In this column, the author shares and comments on early childhood educators' use of guidance to foster young children's development and learning. He defines guidance as the commitment a teacher makes to teaching children how to solve their problems, rather than punishing them for having problems they haven't yet learned how to solve. The focus of this article is on developmentally appropriate practice, which means that, within the context of an encouraging community, each individual child is empowered to engage wholeheartedly with all the problems of learning. Losing faith in one's ability to learn can be a long-term psychologically jarring life experience, so having teachers who help children understand that they can learn from their mistakes plays a vital role in healthy personal development.