--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Grown-ups have developed an unpleasant…" description: "\"Grown-ups have developed an unpleasant habit of comforting themselves for their degradation by pretending that children are childish.\" — Anonymous" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/968/anonymous-1_children_grown-ups-have-developed-an-unpleasant-h_916568.jpg" --- # Grown-ups have developed an unpleasant habit of comforting… ![“Grown-ups have developed an unpleasant habit of comforting themselves for their degradation by pretending that children are childish.” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/968/anonymous-1_children_grown-ups-have-developed-an-unpleasant-h_916568.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/968/anonymous-1_children_grown-ups-have-developed-an-unpleasant-h_916568.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/968/anonymous-1_children_grown-ups-have-developed-an-unpleasant-h_916568.jpg) > “Grown-ups have developed an unpleasant habit of comforting themselves for their degradation by pretending that children are childish.” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Adults often rationalize their decline by blaming children, avoiding self‑reflection. **In simple terms:** Adults blame children to avoid confronting their own flaws. Key Takeaway Recognize personal responsibility. Themes responsibility self‑deception growth Mood critical reflective Type social philosophical When to use this quote - parenting - education - personal development Key Concepts psychology social critique Questions to Reflect On - Why do we project flaws onto others? - How can we foster honest self‑assessment? A Different Perspective Blaming others can hinder genuine self‑improvement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Comforting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comforting/) [Degradation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degradation/) [Grown Ups](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grown-ups/) [Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Innocence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innocence/) [Maturity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maturity/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [Even in this world of course it is the stupidest children who are most childish and the stupidest grown-ups who are most grown-up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/even-in-this-world-of-course-it-is-the-stupidest-children-who-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The children of childish parents age quickly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-children-of-childish-parents-age-quickly/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [“So long as our parents are alive, we are children. Then we become childish.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ljupka-cvetanova/so-long-as-our-parents-are-alive-we-are-children-then-we-become/) [Ljupka Cvetanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ljupka-cvetanova/) > [Be like children , Not childish BUT childlike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jackson/be-like-children-not-childish-but-childlike/) [Michael Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jackson/) > [“It's so strange: grown-ups trying to become young, young ones trying to grow up and all the time, whatever people want, time moves forward,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-so-strange-grown-ups-trying-to-become-young-young-ones-trying-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What is it with boys and fighting? I am amazed any of them get to be grown-ups the way they're always going at it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-it-with-boys-and-fighting-i-am-amazed-any-of-them-get-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Grown-ups everywhere are learning the instrument to relieve stress, focus their minds – and for the sheer joy it brings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/grown-ups-everywhere-are-learning-the-instrument-to-relieve-stress/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Pooh! Grown-ups are always thinking of uninteresting explanations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/pooh-grown-ups-are-always-thinking-of-uninteresting-explanations/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“We’re grown-ups, sugar. We all have pasts. I bet even you do. But those don’t much matter compared to the present, right?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-re-grown-ups-sugar-we-all-have-pasts-i-bet-even-you-do-but-those/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Children have one kind of silliness, as you know, and grown-ups have another kind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/children-have-one-kind-of-silliness-as-you-know-and-grown-ups-have/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Grown-ups don’t look like grown-ups on the inside either. Outside, they’re big and thoughtless and they always know what they’re doing. Inside, they look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/grown-ups-don-t-look-like-grown-ups-on-the-inside-either-outside-they-3/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Now that adolescence is accessible to the multitude and not restricted to gentlemen and lords, many adults are taking alarm at what seems to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/now-that-adolescence-is-accessible-to-the-multitude-and-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We're all grown ups now, if you have a problem with someone you sort it out like adults.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-re-all-grown-ups-now-if-you-have-a-problem-with-someone-you-sort/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Until you've been in politics you've never really been alive; it's rough and sometimes it's dirty and it's always hard work and tedious details.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/until-you-ve-been-in-politics-you-ve-never-really-been-alive-it-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel (Gaiman, Neil) - Your Highlight on Location 1517-1519 \| Added on Thursday, August 28,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-ocean-at-the-end-of-the-lane-a-novel-gaiman-neil-your-highlight/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Childish quotes > [I wasted my time on your childish games. But don't worry I will not even try to hate you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-f-b-mora/i-wasted-my-time-on-your-childish-games-but-don-t-worry-i-will-not/) Cynthia F B Mora > [Childish egocentrism is, in its essence, an inability to differentiate between the ego and the social environment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/childish-egocentrism-is-in-its-essence-an-inability-to-differentiate/) [Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/) > [In a meat-eating world, wearing leather for shoes and clothes and even handbags, the discussion of fur is childish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-lagerfeld/in-a-meat-eating-world-wearing-leather-for-shoes-and-clothes-and-even/) [Karl Lagerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-lagerfeld/) > [“KINGDOM OF THE WOMB From her thighs, she gives you life And how you treat she who gives you life Shows how much you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/kingdom-of-the-womb-from-her-thighs-she-gives-you-life-and-how-you/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [“Age doesn’t make us childish, as they say, It finds that we’re still children.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/age-doesn-t-make-us-childish-as-they-say-it-finds-that-we-re-still/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [When we're in that kind of childish space, we're more genuine and feel more comfortable with our friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-spiegel/when-we-re-in-that-kind-of-childish-space-we-re-more-genuine-and-feel/) [Evan Spiegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-spiegel/) > [“Mockery is childish, Beatrice,' She says. 'It does not become you'. 'Mockery is childish, Beatric,' I repeat in my best imitation of her voice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/mockery-is-childish-beatrice-she-says-it-does-not-become-you-mockery/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [The naive is what is or appears to be natural, individual, or classical to the point of irony or to the point of continuous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/the-naive-is-what-is-or-appears-to-be-natural-individual-or-classical/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [The most powerful men were those who most effectively used the power of adult competence to enforce childish agreements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-s-trow/the-most-powerful-men-were-those-who-most-effectively-used-the-power/) [George W. S. Trow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-s-trow/) > [“Growing up is childish.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/growing-up-is-childish/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [It was childish to feel disappointed, but childishness comes almost as naturally to a man as to a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/it-was-childish-to-feel-disappointed-but-childishness-comes-almost-as/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Don't you understand that we need to be childish in order to understand? Only a child sees things with perfect clarity, because it hasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/don-t-you-understand-that-we-need-to-be-childish-in-order-to/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [I think it is important to learn to distinguish between being childlike and being childish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-think-it-is-important-to-learn-to-distinguish-between-being/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I don't respect thinking that is dangerous, prejudicial, childish, and could get me killed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/i-don-t-respect-thinking-that-is-dangerous-prejudicial-childish-and/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [“In a meat-eating world, wearing leather for shoes and even clothes, the discussion of fur is childish.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-lagerfeld/in-a-meat-eating-world-wearing-leather-for-shoes-and-even-clothes-the/) [Karl Lagerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-lagerfeld/) Browse all 299 Childish quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Grown-ups have developed an unpleasant habit of comforting themselves for their degradation by pretending that children are childish.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anonymous" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/grown-ups-have-developed-an-unpleasant-habit-of-comforting-themselves/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Childish" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/grown-ups-have-developed-an-unpleasant-habit-of-comforting-themselves/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/968/anonymous-1_children_grown-ups-have-developed-an-unpleasant-h_916568.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/968/anonymous-1_children_grown-ups-have-developed-an-unpleasant-h_916568.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/968/anonymous-1_children_grown-ups-have-developed-an-unpleasant-h_916568.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Grown-ups have developed an unpleasant habit of comforting themselves for their degradation by pretending…” — Anonymous", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Anonymous", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Grown-ups have developed an unpleasant habit...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/grown-ups-have-developed-an-unpleasant-habit-of-comforting-themselves/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/grown-ups-have-developed-an-unpleasant-habit-of-comforting-themselves/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```