--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I was a child, my parents didn't…" description: "\"When I was a child, my parents didn't know anything about drugs. They didn't even drink.\" — David Sheff" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed8/david-sheff-7087_about_when-i-was-a-child-my-parents-didn-t-kno_218871.jpg" --- # When I was a child, my parents didn't know anything about… ![“When I was a child, my parents didn't know anything about drugs. They didn't even drink.” quote by David Sheff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed8/david-sheff-7087_about_when-i-was-a-child-my-parents-didn-t-kno_218871.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed8/david-sheff-7087_about_when-i-was-a-child-my-parents-didn-t-kno_218871.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed8/david-sheff-7087_about_when-i-was-a-child-my-parents-didn-t-kno_218871.jpg) > “When I was a child, my parents didn't know anything about drugs. They didn't even drink.” [David Sheff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sheff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A reflection on childhood innocence contrasted with parental ignorance about drug issues, highlighting a generational gap in awareness. **In simple terms:** Parents were unaware of drugs while child grew up. Key Takeaway Promote open dialogue about substance risks. Themes family ignorance drug awareness generational gap Mood concerned reflective Type narrative personal When to use this quote - family dinner - school counseling - community workshop Key Concepts parental responsibility substance education childhood experience Questions to Reflect On - How can families stay informed? - What role does education play? A Different Perspective Parents may have been willfully ignorant. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Parents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parents/) ## Related quotes > [“He was a respected high school English teacher and he had never in his life poisoned his mind with drugs.  He didn’t even drink…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-harmon/he-was-a-respected-high-school-english-teacher-and-he-had-never-in/) [Brian Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-harmon/) > [Medical men do not know the drugs they use, nor their prices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/medical-men-do-not-know-the-drugs-they-use-nor-their-prices/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Fake friends only show up at your door when they know you have drugs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fake-friends-only-show-up-at-your-door-when-they-know-you-have-drugs/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I still don't know anything about drugs, or who takes them, or what happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-giles/i-still-don-t-know-anything-about-drugs-or-who-takes-them-or-what/) [Michael Giles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-giles/) > [A whole host of things that we now know are drugs turn out to be plant alkaloids.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-petsko/a-whole-host-of-things-that-we-now-know-are-drugs-turn-out-to-be/) [Gregory Petsko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-petsko/) > [My girlfriend said: 'If you loved me you wouldn't drink so much', I said: 'If I didn't drink so much I probably wouldn't love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-mule-deer/my-girlfriend-said-if-you-loved-me-you-wouldn-t-drink-so-much-i-said/) Gary Mule Deer > [Hell, if I didn't drink drink or smoke, I'd win twenty games every year. It's easy when you don't drink or smoke or horse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitey-ford/hell-if-i-didn-t-drink-drink-or-smoke-i-d-win-twenty-games-every-year/) [Whitey Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitey-ford/) > [With some guys, drugs became a way of life. They went through tremendous personality changes, or they died. Drugs didn't do them any good.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-noll/with-some-guys-drugs-became-a-way-of-life-they-went-through/) [Greg Noll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-noll/) > [“Being judged by society makes you disregard it altogether after a while. Jean-Michel didn’t know that he shouldn’t get a twelve-year-old drugs. He didn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-o-neill/being-judged-by-society-makes-you-disregard-it-altogether-after-a/) [Heather O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-o-neill/) > [You also get so wound up playing a show that a lot of people need something to bring them down. People who don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-ramone/you-also-get-so-wound-up-playing-a-show-that-a-lot-of-people-need/) [Johnny Ramone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-ramone/) > [I always told Travis the truth but he had this entourage, people who had everything to gain from partying with him and doing drugs.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shanna-moakler/i-always-told-travis-the-truth-but-he-had-this-entourage-people-who/) [Shanna Moakler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shanna-moakler/) > [“I said "no" to drugs, but they didn't listen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/various/i-said-no-to-drugs-but-they-didn-t-listen/) Various > [I wrote about drugs, and I didn't think I was being unsafe or careless by writing about them. I didn't want fans to think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/layne-staley/i-wrote-about-drugs-and-i-didn-t-think-i-was-being-unsafe-or-careless/) [Layne Staley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/layne-staley/) > [Now, I was on drugs, and that didn't help a whole lot. He hated that. That was part of where Chet and I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/waylon-jennings/now-i-was-on-drugs-and-that-didn-t-help-a-whole-lot-he-hated-that/) [Waylon Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/waylon-jennings/) > [Drugs didn't work out too well for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-bourdain/drugs-didn-t-work-out-too-well-for-me/) [Anthony Bourdain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-bourdain/) ## More by David Sheff > [I was ashamed. My son is a drug addict. 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We spend $40 billion a year, and the proof that it's a failure is that any kid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sheff/the-war-on-drugs-is-a-joke-we-spend-40-billion-a-year-and-the-proof/) [David Sheff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sheff/) > [Nick's mother and I were attentive, probably overly attentive - part of the first wave of parents obsessed with our children in a self-conscious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sheff/nick-s-mother-and-i-were-attentive-probably-overly-attentive-part-of/) [David Sheff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sheff/) > [Having been hit by drug addiction, knowing how many are hit by it and what a big problem it is in our neighborhoods and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sheff/having-been-hit-by-drug-addiction-knowing-how-many-are-hit-by-it-and/) [David Sheff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sheff/) > [Here's a note to the parents of addicted children: Choose your music carefully...There are millions of treacherous moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sheff/here-s-a-note-to-the-parents-of-addicted-children-choose-your-music/) [David Sheff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sheff/) > [This stigma associated with drug use--the belief that bad kids use, good kids don't, and those with full-blown addiction are weak, dissolute, and pathetic--has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sheff/this-stigma-associated-with-drug-use-the-belief-that-bad-kids-use/) [David Sheff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sheff/) > [It's hard to find someone who did as many drugs for as long and in such dangerous combinations as Nic - spending years going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sheff/it-s-hard-to-find-someone-who-did-as-many-drugs-for-as-long-and-in/) [David Sheff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sheff/) > [I chose a rehab center for Nic that was recommended by a friend who had sent her son there. 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He was quoting a Neil Young song about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sheff/in-his-suicide-note-kurt-cobain-wrote-it-s-better-to-burn-out-than-to/) [David Sheff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sheff/) > [Anyone who has lived through it, or those who are now living through it, knows that caring about an addict is as complex and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sheff/anyone-who-has-lived-through-it-or-those-who-are-now-living-through/) [David Sheff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sheff/) > [If a child had another disease, we'd be open about what we were going through, but addiction is stigmatised and comes with shame and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sheff/if-a-child-had-another-disease-we-d-be-open-about-what-we-were-going/) [David Sheff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sheff/) > [A world of contradictions, wherein everything is gray and almost nothing is black and white.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sheff/a-world-of-contradictions-wherein-everything-is-gray-and-almost/) [David Sheff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sheff/) [Explore all 95 David Sheff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sheff/) ## More About quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. 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