Children possess enormous strengths for shaping their plural, complex life worlds, which need to be recognized and strengthened through family, peers, and educational professionals as competent co-actors. This fundamental idea is explored in the series "Children's Strengths," which critically and differentiated examines the lifespan from birth to the transition to secondary school across ten volumes. This introductory volume provides an interdisciplinary theoretical foundation for the paradigm of the competent child. Nine additional contributions deepen the approach of resource-oriented pedagogy in families, daycare centers, and elementary schools through focused problem outlines. In this way, this volume delivers condensed, well-founded expertise on the needs of children under 10 and the resulting demands for professional educational support.