--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When your children arrive, the best you…" description: "\"When your children arrive, the best you can hope for is that they break open everything about you. Your mind floods with oxygen. Your heart becomes a r..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1eb/amy-poehler-1084_break_when-your-children-arrive-the-best-you-c_3156651.jpg" --- # When your children arrive, the best you can hope for is… ![“When your children arrive, the best you can hope for is that they break open everything about you. Your mind floods with oxygen. Your heart becomes a room with wide-open windows. You laugh hard every day...” quote by Amy Poehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1eb/amy-poehler-1084_break_when-your-children-arrive-the-best-you-c_3156651.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1eb/amy-poehler-1084_break_when-your-children-arrive-the-best-you-c_3156651.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1eb/amy-poehler-1084_break_when-your-children-arrive-the-best-you-c_3156651.jpg) > “When your children arrive, the best you can hope for is that they break open everything about you. Your mind floods with oxygen. Your heart becomes a room with wide-open windows. You laugh hard every day...” [Amy Poehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-poehler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Children expose us to vulnerability, expanding our emotional capacity and prompting joy and openness. **In simple terms:** Kids open our hearts and minds. Key Takeaway Embrace vulnerability and joy. Themes family vulnerability joy Mood warm hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - raising children - creative collaboration - personal therapy Key Concepts emotional intelligence parenting self‑growth Questions to Reflect On - How does parenthood change your perspective? - In what ways can you cultivate openness without children? A Different Perspective Not everyone experiences this positivity; parenting can be stressful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Flood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flood/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Laugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laugh/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Oxygen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oxygen/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ## Related quotes > [“Children arrive animists. 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Kelley Harrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-kelley-harrell/) > [Break open the forbidden happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/break-open-the-forbidden-happiness/) [Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/) > [I tell you this to break your heart, by which I mean only that it break open and never close again to the rest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/i-tell-you-this-to-break-your-heart-by-which-i-mean-only-that-it/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [Break me open and inject reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/break-me-open-and-inject-reality/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you feel yourself breaking down, may you break open instead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-lesser/when-you-feel-yourself-breaking-down-may-you-break-open-instead/) [Elizabeth Lesser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-lesser/) > [When we come close to those things that break us down, we touch those things that also break us open. And in that breaking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-muller/when-we-come-close-to-those-things-that-break-us-down-we-touch-those/) [Wayne Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-muller/) > [May you listen to the voice within the beat even when you are tired. 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Even if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kailash-kher/i-am-not-a-ph-d-in-economics-or-a-doctorate-in-literature-that-i-can/) [Kailash Kher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kailash-kher/) > [The supposedly immaterial soul, we now know, can be bisected with a knife, altered by chemicals, started or stopped by electricity, and extinguished by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-supposedly-immaterial-soul-we-now-know-can-be-bisected-with-a/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) ## More by Amy Poehler > [When youre a stay-at-home mother you have to pretend its really boring, but its not. Its enriching and fulfilling, and an amazing experience. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-poehler/when-youre-a-stay-at-home-mother-you-have-to-pretend-its-really/) [Amy Poehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-poehler/) > [I hope and assume that every good comedy writer, no matter the age, has a moment where they discover how great Cheers is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-poehler/i-hope-and-assume-that-every-good-comedy-writer-no-matter-the-age-has/) [Amy Poehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-poehler/) > [I also think if you're an actor and you can improvise, when you go on an audition and you can improvise you're just a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-poehler/i-also-think-if-you-re-an-actor-and-you-can-improvise-when-you-go-on/) [Amy Poehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-poehler/) > [It seems a strange thing, but once I was able to get past that kind of self-image problem, I was able to open up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-poehler/it-seems-a-strange-thing-but-once-i-was-able-to-get-past-that-kind-of/) [Amy Poehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-poehler/) > [Sleep can completely change your entire outlook on life. 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Other people and other people's ideas are often better than your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-poehler/as-you-navigate-through-the-rest-of-your-life-be-open-to/) [Amy Poehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-poehler/) > [I like hard work and I don’t like pretending things are perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-poehler/i-like-hard-work-and-i-don-t-like-pretending-things-are-perfect/) [Amy Poehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-poehler/) > [The pressure of 'what are you going to do?' makes everyone feel like they haven't done anything yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-poehler/the-pressure-of-what-are-you-going-to-do-makes-everyone-feel-like/) [Amy Poehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-poehler/) > [I ate two waffles, a banana and cereal with blueberries. And that whas between my two breakfasts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-poehler/i-ate-two-waffles-a-banana-and-cereal-with-blueberries-and-that-whas/) [Amy Poehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-poehler/) > [ “\[On getting older\]: You can witness young people embarrassing themselves and get a thrill--that it's not you. You can watch them throw around their… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-poehler/on-getting-older-you-can-witness-young-people-embarrassing-themselves/) [Amy Poehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-poehler/) > [Too often we women try to tackle chaos that is not ours to fix.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-poehler/too-often-we-women-try-to-tackle-chaos-that-is-not-ours-to-fix/) [Amy Poehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-poehler/) > [Try to keep your mind open to possibilities and your mouth closed on matters that you don't know about. 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I think they just weren't memorable movies. I've taken breaks as the years have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-foster/i-made-like-five-movies-while-i-was-in-college-i-think-they-just/) [Jodie Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-foster/) > [Things are going well in Germany because the economy is booming and as an export-driven nation, we are profiting from the fact that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-schulz/things-are-going-well-in-germany-because-the-economy-is-booming-and/) [Martin Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-schulz/) > [There were songs that we cut out after we chose the name, because 'Praise Break' turned out to be an underlying concept that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-caesar/there-were-songs-that-we-cut-out-after-we-chose-the-name-because/) [Daniel Caesar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-caesar/) > [“He didn't break my heart. 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Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/your-pain-is-the-breaking-of-the-shell-that-encloses-your/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Must I go bound while you go free Must I love a manwho doesn't love me Must I be born with so little art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/must-i-go-bound-while-you-go-free-must-i-love-a-manwho-doesn-t-love/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I hadn't worked for a year when I had my Prison Break audition and it was the easiest audition I've ever had. I got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wentworth-miller/i-hadn-t-worked-for-a-year-when-i-had-my-prison-break-audition-and-it/) [Wentworth Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wentworth-miller/) > [If you strike upon a thought that baffles you, break off from that entanglement and try another, so shall your wits be fresh to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/if-you-strike-upon-a-thought-that-baffles-you-break-off-from-that/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [“A hole ain’t nothing either, but you can still break your neck in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-donati/a-hole-ain-t-nothing-either-but-you-can-still-break-your-neck-in-it/) [Sara Donati](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-donati/) > [“I break things, a lot of things, but I don’t want one of them to be you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/i-break-things-a-lot-of-things-but-i-don-t-want-one-of-them-to-be-you/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [Motor racing's less of a sport these days than a commercial break doing 150 mph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dunne/motor-racing-s-less-of-a-sport-these-days-than-a-commercial-break/) Peter Dunne > [Much like teaching art to young art students age 10 to 15 or so on, you have to break it down into bite-sized pieces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/much-like-teaching-art-to-young-art-students-age-10-to-15-or-so-on/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [The purpose is to be in gratitude forever. 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