Far from egocentric, infants and toddlers advance significantly in their understanding of others' feelings, desires, goals, intentions, preferences, and views during the first 2 years of life. In so doing, they establish the foundation for later social and emotional understanding. This article surveys those accomplishments, speculates about how they occur so effortlessly, and describes advances in psychological understanding of the preschool years. The author highlights the significance of these insights from developmental science for how we interact with very young children and nurture their social cognitive development and self-awareness.