This chapter deals with caring and democratic values expressed in interactions between practitioners and children in Nordic preschool settings for children aged one to five.

Caring values are expressed when the practitioner shows a specific emotional attitude, openness, and sensitivity in striving to understand the child’s perspective and, with reference to Tomasello, when the practitioner creates zones of joint attention. Democratic values are analyzed with reference to Biesta’s concepts of normal and sporadic democracy.

Interactions between children and practitioners build on a complexity of values; research shows a concurrent prevalence of caring, disciplinary, and democratic values. In this chapter, we focus on caring and democratic values, exploring the following research question: How are caring and democratic values communicated in interactions between children and practitioners?

Our research shows that caring, disciplinary, and democratic values often overlap and are expressed simultaneously. In addition, it is both possible and necessary to establish a number of value subcategories in order to create an intentional and goal-oriented values education. To this end, we also categorize and conceptualize these subcategories.