--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Each child should try to see in his…" description: "\"Each child should try to see in his parents the children they previously were. Each parent should try to see in his child the adult he seems to be beco..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efd/david-viscott-17389_becoming_each-child-should-try-to-see-in-his-pare_2765495.jpg" --- # Each child should try to see in his parents the children… ![“Each child should try to see in his parents the children they previously were. Each parent should try to see in his child the adult he seems to be becoming.” quote by David Viscott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efd/david-viscott-17389_becoming_each-child-should-try-to-see-in-his-pare_2765495.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efd/david-viscott-17389_becoming_each-child-should-try-to-see-in-his-pare_2765495.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efd/david-viscott-17389_becoming_each-child-should-try-to-see-in-his-pare_2765495.jpg) > “Each child should try to see in his parents the children they previously were. Each parent should try to see in his child the adult he seems to be becoming.” [David Viscott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-viscott/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding family members across generations requires empathy, recognizing past selves in parents and future selves in children. **In simple terms:** See each other’s past and future selves. Key Takeaway Practice empathetic perspective‑taking. Themes family empathy generational insight Mood reflective compassionate Type insightful emotional When to use this quote - parent‑child counseling - family therapy - intergenerational workshops Key Concepts psychology developmental growth Questions to Reflect On - How can you honor both the present and the evolving identities in your family? - What barriers prevent you from seeing your parent’s younger self? A Different Perspective May overlook current individuality by focusing on past/future roles. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Parents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parents/) ## Related quotes > [We should try to be the parents of our future rather than the offspring of our past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-unamuno/we-should-try-to-be-the-parents-of-our-future-rather-than-the/) [Miguel de Unamuno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-unamuno/) > [As a parent you try to maintain a certain amount of control and so you have this tug-of-war ... You have to learn when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aretha-franklin/as-a-parent-you-try-to-maintain-a-certain-amount-of-control-and-so/) [Aretha Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aretha-franklin/) > [“But what if your kid runs into the street in front of a car? Don't you have to use Method I?" ... If a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-gordon/but-what-if-your-kid-runs-into-the-street-in-front-of-a-car-don-t-you/) [Thomas Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-gordon/) > [Money cannot give a life back; a child or a parent. I try to cherish every moment for this reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonja-morgan/money-cannot-give-a-life-back-a-child-or-a-parent-i-try-to-cherish/) [Sonja Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonja-morgan/) > [One important lesson is this: It is okay to try and fail at something, but it isn't okay to not try. Parents need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-rancic/one-important-lesson-is-this-it-is-okay-to-try-and-fail-at-something/) [Bill Rancic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-rancic/) > [And fathers are a blessing, too, they give the place a tone; In fact each child should try and have some parents of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-untermeyer/and-fathers-are-a-blessing-too-they-give-the-place-a-tone-in-fact/) [Louis Untermeyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-untermeyer/) > [Too many people try to please their parents. My parents were Republicans, which is too bad, but they allowed me to be who I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-slick/too-many-people-try-to-please-their-parents-my-parents-were/) [Grace Slick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-slick/) > [Our family is very tight. 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What is less known or understood is how the advent of these riches has seeped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-brunt/it-s-common-knowledge-that-professional-athletes-earn-extraordinary/) [Douglas Brunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-brunt/) > [Lifestyles and sex roles are passed from parents to children as inexorably as blue eyes or small feet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letty-cottin-pogrebin/lifestyles-and-sex-roles-are-passed-from-parents-to-children-as/) [Letty Cottin Pogrebin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letty-cottin-pogrebin/) > [We don't always know exactly what we're doing as parents. Children don't come with instruction manuals, as the saying goes. So it's important to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-lubetzky/we-don-t-always-know-exactly-what-we-re-doing-as-parents-children-don/) [Daniel Lubetzky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-lubetzky/) > [Having children truly ends adolescence. We are all either parents or children: responsibility-takers or those who demand from others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shapiro/having-children-truly-ends-adolescence-we-are-all-either-parents-or/) [Ben Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shapiro/) ## More by David Viscott > [No one is so old as to think he cannot live one more year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-viscott/no-one-is-so-old-as-to-think-he-cannot-live-one-more-year/) [David Viscott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-viscott/) > [Once a person says, "This is who I really am, what I am all about, what I was really meant to do," it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-viscott/once-a-person-says-this-is-who-i-really-am-what-i-am-all-about-what-i/) [David Viscott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-viscott/) > [You must begin to think of yourself as becoming the person you want to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-viscott/you-must-begin-to-think-of-yourself-as-becoming-the-person-you-want/) [David Viscott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-viscott/) > [In other relationships, it may be permissible to overpower people, but not between people who are living together. 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Probably they don't even love themselves. That may be the heart of their problem. Having parents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-viscott/unfortunately-some-parents-simply-don-t-love-their-children-probably/) [David Viscott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-viscott/) > [From time to time, everyone distorts. We all tend to believe what supports our side of the question and doubt what weakens it. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-viscott/from-time-to-time-everyone-distorts-we-all-tend-to-believe-what/) [David Viscott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-viscott/) > [You are the only one who has to live your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-viscott/you-are-the-only-one-who-has-to-live-your-life/) [David Viscott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-viscott/) > [If we are the sum of everything that happens to us, to limit a person's experience is to limit their growth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-viscott/if-we-are-the-sum-of-everything-that-happens-to-us-to-limit-a-person/) [David Viscott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-viscott/) > [The purpose of life is to discover your gift. The work of life is to develop it. The meaning of life is to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-viscott/the-purpose-of-life-is-to-discover-your-gift-the-work-of-life-is-to/) [David Viscott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-viscott/) > [Sorrow ages you prematurely. 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It got to the point where I would try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/becoming-famous-is-a-really-shocking-thing-especially-when-you-don-t/) [Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/) > [When other boys dreamt of going to the moon or becoming doctors, I wanted to be a designer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-theyskens/when-other-boys-dreamt-of-going-to-the-moon-or-becoming-doctors-i/) [Olivier Theyskens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-theyskens/) > [One is not born a genius, one becomes a genius; and the feminine situation has up to the present rendered this becoming practically impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/one-is-not-born-a-genius-one-becomes-a-genius-and-the-feminine/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [The dream of coming back is becoming a reality. A lot of the uncertainty about the future has been cleared up. A lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tagliabue/the-dream-of-coming-back-is-becoming-a-reality-a-lot-of-the/) [Paul Tagliabue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tagliabue/) > [I'm getting to a point where everything is becoming streamlined in my life. I'm learning how to stand onstage for two hours and play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mayer/i-m-getting-to-a-point-where-everything-is-becoming-streamlined-in-my/) [John Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mayer/) > [The term 'Pre-Raphaelite' is in danger of becoming one of the most misused tags in art history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-wood/the-term-pre-raphaelite-is-in-danger-of-becoming-one-of-the-most/) Christopher Wood > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The reason so many of us are obsessed with becoming stars is because we are not yet starring in our own lives. 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