understand our relationships to children, whether in preschools, kindergarten or grade schools, and how these insights can best be applied to further the development of the children in question. The goal is to develop a professional position based on our understanding and our relationships - and to maintain that position in everyday life. The author describes the relevant theories with all their contradictions and how we can approach them. He also consistently integrates information available concerning the role of social and biographical factors as well as physical and emotional developmental processes.