--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Children lose their innocence piece by…" description: "\"“Children lose their innocence piece by piece. The layers are carved away until our hearts have been exposed and polished into an unnatural gloss. We s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72f/deborah-smith-13837_children_children-lose-their-innocence-piece-by-p_2060955.png" --- # Children lose their innocence piece by piece. The layers… ![“Children lose their innocence piece by piece. The layers are carved away until our hearts have been exposed and polished into an unnatural gloss. We spend the rest of our lives trying to remember why we ever loved so passionately and how we dreamed so simply, before life chiseled us down to the…” quote by Deborah Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72f/deborah-smith-13837_children_children-lose-their-innocence-piece-by-p_2060955.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72f/deborah-smith-13837_children_children-lose-their-innocence-piece-by-p_2060955.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72f/deborah-smith-13837_children_children-lose-their-innocence-piece-by-p_2060955.png) > ““Children lose their innocence piece by piece. The layers are carved away until our hearts have been exposed and polished into an unnatural gloss. We spend the rest of our lives trying to remember why we ever loved so passionately and how we dreamed so simply, before life chiseled us down to the core.”” [Deborah Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life gradually erodes innocence, leaving a polished but hardened heart; we long for the simple, passionate love of youth. **In simple terms:** Innocence fades, leaving a hardened heart that longs for youthful passion. Key Takeaway Cultivate moments of wonder to counteract hardening. Themes nostalgia loss growth memory longing Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - reflecting on past joys - after a major life change - during a mid‑life crisis - when feeling emotionally numb - while grieving a loss Key Concepts existentialism psychology spirituality Questions to Reflect On - What simple joy can you rediscover today? - How does remembering youthful passion affect your present choices? A Different Perspective Not everyone experiences loss of innocence in the same way; some may retain it. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Innocence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innocence/) ## Related quotes > [“The reality is that physical or emotional pain, especially when it is chronic, has a way of stripping away the masks we tend to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-wetherell/the-reality-is-that-physical-or-emotional-pain-especially-when-it-is/) [Kristen Wetherell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-wetherell/) > [“We all have a bit of Adam and Eve in us. Sooner or later we come to a point in our youth when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-ryan/we-all-have-a-bit-of-adam-and-eve-in-us-sooner-or-later-we-come-to-a/) [Tom Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-ryan/) > [Childhood is all about innocence. Being constantly surrounded by cameras and shutterbugs, makes children lose that innocence. It's terrifying and worrying, to say the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soha-ali-khan/childhood-is-all-about-innocence-being-constantly-surrounded-by/) [Soha Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soha-ali-khan/) > [“you will think your parents are shatterproof until one day you find out they aren't. - what it really means to lose your innocence”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-lovelace/you-will-think-your-parents-are-shatterproof-until-one-day-you-find/) [Amanda Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-lovelace/) > [“I realize we lose our innocence in many ways, the most painful being when we realize those who are supposed to love us and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-c-andrews/i-realize-we-lose-our-innocence-in-many-ways-the-most-painful-being/) [V.C. Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-c-andrews/) > [“I'm amazed and disheartened at how quickly adolescents lose their innocence nowadays. Everyone is in such a rush to give themselves over to someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-amanda-hooper/i-m-amazed-and-disheartened-at-how-quickly-adolescents-lose-their/) [Karen Amanda Hooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-amanda-hooper/) > [Then you must teach my daughter this same lesson. How to lose your innocence but not your hope. How to laugh forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/then-you-must-teach-my-daughter-this-same-lesson-how-to-lose-your/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [No, it is not only our fate but our business to lose innocence, and once we have lost that, it is futile to attempt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/no-it-is-not-only-our-fate-but-our-business-to-lose-innocence-and/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [Many children fly like birds, guess other people's dreams, and speak with ghosts, but ... they all outgrow it when they lose their innocence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/many-children-fly-like-birds-guess-other-people-s-dreams-and-speak/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [“I still don't know which way I would teach you. I was once so free and innocent. I too laughed for no reason. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/i-still-don-t-know-which-way-i-would-teach-you-i-was-once-so-free-and/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [When is the age or even the moment when you go from being kids to being something else? People say that we're growing up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-chable/when-is-the-age-or-even-the-moment-when-you-go-from-being-kids-to/) [Ana Chable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-chable/) > [The great challenge of adulthood is holding on to your idealism after you lose your innocence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/the-great-challenge-of-adulthood-is-holding-on-to-your-idealism-after/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [Once you lose your innocence you can never get it back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-loomis/once-you-lose-your-innocence-you-can-never-get-it-back/) [Karen Loomis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-loomis/) > [I think you lose your innocence when you have kids, because the world suddenly becomes a much more dangerous place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/i-think-you-lose-your-innocence-when-you-have-kids-because-the-world/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) > [I think it's so completely bizarre and arrogant for anyone to ever think that they could lose their innocence, because that implies that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-w-k/i-think-it-s-so-completely-bizarre-and-arrogant-for-anyone-to-ever/) [Andrew W.K](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-w-k/) ## More by Deborah Smith > [Happy people look young. You’re really afraid of getting older, aren’t you? You should only be afraid of getting less happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-smith/happy-people-look-young-you-re-really-afraid-of-getting-older-aren-t/) [Deborah Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-smith/) > [“I buried my grief for my son, not my memories, but my grief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-smith/i-buried-my-grief-for-my-son-not-my-memories-but-my-grief/) [Deborah Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-smith/) > [I read The Vegetarian and fell in love with it. A year later, I was invited to go and speak at the London Book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-smith/i-read-the-vegetarian-and-fell-in-love-with-it-a-year-later-i-was/) [Deborah Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-smith/) > [A chorus of tough southern belles whispered, You need a loyal husband around here. 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Frightening, sad, but exhilarating in a poignant way, as well. You’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-smith/there-s-something-very-freeing-about-losing-the-anchors-that-have/) [Deborah Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-smith/) > [Plus, publishing's inherent conservatism, means that what little did get through was weighted towards the commercial end of the scale, which is not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-smith/plus-publishing-s-inherent-conservatism-means-that-what-little-did/) [Deborah Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-smith/) > [ Whenever I visit Korea she \[Kang\] buys me lunch and takes me to a gallery. As if all this wasn't enough, she has incredible… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-smith/whenever-i-visit-korea-she-kang-buys-me-lunch-and-takes-me-to-a/) [Deborah Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-smith/) [Explore all 47 Deborah Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-smith/) ## 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. 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