--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Parents accept their obsolescence with…" description: "\"Parents accept their obsolescence with the best grace they can muster. . . they do all they can to make it easy for the younger generation to surpass t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e6/christopher-lasch-8262_accepting_parents-accept-their-obsolescence-with-t_1495751.jpg" --- # Parents accept their obsolescence with the best grace they… ![“Parents accept their obsolescence with the best grace they can muster. . . they do all they can to make it easy for the younger generation to surpass the older, while secretly dreading the rejection that follows.” quote by Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e6/christopher-lasch-8262_accepting_parents-accept-their-obsolescence-with-t_1495751.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e6/christopher-lasch-8262_accepting_parents-accept-their-obsolescence-with-t_1495751.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e6/christopher-lasch-8262_accepting_parents-accept-their-obsolescence-with-t_1495751.jpg) > “Parents accept their obsolescence with the best grace they can muster. . . they do all they can to make it easy for the younger generation to surpass the older, while secretly dreading the rejection that follows.” [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Older generations often relinquish relevance gracefully, yet fear being replaced. **In simple terms:** Elders accept fading roles but dread being left behind. Key Takeaway Respect and support aging while fostering new growth. Themes age legacy generational change Mood empathetic thoughtful Type sociological reflective When to use this quote - family caregiving - workplace mentorship - intergenerational programs Key Concepts sociology family dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How can societies honor elders while encouraging youth? - What supports ease this transition? A Different Perspective Older adults may resist change, causing tension. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grace/) [Obsolescence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obsolescence/) [Parent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parent/) [Parenthood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenthood/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Parents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parents/) [Rejection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rejection/) [Younger generation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/younger-generation/) ## Related quotes > [The next generation will always surpass the previous one. It's one of the never-ending cycles in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masashi-kishimoto/the-next-generation-will-always-surpass-the-previous-one-it-s-one-of/) [Masashi Kishimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masashi-kishimoto/) > [If we parents accept that problems are an essential part of life's challenges, rather than reacting to every problem as if something has gone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-coloroso/if-we-parents-accept-that-problems-are-an-essential-part-of-life-s/) [Barbara Coloroso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-coloroso/) > [When we agree to be parents, we have to accept the good and the bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilaria-baldwin/when-we-agree-to-be-parents-we-have-to-accept-the-good-and-the-bad/) [Hilaria Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilaria-baldwin/) > [“I’ll tell them all the good things and some difficulties. The parents may never accept what happened to them and yet accept their child.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/i-ll-tell-them-all-the-good-things-and-some-difficulties-the-parents/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [Each generation's job is to question what parents accept on faith, to explore possibilities, and adapt the last generation's system of values for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-pittman/each-generation-s-job-is-to-question-what-parents-accept-on-faith-to/) [Frank Pittman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-pittman/) > [Anyone who has ever been a mother or father and is at all honest knows from experience how difficult it can be for parents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/anyone-who-has-ever-been-a-mother-or-father-and-is-at-all-honest/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [When we choose to be parents, we accept another human being as part of ourselves, and a large part of our emotional selves will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-rogers/when-we-choose-to-be-parents-we-accept-another-human-being-as-part-of/) [Fred Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-rogers/) > [No matter how misbehaved a child, the parents will accept.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/no-matter-how-misbehaved-a-child-the-parents-will-accept/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [I am in love with dance and my parents accept that gracefully.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/i-am-in-love-with-dance-and-my-parents-accept-that-gracefully/) [Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/) > [All parenting turns on a crucial question: to what extent parents should accept their children for who they are, and to what extent they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/all-parenting-turns-on-a-crucial-question-to-what-extent-parents/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [Instead, most colleges are studies in obsolescence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-mccord/instead-most-colleges-are-studies-in-obsolescence/) [Kent McCord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-mccord/) > [Rant said that view of time was set up so folks won't live forever. It's the planned obsolescence we've all agreed to...'Nothing says you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/rant-said-that-view-of-time-was-set-up-so-folks-won-t-live-forever-it/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Planned obsolescence is another word for progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-jeffrey-roche/planned-obsolescence-is-another-word-for-progress/) James Jeffrey Roche > [Systems program building is an entropy-decreasing process, hence inherently metastable. Program maintenance is an entropy-increasing process, and even its most skillful execution only delays…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/systems-program-building-is-an-entropy-decreasing-process-hence/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Styling is designing for obsolescence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-guinness/styling-is-designing-for-obsolescence/) [Alec Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-guinness/) ## More by Christopher Lasch > [The news appeals to the same jaded appetite that makes a child tire of a toy as soon as it becomes familiar and demand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/the-news-appeals-to-the-same-jaded-appetite-that-makes-a-child-tire/) [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) > [Most women are pragmatists who have allowed extremists on the left and right to manipulate the family issue for their own purposes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/most-women-are-pragmatists-who-have-allowed-extremists-on-the-left/) [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) > [“Members of the educated elite upheld open-mindedness as the supreme political virtue but refused to debate their own idea of the good life, perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/members-of-the-educated-elite-upheld-open-mindedness-as-the-supreme/) [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) > [Neoclassical economics insists that advertising cannot force consumers to buy anything they don't already want to buy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/neoclassical-economics-insists-that-advertising-cannot-force/) [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) > [It is the logic of consumerism that undermines the values of loyalty and permanence and promotes a different set of values that is destructive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/it-is-the-logic-of-consumerism-that-undermines-the-values-of-loyalty/) [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) > [It is a tribute to the peculiar horror of contemporary life that it makes the worst features of earlier times -- the stupefaction of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/it-is-a-tribute-to-the-peculiar-horror-of-contemporary-life-that-it/) [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) > [Relentless improvement of the product and upgrading of consumer tastes are the heart of mass merchandising.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/relentless-improvement-of-the-product-and-upgrading-of-consumer/) [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) > [The model of ownership, in a society organized round mass consumption, is addiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/the-model-of-ownership-in-a-society-organized-round-mass-consumption/) [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) > [We demand too much of life, too little of ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/we-demand-too-much-of-life-too-little-of-ourselves/) [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) > [We live in a historical period characterized by a sharp discrepancy between the intellectual development of man... and his mental-emotional development, which has left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/we-live-in-a-historical-period-characterized-by-a-sharp-discrepancy/) [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) > [The intellectual debility of contemporary conservatism is indicated by its silence on all important matters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/the-intellectual-debility-of-contemporary-conservatism-is-indicated/) [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) > [Ostensibly rigorous and realistic, contemporary conservatism is an ideology of denial. Its symbol is a smile button.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/ostensibly-rigorous-and-realistic-contemporary-conservatism-is-an/) [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) > [Adherents of the new religious right reject the separation of politics and religion, but they bring no spiritual insights to politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/adherents-of-the-new-religious-right-reject-the-separation-of/) [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) > [Today Americans are overcome not by the sense of endless possibility but by the banality of the social order they have erected against it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/today-americans-are-overcome-not-by-the-sense-of-endless-possibility/) [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) > [Propaganda in the ordinary sense of the term plays a less important part in a consumer society, where people greet all official pronouncements with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/propaganda-in-the-ordinary-sense-of-the-term-plays-a-less-important/) [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) [Explore all 82 Christopher Lasch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) ## More Accepting quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing! It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laughing-laughing-laughing-laughing-it-is-the-jester-a-voice-from-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [This duo inside of me causes the perfect opportunity to live and learn twice as fast as those who choose to accept simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/this-duo-inside-of-me-causes-the-perfect-opportunity-to-live-and/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [It takes an unusually philosophic mind to accept that all one’s suffering might be to no end, really, in the larger scheme of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-takes-an-unusually-philosophic-mind-to-accept-that-all-one-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No nation being under another nation can accept gifts, and kick at the responsibility attached to those gifts, imposed by the conquering nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-nation-being-under-another-nation-can-accept-gifts-and-kick-at-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. A woman in Santa Barbara, California, sent a $40,000 check.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/even-with-clothing-naked-animals-there-were-people-who-wanted-to-send/) [Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/) > [Society understands the architecture of academia and knows there are relevant qualifications in different fields, and the media accepts the idea of specialisations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/society-understands-the-architecture-of-academia-and-knows-there-are/) [Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [Losing someone is easy, but accepting it is hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/losing-someone-is-easy-but-accepting-it-is-hard/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [As my films are born at the moment when they are reflected into another person's mind and memories, there are no misconceptions. I totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/as-my-films-are-born-at-the-moment-when-they-are-reflected-into/) [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) Browse all 6,788 Accepting quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Parents accept their obsolescence with the best grace they can muster. . . they do all they can to make it easy for the younger generation to surpass the older, while secretly dreading the rejection that follows.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Christopher Lasch" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/parents-accept-their-obsolescence-with-the-best-grace-they-can-muster/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Accepting" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/parents-accept-their-obsolescence-with-the-best-grace-they-can-muster/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e6/christopher-lasch-8262_accepting_parents-accept-their-obsolescence-with-t_1495751.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e6/christopher-lasch-8262_accepting_parents-accept-their-obsolescence-with-t_1495751.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e6/christopher-lasch-8262_accepting_parents-accept-their-obsolescence-with-t_1495751.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Parents accept their obsolescence with the best grace they can muster. . . they do all they can to make it…” — Christopher Lasch", "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": "Christopher Lasch", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Parents accept their obsolescence with the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/parents-accept-their-obsolescence-with-the-best-grace-they-can-muster/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/parents-accept-their-obsolescence-with-the-best-grace-they-can-muster/#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 } } ] } ```