Four-year-old Maddie is lying in her bed talking to her mom. Feeling ashamed, she keeps her face covered with her blanket.

Maddie: Mom. I think I'm becoming one of those bad kids.

Mom: Why do you think you're bad?

Maddie: I can't tell you.

Mom: Did you do something that you felt was wrong?

Maddie: (Almost in a whisper.) Today I was chewing on my new library book.

• Every child wants to be good and to be loved. This is the cornerstone of a child's moral development. When your child pulls his cat's tail and you get mad, he may question you throughout the day, "Am I bad?” or “Do you still love me?” He may even lie and say he didn't do it, because he fears losing your love. Your child may beseech your forgiveness by saying repeatedly, "I try to be good.

All About Relationships

• Love is one of the most profound emotions known to human beings. There are many kinds of love, but most people seek its expression in a romantic relationship with a compatible partner. For some, romantic relationships are the most meaningful element of life, providing a source of deep fulfillment. The ability to have a healthy, loving relationship is not innate. A great deal of evidence suggests that the ability to form a stable relationship begins in infancy, in a child's earliest experiences with a caregiver who reliably meets the infant's needs for food, care, protection, stimulation, and social contact. Those relationships are not destiny, but they appear to establish patterns of relating to others. Failed relationships happen for many reasons, and the failure of a relationship is often a source of great psychological anguish. Most of us have to work consciously to master the skills necessary to make them flourish.
  
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