A group of professional¹ people posed² this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds: “What does love mean?” The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think.

“When my grandmother got arthritis³, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That’s love.” — Rebecca, age 8

“When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. “You know that your name is safe in their mouth.” — Billy, age 4

“Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.” — Chris, age 6

“Love is when someone hurts you. And you get so mad but you don’t yell⁴ at them because you know it would hurt their feelings.” — Samantha, age 6

“Love is what makes you smile when you’re tired.” — Terri, age 4

“Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip⁵ before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.” — Danny, age 7

“Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.” — Bobby, age 5

“Love is hugging. Love is kissing. Love is saying no.” — Patty, age 8

“When you tell someone something bad about yourself and you’re scared they won’t love you anymore. But then you get surprised because not only do they still love you, they love you even more.” — Matthew, age 7

“There are two kinds of love. Our love. God’s love. But God makes both kinds of them.” — Jenny, age 4

“Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.” — Noelle, age 7

“Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.” — Tommy, age 6

“During my piano recital⁶, I was on a stage and scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn’t scared anymore.” — Cindy, age 8

“My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don’t see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.” — Clare, age 5

“Love is when mommy sees daddy smelly⁷ and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.” — Chris, age 8

“Love is when your puppy⁸ licks⁹ your face even after you left him alone all day.” — Mary Ann, age 4

“I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.” — Lauren, age 4

“When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.” — Karen, age 7

“You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.” — Jessica, age 8

一组专业人士向一群4－8岁的儿童提出一个问题：“爱是什么？”得到的答案比其他人所能想到的还广还深。看看这些答案，你能想到什么。

“我的祖母患了关节炎无法弯下腰涂指甲油，因此一直都是我的祖父帮她做这件事，即使他的手也患上了关节炎。这就是爱。”——丽贝卡（8岁）

“如果有人爱你，那么你的名字对他来说与众不同。而且你知道他们永远不会把你的秘密说出去。”——比利（4岁）

“爱是当你出去吃饭时，把你大部分的炸薯条都给他们，而不需要他们把自己盘子里的东西给你。”——克莉丝（6岁）

“爱是虽然他把你气得发疯，你也不会对他喊叫，因为你怕伤害了他的感情。”——萨曼塔（6岁）

“爱是当你疲倦时让你发笑的东西”。——特里（4岁）

“爱是我妈妈为我爸爸煮咖啡，再递给他之前都要尝一口，试试味道是否很好。”——丹尼（7岁）

“爱是在圣诞节，和你呆在同一个房间，你会停止拆礼物而去听他们说些什么。”——博比（5岁）

“爱是拥抱，爱是亲吻，爱要懂得拒绝。”——帕蒂（8岁）

“当你告诉他们你做的坏事后害怕他们会不再爱你，但却发现他们不但还爱你，而且更爱你了。”——马修（7岁）

“有两种爱。我们的爱和上帝的爱，但这两种爱都是上帝所赋予的。”——詹妮（4岁）

“爱是当你告诉一个男孩你喜欢他的这件衬衫，他就天天穿着它。”——诺艾尔（7岁）

“爱就像一位小老太和一位小老头，即使他们彼此非常熟悉但仍然是朋友。”——汤米（6岁）

“在我的钢琴独奏会上，我正在后台准备，心里非常害怕。我看了看台下那些盯着我的人，发现我爸爸向我招手并冲我微笑，他是惟一这么做的人，我不再害怕了。”——辛迪（8岁）

“我妈妈爱我胜过任何人，你不会看到其他人临睡前给我晚安吻。”——克莱尔（5岁）

“爱是当妈妈看见爸爸浑身汗臭、满身大汗的时候仍然说他比罗伯特?莱福德还帅。”——克莉丝（8岁）

“爱是即使你把你的小狗孤零零扔在家一天，他还会添你的脸。”——玛丽?安（4岁）

“我的姐姐很爱我，因为她把所有的旧衣服都给了我，自己还得再去买新的。”——劳伦（4岁）

“如果你爱某人，你的眼睫毛会上下地跳来跳去，小星星就从你身上出来了。”——卡伦（7岁）

“你不要说‘我爱你’，除非你明白爱是什么。但要是你明白了，你必须经常说。人么却总忘记。”——杰西卡（8岁）