Hearth Song Company Profile

Barbara Kane founded HearthSong in 1983 because of a growing conviction that, "…too often, in our culture, children are pushed to grow up too fast. I started HearthSong to make a statement reinforcing what parents themselves know is true, right and healthy--that childhood is a very special time." Children need time to be children.

Our merchandise selection and product development goals are inspired by Kane's philosophy of child development, drawn from a broad base of child psychologists, parents, religious teachers, toymakers, and educators-especially those from the Waldorf school of thought. Kane felt strongly that childhood is a unique period in the life of an individual, that the consciousness of a child is completely different from that of an adult, that there is a specific purpose and a specific pattern to childhood and to the development of a child's consciousness, and that adults can help or hinder the accomplishment of that purpose and pattern.