When I first saw children's television, I thought it was perfectly horrible. And I thought there was some way of using this fabulous medium to be of nurture to those who would watch and listen.
When I was very young, most of my childhood heroes wore capes, flew through the air, or picked up buildings with one arm. They were spectacular and got a lot of attention. But as I grew, my heroes changed, so that now I can honestly say that anyone who does anything to help a child is a hero to me.
The whole idea is to look at the television camera and present as much love as you possibly could to a person who might feel that he or she needs it.
It's not the honors and not the titles and not the power that is of ultimate importance. It's what resides inside.
The more we can be in a relationship with those who might seem strange to us, the more we can feel like we're neighbors and all members of the human family.
Parents are like shuttles on a loom. They join the threads of the past with threads of the future and leave their own bright patterns as they go.
I do think that young children can spot a phony a mile away.
Love isn't a perfect state of caring. It's an active noun, like 'struggle.'
I believe that those of us who are the producers and purveyors of television, I believe that we are the servants of this nation.
I think of discipline as the continual everyday process of helping a child learn self-discipline.
Deep and simple are far, far more important than shallow and complicated and fancy.
In my own life, as the nearer I get to the end of life on this earth, the simpler I want to become.
The underlying message of the Neighborhood is that if somebody cares about you, it's possible that you'll care about others. 'You are special, and so is your neighbor' - that part is essential: that you're not the only special person in the world. The person you happen to be with at the moment is loved, too.
The space between the television set and the viewer is holy ground.
One of the most important gifts a parent can give a child is the gift of accepting that child's uniqueness.
