--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If nothing has helped you decide, go ask…" description: "\"If nothing has helped you decide, go ask a child. Children know what they need, and more surprisingly, the know what we need. Adults think. Kids respon..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/030/bernie-siegel-2465_adults_if-nothing-has-helped-you-decide-go-ask_1910028.jpg" --- # If nothing has helped you decide, go ask a child. Children… ![“If nothing has helped you decide, go ask a child. Children know what they need, and more surprisingly, the know what we need. Adults think. Kids respond with their feelings. They don't think about what you will think of their answer, so they just speak the truth-if you can get to them before…” quote by Bernie Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/030/bernie-siegel-2465_adults_if-nothing-has-helped-you-decide-go-ask_1910028.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/030/bernie-siegel-2465_adults_if-nothing-has-helped-you-decide-go-ask_1910028.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/030/bernie-siegel-2465_adults_if-nothing-has-helped-you-decide-go-ask_1910028.jpg) > “If nothing has helped you decide, go ask a child. Children know what they need, and more surprisingly, the know what we need. Adults think. Kids respond with their feelings. They don't think about what you will think of their answer, so they just speak the truth-if you can get to them before junior high school age. At that time, they grow up, stop feeling loved, become depressed and start thinking-and what they are thinking about worries me.” [Bernie Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-siegel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Listening to children can reveal honest needs and insights that adults often overlook due to overthinking and social concerns. **In simple terms:** Kids speak truthfully because they aren't worried about judgment. Key Takeaway Seek simple perspectives before they’re filtered by adult concerns. Themes parenting communication empathy Mood reflective hopeful concerned Type advice observational inspirational When to use this quote - family decisions - product design - education policy - mental health support Key Concepts psychology developmental insight authenticity Questions to Reflect On - How might adult biases silence honest voices? - When can child insight improve adult decisions? A Different Perspective Adults may dismiss child input as naive, missing valuable intuition. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adults](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adults/) [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Feeling loved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling-loved/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Growing up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-up/) [High school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high-school/) [High school junior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high-school-junior/) [Junior high](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/junior-high/) [Kids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kids/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Speak the truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak-the-truth/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Worry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worry/) ## Related quotes > [One of the commonest mistakes is thinking your worries are over when your children get married.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kin-hubbard/one-of-the-commonest-mistakes-is-thinking-your-worries-are-over-when/) [Kin Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kin-hubbard/) > [Society should see parenting as a public health issue and help parents to bring their children up feeling loved. 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Do you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmine/how-dare-us-teenagers-adults-and-whoever-else-think-we-have-it-so/) [Jasmine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasmine/) > [Most adults would not dream of belittling, humiliating, or bullying (verbally or physically) another adult. But many of the same adults think nothing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-steinberg/most-adults-would-not-dream-of-belittling-humiliating-or-bullying/) [Laurence Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-steinberg/) ## More by Bernie Siegel > [It is astounding how much the immune system is strengthened by reducing daily mental stress levels with either visualization or meditation. 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It's why women live longer than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-siegel/i-had-patients-who-didn-t-die-because-they-had-too-many-pets-to-try/) [Bernie Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-siegel/) > [One of the best ways to change is to act as if you are the person you want to become. When you behave as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-siegel/one-of-the-best-ways-to-change-is-to-act-as-if-you-are-the-person-you/) [Bernie Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-siegel/) > [You can find examples of how little we value ourselves everywhere you look. The signs on the front of the convenience stores where Stephen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-siegel/you-can-find-examples-of-how-little-we-value-ourselves-everywhere-you/) [Bernie Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-siegel/) > [Thoughts are chemical. 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