--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They are surprisingly…" description: "\"“They are surprisingly tall--eight-year-olds. They are surprisingly like real people. Of course your own babies are always real to you, they are all th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b34/anne-enright-5402_babies_they-are-surprisingly-tall-eight-year-ol_1252925.jpg" --- # They are surprisingly tall--eight-year-olds. They are… ![“They are surprisingly tall--eight-year-olds. They are surprisingly like real people. Of course your own babies are always real to you, they are all there from the word go, but even strangers' children look like proper people by the aged of eight...” quote by Anne Enright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b34/anne-enright-5402_babies_they-are-surprisingly-tall-eight-year-ol_1252925.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b34/anne-enright-5402_babies_they-are-surprisingly-tall-eight-year-ol_1252925.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b34/anne-enright-5402_babies_they-are-surprisingly-tall-eight-year-ol_1252925.jpg) > ““They are surprisingly tall--eight-year-olds. They are surprisingly like real people. Of course your own babies are always real to you, they are all there from the word go, but even strangers' children look like proper people by the aged of eight...”” [Anne Enright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-enright/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. By age eight, children resemble autonomous individuals, yet parents view them as uniquely theirs, highlighting the tension between universal humanity and personal attachment. **In simple terms:** Children become like real people by eight, but parents see them as uniquely theirs. Key Takeaway Recognize children’s individuality while honoring parental bonds. Themes childhood identity parental love Mood contemplative warm Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - school enrollment - family gatherings - cultural rites - therapy sessions Key Concepts developmental milestones psychology of attachment social perception Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance seeing a child as unique and as part of humanity? - What does “real person” mean for a child? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on uniqueness can obscure shared humanity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Babies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/babies/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) ## Related quotes > [Babies are real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/capricia/babies-are-real/) Capricia > [“How many times we must have met Here on the street as strangers do, Children of chance we were, who passed The door of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-teasdale/how-many-times-we-must-have-met-here-on-the-street-as-strangers-do/) [sara teasdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-teasdale/) > [Having worked as a labor and delivery nurse...I've seen ultrasounds...you know that those babies are real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-judd/having-worked-as-a-labor-and-delivery-nurse-i-ve-seen-ultrasounds-you/) [Naomi Judd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-judd/) > [I generally don't think one's age is all that meaningful - there are 50-year-olds who still act and think like children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manuel-neuer/i-generally-don-t-think-one-s-age-is-all-that-meaningful-there-are-50/) [Manuel Neuer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manuel-neuer/) > [It doesn't really matter to me whether the 7-year-olds are big fans of my work. I'm happy just to be working at all. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-day/it-doesn-t-really-matter-to-me-whether-the-7-year-olds-are-big-fans/) [Charlie Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-day/) > [ \[Hillary Clinton\] is giving money to N.I.M.H. \[National Institute for Mental Health\] ultimately to conduct more experiments on two- to four-year-olds. What they're going… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-breggin/hillary-clinton-is-giving-money-to-n-i-m-h-national-institute-for/) [Peter Breggin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-breggin/) > [“love Dora too!” Great, I’m a legend with 5 year olds!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-campbell/love-dora-too-great-i-m-a-legend-with-5-year-olds/) [Bill Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-campbell/) > [You know, it's a sad and unfortunate state of affairs that you have to live in a world where eight-year-olds refuse to believe in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitl-n-r-kiernan/you-know-it-s-a-sad-and-unfortunate-state-of-affairs-that-you-have-to/) [Caitlín R. Kiernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitl-n-r-kiernan/) > [And a bit of discipline never did 14-year-olds any harm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robbie-savage/and-a-bit-of-discipline-never-did-14-year-olds-any-harm/) [Robbie Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robbie-savage/) > [When I was six years old, I was always playing with the 10-year-olds. When I was 10, I was always playing with the 14-year-olds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamal-murray/when-i-was-six-years-old-i-was-always-playing-with-the-10-year-olds/) [Jamal Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamal-murray/) > [Usually for a movie, if you want a 13-year-old, you get a 16-year-old who looks 13, because 13-year-olds dont have that level of self-awareness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robbie-coltraine/usually-for-a-movie-if-you-want-a-13-year-old-you-get-a-16-year-old/) [Robbie Coltraine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robbie-coltraine/) > [At 18, they're old enough to drive. The girls enter university, and the boys enter into National Service. Since they have a duty to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tan-cheng-bock/at-18-they-re-old-enough-to-drive-the-girls-enter-university-and-the/) [Tan Cheng Bock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tan-cheng-bock/) > [I've been writing plays since the third grade. 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A plot is more antic, more performative,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-enright/story-is-about-pulling-the-reader-in-and-a-plot-is-a-more/) [Anne Enright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-enright/) > [I am interested in levels of brain discourse. How articulate are the voices in your head? You know, there's a different voice for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-enright/i-am-interested-in-levels-of-brain-discourse-how-articulate-are-the/) [Anne Enright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-enright/) > [I have a small room to write in. One wall is completely covered in books. And I face the window with the curtain closed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-enright/i-have-a-small-room-to-write-in-one-wall-is-completely-covered-in/) [Anne Enright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-enright/) > [I do not think we remember our family in any real sense. We live in them instead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-enright/i-do-not-think-we-remember-our-family-in-any-real-sense-we-live-in/) [Anne Enright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-enright/) > [I do not believe in evil- I believe that we are human and fallible, that we things and spoil them in an ordinary way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-enright/i-do-not-believe-in-evil-i-believe-that-we-are-human-and-fallible/) [Anne Enright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-enright/) > [“Val is a bachelor farmer in his seventies, so he should, by rights, be half mad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-enright/val-is-a-bachelor-farmer-in-his-seventies-so-he-should-by-rights-be/) [Anne Enright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-enright/) > [Sometimes I will spend two or three days not speaking to anyone outside of the immediate family when they come home, and then I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-enright/sometimes-i-will-spend-two-or-three-days-not-speaking-to-anyone/) [Anne Enright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-enright/) > [God, I hate my family, these people I never chose to love, but love all the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-enright/god-i-hate-my-family-these-people-i-never-chose-to-love-but-love-all/) [Anne Enright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-enright/) > [I find being Irish quite a wearing thing. 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I call all my Twitter followers my 'Twitter babies.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rozonda-thomas/when-i-m-on-twitter-we-just-talk-to-people-i-call-all-my-twitter/) [Rozonda Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rozonda-thomas/) > [If all fooles had babies, wee should want fuell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/if-all-fooles-had-babies-wee-should-want-fuell/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [Yes, I'm a nice man and I enjoy babies. I'm a sensitive guy. I held a baby the other day and it was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-shandling/yes-i-m-a-nice-man-and-i-enjoy-babies-i-m-a-sensitive-guy-i-held-a/) [Garry Shandling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-shandling/) > [It was an odd coincidence that my career took off the same decade as having babies. 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I have a marginally higher opinion of them than Herod, she said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-mcgown/you-like-babies-don-t-you-he-asked-i-have-a-marginally-higher-opinion/) Jill McGown > [God looks out for fools and babies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meshell-ndegeocello/god-looks-out-for-fools-and-babies/) [Meshell Ndegeocello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meshell-ndegeocello/) > [“Babies who do not sleep ‘through the night’ alone in a cot, as soon as possible after birth, are seen as a ‘problem’.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-palmer/babies-who-do-not-sleep-through-the-night-alone-in-a-cot-as-soon-as/) [Gabrielle Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-palmer/) > [Babies don't need a vacation, but I still see them at the beach... it pisses me off! 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I want to keep my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-gaga/babies-are-great-but-i-am-not-ready-to-have-one-maybe-ten-years-from/) [Lady Gaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-gaga/) [Browse all 814 Babies quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/babies/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“They are surprisingly tall--eight-year-olds. They are surprisingly like real people. 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