--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In time, most children stop being puzzled…" description: "\"“In time, most children stop being puzzled in this way. They settle in. The world around them, as it becomes familiar and daily, becomes ordinary. But ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3e/david-malouf-15192_children_in-time-most-children-stop-being-puzzled_2309779.jpg" --- # In time, most children stop being puzzled in this way… ![“In time, most children stop being puzzled in this way. They settle in. The world around them, as it becomes familiar and daily, becomes ordinary. But for writers, like children who have never quite grown up, life retains a quality of strangeness; it remains a matter of questions for which there…” quote by David Malouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3e/david-malouf-15192_children_in-time-most-children-stop-being-puzzled_2309779.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3e/david-malouf-15192_children_in-time-most-children-stop-being-puzzled_2309779.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3e/david-malouf-15192_children_in-time-most-children-stop-being-puzzled_2309779.jpg) > ““In time, most children stop being puzzled in this way. They settle in. The world around them, as it becomes familiar and daily, becomes ordinary. But for writers, like children who have never quite grown up, life retains a quality of strangeness; it remains a matter of questions for which there are no satisfactory answers, of hidden motives, displaced explanations, subtle concealments and mysteries. Eavesdropping of one kind or another, keeping an eye open and an ear cocked, even in public places, for the giveaway facial expression or gesture, the revealing word, becomes a settled habit for the writer, a necessary part of his professional equipment: the laying down of small scraps of information, of observation or experience, for future use.”” [David Malouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-malouf/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers must stay curious, observing details others overlook, turning everyday moments into material for future work. **In simple terms:** Writers keep a childlike curiosity, collecting observations for later use. Key Takeaway Cultivate constant observation and note‑taking. Themes creativity observation writing curiosity Mood reflective inquisitive Type inspirational practical When to use this quote - journalism - fiction writing - character development - research - scene building Key Concepts literary craft psychology detail gathering Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide which observations merit keeping? - What habits help you sift useful details? A Different Perspective May become overwhelming to record everything, risking analysis paralysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Explanations Subtle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explanations-subtle-5481948/) [Facial expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facial-expression/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Mysteries Eavesdropping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysteries-eavesdropping-5481946/) [Ordinary Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary-writers-5481947/) [Revealing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revealing/) [Revealing Word](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revealing-word-981503/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [The Self-revealing of the Word is in every dimension - above, in creation; below, in the Incarnation; in the depth, in Hades; in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-self-revealing-of-the-word-is-in-every-dimension-above-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Just the fact that there's motion and sound, took me a long time on Walking Dead to get used to the fact that in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-black/just-the-fact-that-there-s-motion-and-sound-took-me-a-long-time-on/) [Chris Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-black/) > [Again and again parents describe...the trancelike nature of their children's television watching. The child's facial expression is transformed. The jaw is relaxed and hangs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-winn/again-and-again-parents-describe-the-trancelike-nature-of-their/) [Marie Winn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-winn/) > [There is something myopic and stunted in focussing only on the meaning of words and sentences. And this myopia is especially unfortunate when combined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-cooper/there-is-something-myopic-and-stunted-in-focussing-only-on-the/) [David E. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-cooper/) > [Don't have conversations taking place in empty space. Weave in background details of where the action (dialogue is a form of "action") is taking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-wyndham/don-t-have-conversations-taking-place-in-empty-space-weave-in/) [Lee Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-wyndham/) > [But they need to worry and betray time with urgencies false and otherwise, purely anxious and whiny, their souls really won't be at peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/but-they-need-to-worry-and-betray-time-with-urgencies-false-and/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [“A bout of nerves crept up my spine and I tilted my head at him, hoping I was imagining the heat spreading over my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-simmons/a-bout-of-nerves-crept-up-my-spine-and-i-tilted-my-head-at-him-hoping/) [Melissa Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-simmons/) > [“Rarely do very handsome men allow their faces to run around without a leash. I am not very handsome, but I am above-average handsome,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/rarely-do-very-handsome-men-allow-their-faces-to-run-around-without-a/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [“Death is a personal matter, arousing sorrow, despair, fervor, or dry-hearted philosophy. Funerals, on the other hand, are social functions. Imagine going to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/death-is-a-personal-matter-arousing-sorrow-despair-fervor-or-dry/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [True worth is as inevitably discovered by the facial expression, as its opposite is sure to be clearly represented there. The human face is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-kaspar-lavater/true-worth-is-as-inevitably-discovered-by-the-facial-expression-as/) [Johann Kaspar Lavater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-kaspar-lavater/) > [Studies have shown touch to be the primary language of compassion, love and gratitude - emotions at the heart of trust and cooperation -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacher-keltner/studies-have-shown-touch-to-be-the-primary-language-of-compassion/) [Dacher Keltner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacher-keltner/) > [A comedy can actually get funnier and funnier. Even though you know the joke, you enjoy it so much, it's the facial expression, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/a-comedy-can-actually-get-funnier-and-funnier-even-though-you-know/) [Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/) > [Of all facial expressions, which is the worst to have aimed at you? Wouldn't you agree it's disgust?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leif-enger/of-all-facial-expressions-which-is-the-worst-to-have-aimed-at-you/) [Leif Enger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leif-enger/) > [The only one who didn't know was George Lucas. We kept it from him, because we wanted to see what his face looked like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-fisher/the-only-one-who-didn-t-know-was-george-lucas-we-kept-it-from-him/) [Carrie Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-fisher/) > [“Even without words, you communicate through touch, body language, and facial expression.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmel-sheridan/even-without-words-you-communicate-through-touch-body-language-and/) [Carmel Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmel-sheridan/) ## More by David Malouf > [“Brisbane is so sleepy, so slatternly, so sprawlingly unlovely… It is simply the most ordinary place in the world…It was so shabby and makeshift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malouf/brisbane-is-so-sleepy-so-slatternly-so-sprawlingly-unlovely-it-is/) [David Malouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-malouf/) > [“The hundred possibilities a situation contains may be more significant than the occurrence of any of them, and metaphor truer in the long run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malouf/the-hundred-possibilities-a-situation-contains-may-be-more/) [David Malouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-malouf/) > [Words his soul danced to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malouf/words-his-soul-danced-to/) [David Malouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-malouf/) > [I write not to record what I think but to discover what I think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malouf/i-write-not-to-record-what-i-think-but-to-discover-what-i-think/) [David Malouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-malouf/) > [“So these things happen, deep in our lives. We do not speak of them. We hide them even from ourselves, but they do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malouf/so-these-things-happen-deep-in-our-lives-we-do-not-speak-of-them-we/) [David Malouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-malouf/) > [All the things we achieve are things we have first of all imagined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malouf/all-the-things-we-achieve-are-things-we-have-first-of-all-imagined/) [David Malouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-malouf/) > [“However the story is told and elaborated, the raw shame of it will be with him now til his last breath.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malouf/however-the-story-is-told-and-elaborated-the-raw-shame-of-it-will-be/) [David Malouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-malouf/) > [The earth's warmth under me, as I stretch out at night, is astonishing. It is like the warmth of another body that has absorbed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malouf/the-earth-s-warmth-under-me-as-i-stretch-out-at-night-is-astonishing/) [David Malouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-malouf/) > [“I scoffed at such old fashioned notions as duty, patriotism, the military virtues. And here I was, aged fifty, standing on guard at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malouf/i-scoffed-at-such-old-fashioned-notions-as-duty-patriotism-the/) [David Malouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-malouf/) > [Fiction, with its preference for what is small and might elsewhere seem irrelevant; its facility for smuggling us into another skin and allowing us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malouf/fiction-with-its-preference-for-what-is-small-and-might-elsewhere/) [David Malouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-malouf/) > [“I have heard no word of my own language; I am rendered dumb.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malouf/i-have-heard-no-word-of-my-own-language-i-am-rendered-dumb/) [David Malouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-malouf/) > [“She had given him up. That was the hard condition of his being and of all commerce between them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malouf/she-had-given-him-up-that-was-the-hard-condition-of-his-being-and-of/) [David Malouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-malouf/) > [With all those prizes the most interesting thing is getting on to the shortlist, because that tells you who people see as your peers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malouf/with-all-those-prizes-the-most-interesting-thing-is-getting-on-to-the/) [David Malouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-malouf/) > [“So long as we are driven by the need to make up for our needs; by the restless sense that we are not yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malouf/so-long-as-we-are-driven-by-the-need-to-make-up-for-our-needs-by-the/) [David Malouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-malouf/) > [We’re such contrary creatures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malouf/we-re-such-contrary-creatures/) [David Malouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-malouf/) [Explore all 44 David Malouf quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-malouf/) ## More Children quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It doesnt seem to me strange that children should like the macabre, the sensational, and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hecht/it-doesnt-seem-to-me-strange-that-children-should-like-the-macabre/) [Anthony Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hecht/) > [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/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [My embarrassing confession is that my father is a 'Camelot: The Musical' obsessive. So as a child, when we were going to visit relatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-chibnall/my-embarrassing-confession-is-that-my-father-is-a-camelot-the-musical/) [Chris Chibnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-chibnall/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [My school was one of the most beautiful places a child can grow up in. You are surrounded by nature - cats, dogs, birds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amala-akkineni/my-school-was-one-of-the-most-beautiful-places-a-child-can-grow-up-in/) [Amala Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amala-akkineni/) > [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“Children's lives are always beginning and adults' lives are always ending. Or is it the opposite? Your childhood is always ending and your adult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-espach/children-s-lives-are-always-beginning-and-adults-lives-are-always/) [Alison Espach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-espach/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) [Browse all 62,396 Children quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In time, most children stop being puzzled in this way. They settle in. The world around them, as it becomes familiar and daily, becomes ordinary. But for writers, like children who have never quite grown up, life retains a quality of strangeness; it remains a matter of questions for which there are no satisfactory answers, of hidden motives, displaced explanations, subtle concealments and mysteries. Eavesdropping of one kind or another, keeping an eye open and an ear cocked, even in public places, for the giveaway facial expression or gesture, the revealing word, becomes a settled habit for the writer, a necessary part of his professional equipment: the laying down of small scraps of information, of observation or experience, for future use.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Malouf" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malouf/in-time-most-children-stop-being-puzzled-in-this-way-they-settle-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Children" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malouf/in-time-most-children-stop-being-puzzled-in-this-way-they-settle-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3e/david-malouf-15192_children_in-time-most-children-stop-being-puzzled_2309779.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3e/david-malouf-15192_children_in-time-most-children-stop-being-puzzled_2309779.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3e/david-malouf-15192_children_in-time-most-children-stop-being-puzzled_2309779.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In time, most children stop being puzzled in this way. They settle in. The world around them, as it becomes…” — David Malouf", "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": "David Malouf", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-malouf/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“In time, most children stop being...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malouf/in-time-most-children-stop-being-puzzled-in-this-way-they-settle-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malouf/in-time-most-children-stop-being-puzzled-in-this-way-they-settle-in/#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 } } ] } ```