Writing in his 2002 article for The Journal of Child and Youth Care, Volume 2 Number 2, Michael Burns eloquently describes the importance of rapport:

Perhaps the most important technique for any care giver to master is the ability to develop a good sense of rapport with the child. Rapport is the name given to the magic that emerges when two people interact to form positive or primarily positive impressions or attitudes toward one another. It is a feeling of sameness and accord threaded with a sense of basic trust. Rapport, that first feeling of trust and respect must be present before even the most basic positive relationship is formed. Rapport appears to be the core around which all relationships are formed. The more solid and emotionally healthy the core, the more comfortable and growth producing the relationship. (Burns, 2002)