--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Parents get all focused on themselves…" description: "\"“Parents get all focused on themselves, and they see their little babies start walkin' and talkin', and since they kinda look like them and sound like ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/472/barry-lyga-3439_babies_parents-get-all-focused-on-themselves-an_1347189.png" --- # Parents get all focused on themselves, and they see their… ![“Parents get all focused on themselves, and they see their little babies start walkin' and talkin', and since they kinda look like them and sound like the, they start thinking of those little babies as themselves…And then something funny happens. Those babies grow up to be kids and teenages and…” quote by Barry Lyga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/472/barry-lyga-3439_babies_parents-get-all-focused-on-themselves-an_1347189.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/472/barry-lyga-3439_babies_parents-get-all-focused-on-themselves-an_1347189.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/472/barry-lyga-3439_babies_parents-get-all-focused-on-themselves-an_1347189.png) > ““Parents get all focused on themselves, and they see their little babies start walkin' and talkin', and since they kinda look like them and sound like the, they start thinking of those little babies as themselves…And then something funny happens. Those babies grow up to be kids and teenages and grown-ups in their own right…so everything the kids do, everything, is a betrayal.”” [Barry Lyga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-lyga/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Parents project themselves onto children, causing identity loss and resentment **In simple terms:** Seeing yourself in your child can cause betrayal Key Takeaway Recognize children's individuality; avoid projection Themes parenting identity generational trauma Mood empathetic concerned Type advice reflective When to use this quote - family counseling - parenting workshops - child development - therapy Key Concepts Psychology family dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How can parents support a child's unique self? - What boundaries prevent projection? A Different Perspective Children need autonomy, not mirrored expectations ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Babies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/babies/) [Betrayal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/betrayal/) [Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child/) [Grown Ups](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grown-ups/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Parents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parents/) ## Related quotes > [There was always a piano in the house when I was growing up - my dad played, and I thought it was cool -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-mvula/there-was-always-a-piano-in-the-house-when-i-was-growing-up-my-dad/) [Laura Mvula](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-mvula/) > [“They suspected that children learned best through undirected free play—and that a child’s psyche was sensitive and fragile. During the 1980s and 1990s, American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-ripley/they-suspected-that-children-learned-best-through-undirected-free/) [Amanda Ripley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-ripley/) > [My parents started with very little and were the only ones in their families to graduate from college. As parents, they focused on education,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-garner/my-parents-started-with-very-little-and-were-the-only-ones-in-their/) [Jennifer Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-garner/) > [There's no question that a great teacher can make a huge difference in a student's achievement, and we need to recruit, train and reward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/there-s-no-question-that-a-great-teacher-can-make-a-huge-difference/) [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) > [Like many Asian parents, mine were very focused on education. My dad would quiz me with multiplication tables when I was about 5.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-su/like-many-asian-parents-mine-were-very-focused-on-education-my-dad/) [Lisa Su](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-su/) > [Real isn't what they try to tell you. Time isn't. Grown-ups hammer down all these markers, bells, schedules, coffee-breaks, to stake down time so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/real-isn-t-what-they-try-to-tell-you-time-isn-t-grown-ups-hammer-down/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [The thing about grown ups is that they're always wanting you to be this Great Hero and Leader. What's wrong with being NORMAL, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-cowell/the-thing-about-grown-ups-is-that-they-re-always-wanting-you-to-be/) [Cressida Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-cowell/) > [You know, it's just politics, it's a game grown-ups like to play, like we lil' children play with toys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-maas/you-know-it-s-just-politics-it-s-a-game-grown-ups-like-to-play-like/) [Sharon Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-maas/) > [“...and that there were many things grow-ups did which couldn't properly be judged by young people until the young people were grown-ups themselves...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-joaqu-n/and-that-there-were-many-things-grow-ups-did-which-couldn-t-properly/) [Nick Joaquín](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-joaqu-n/) > [One of the most obvious facts about grown-ups, to a child, is that they have forgotten what it is like to be a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/one-of-the-most-obvious-facts-about-grown-ups-to-a-child-is-that-they/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [I'd like a pop-up magazine with 45 articles on Russell Crowe. I'm like a teenager. I'd have 'Teen Beat' if I could, for grown-ups.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-rhea/i-d-like-a-pop-up-magazine-with-45-articles-on-russell-crowe-i-m-like/) [Caroline Rhea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-rhea/) > [And this I have learned grown-ups do not know the language of shadows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-whiteley/and-this-i-have-learned-grown-ups-do-not-know-the-language-of-shadows/) [Opal Whiteley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-whiteley/) > [“Children have a more restricted and yet a more intense feeling for nature than grown-ups.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-broch/children-have-a-more-restricted-and-yet-a-more-intense-feeling-for/) [Hermann Broch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-broch/) > [“We've had fifteen years of being grown-ups when we could have got together and we never have. Doesn't that tell you something?' 'Yeah, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karina-bliss/we-ve-had-fifteen-years-of-being-grown-ups-when-we-could-have-got/) [Karina Bliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karina-bliss/) > [Once I thought fairy tales were lies or worse promises spoken yet meant to be broken intent is all. Why do grown ups feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justice-fitzgerald/once-i-thought-fairy-tales-were-lies-or-worse-promises-spoken-yet/) [Justice Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justice-fitzgerald/) ## More by Barry Lyga > [“People can wonder and ponder and imagine all they want. But their curiosity does not entitle them to enter my world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-lyga/people-can-wonder-and-ponder-and-imagine-all-they-want-but-their/) [Barry Lyga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-lyga/) > [“See, forgiveness doesn't happen all at once. It's not an event -- it's a process. Forgiveness happens while you're asleep, while you're dreaming, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-lyga/see-forgiveness-doesn-t-happen-all-at-once-it-s-not-an-event-it-s-a/) [Barry Lyga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-lyga/) > [“Can they, like get fingerprints from her neck? Can they catch the guy that way?” “This guy isn’t an amateur. He probably used gloves.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-lyga/can-they-like-get-fingerprints-from-her-neck-can-they-catch-the-guy/) [Barry Lyga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-lyga/) > [“Someone's on the rag," she chides, then grabs her crotch as if adjusting a cup. "And it's not me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-lyga/someone-s-on-the-rag-she-chides-then-grabs-her-crotch-as-if-adjusting/) [Barry Lyga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-lyga/) > [“That last voice in his head. It hadn't been Billy's. It was his own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-lyga/that-last-voice-in-his-head-it-hadn-t-been-billy-s-it-was-his-own/) [Barry Lyga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-lyga/) > [“Once he gets inside your head, you're dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-lyga/once-he-gets-inside-your-head-you-re-dead/) [Barry Lyga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-lyga/) > [Here’s the thing about baseball-it’s not the individual sport I thought it was. Turns out I was wrong about that. Yeah, the batter is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-lyga/here-s-the-thing-about-baseball-it-s-not-the-individual-sport-i/) [Barry Lyga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-lyga/) > [This is why I forgive, but I don't forget. When you forget someone, the forgiveness doesn't mean anything anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-lyga/this-is-why-i-forgive-but-i-don-t-forget-when-you-forget-someone-the/) [Barry Lyga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-lyga/) > [You don't swing at any pitch. You swing at the ones you can hit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-lyga/you-don-t-swing-at-any-pitch-you-swing-at-the-ones-you-can-hit/) [Barry Lyga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-lyga/) > [“I'm such a sleep pussy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-lyga/i-m-such-a-sleep-pussy/) [Barry Lyga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-lyga/) > [Maybe Rachel was right all along. Maybe the past is past, history is history, and you just push it aside and look for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-lyga/maybe-rachel-was-right-all-along-maybe-the-past-is-past-history-is/) [Barry Lyga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-lyga/) > [Josh Mendel has a secret. Unfortunately, everyone knows what it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-lyga/josh-mendel-has-a-secret-unfortunately-everyone-knows-what-it-is/) [Barry Lyga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-lyga/) > [Yes,” Howie said solemnly. “I can teach you how to be more ‘street’”. “For God’s sake…” “Or is it ‘urban’? I can’t remember. Anyway,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-lyga/yes-howie-said-solemnly-i-can-teach-you-how-to-be-more-street-for-god/) [Barry Lyga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-lyga/) > [And my parents made me want i am. So what? We get stuff from our parents, but we also get stuff from the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-lyga/and-my-parents-made-me-want-i-am-so-what-we-get-stuff-from-our/) [Barry Lyga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-lyga/) > [“And Jazz snapped. He didn't snap the way a normal person might snap. A normal person would fling his arms around and stomp his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-lyga/and-jazz-snapped-he-didn-t-snap-the-way-a-normal-person-might-snap-a/) [Barry Lyga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-lyga/) [Explore all 129 Barry Lyga quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-lyga/) ## More Babies quotes > [When I'm on Twitter, we just talk to people. 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. I often wished it had been different, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-kaczmarek/it-was-an-odd-coincidence-that-my-career-took-off-the-same-decade-as/) [Jane Kaczmarek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-kaczmarek/) > [My videos, the ones I produced and co-directed and came up with a treatment from scratch - those are my babies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sisqo/my-videos-the-ones-i-produced-and-co-directed-and-came-up-with-a/) [Sisqo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sisqo/) > [“you like babies, don't you? he asked... 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! I'll go over to a little baby…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/babies-don-t-need-a-vacation-but-i-still-see-them-at-the-beach-it/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [“...For having a baby's sweet face so close to your own, for so long a time as it takes to nurse 'em, is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-eisdorfer/for-having-a-baby-s-sweet-face-so-close-to-your-own-for-so-long-a/) [Erica Eisdorfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-eisdorfer/) > [Babies like fat. Like to bury they face up in you armpit and go to sleep. They like big fat legs too. That I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-stockett/babies-like-fat-like-to-bury-they-face-up-in-you-armpit-and-go-to/) [Kathryn Stockett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-stockett/) > [Some women just skip having babies or adopt because they don't want to get fat or they haven't put in the time to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaime-pressly/some-women-just-skip-having-babies-or-adopt-because-they-don-t-want/) [Jaime Pressly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaime-pressly/) > [“Even lizard + baby can be director.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-robert/even-lizard-baby-can-be-director/) Robert Robert > [People who make babies surrender their right to behave like them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-hax/people-who-make-babies-surrender-their-right-to-behave-like-them/) [Carolyn Hax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-hax/) > [Babies are great but I am not ready to have one. Maybe ten years from now but not yet. 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": "“Parents get all focused on themselves, and they see their little babies start walkin' and talkin', and since they kinda look like them and sound like the, they start thinking of those little babies as themselves…And then something funny happens. Those babies grow up to be kids and teenages and grown-ups in their own right…so everything the kids do, everything, is a betrayal.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Barry Lyga" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-lyga/parents-get-all-focused-on-themselves-and-they-see-their-little/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Babies" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-lyga/parents-get-all-focused-on-themselves-and-they-see-their-little/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/472/barry-lyga-3439_babies_parents-get-all-focused-on-themselves-an_1347189.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/472/barry-lyga-3439_babies_parents-get-all-focused-on-themselves-an_1347189.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/472/barry-lyga-3439_babies_parents-get-all-focused-on-themselves-an_1347189.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Parents get all focused on themselves, and they see their little babies start walkin' and talkin', and since…” — Barry Lyga", "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": "Barry Lyga", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-lyga/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Parents get all focused on themselves,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-lyga/parents-get-all-focused-on-themselves-and-they-see-their-little/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-lyga/parents-get-all-focused-on-themselves-and-they-see-their-little/#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 } } ] } ```