--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Everything matters terribly to children…" description: "\"Everything matters terribly to children, you know, they're fresh and unformed.\" — Dorothy Gilman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baf/dorothy-gilman-19428_child_everything-matters-terribly-to-children_2791224.jpg" --- # Everything matters terribly to children, you know, they're… ![“Everything matters terribly to children, you know, they're fresh and unformed.” quote by Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baf/dorothy-gilman-19428_child_everything-matters-terribly-to-children_2791224.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baf/dorothy-gilman-19428_child_everything-matters-terribly-to-children_2791224.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baf/dorothy-gilman-19428_child_everything-matters-terribly-to-children_2791224.jpg) > “Everything matters terribly to children, you know, they're fresh and unformed.” [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Highlights children's sensitivity to all experiences **In simple terms:** Children notice everything and are unformed Key Takeaway Treat children with care and attention Themes childhood sensitivity development Mood gentle thoughtful Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - parenting - teaching - media creation Key Concepts psychology of childhood education Questions to Reflect On - How can we better support children's emotional growth? - What simple actions nurture their sensitivity? A Different Perspective Adults may underestimate children's perception ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Children Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children-know/) [Fresh Unformed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fresh-unformed-3380373/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Matters Terribly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matters-terribly-3380371/) [Terribly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terribly/) [Terribly Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terribly-children-3380372/) ## Related quotes > [Many public-school children seem to know only two dates—1492 and 4th of July; and as a rule they don't know what happened on either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/many-public-school-children-seem-to-know-only-two-dates-1492-and-4th/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [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/) > [Who we are and how we engage with the world are much stronger predictors of how our children will do than what we know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/who-we-are-and-how-we-engage-with-the-world-are-much-stronger/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [“In a 1999 paper, Reiner indicates that his data show "that with time and age, children may well know what their gender is, regardless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-rudacille/in-a-1999-paper-reiner-indicates-that-his-data-show-that-with-time/) [Deborah Rudacille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-rudacille/) > [“She smiled, pretending to be unaware like every child, but she knew. 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You just don't beleive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trenton-lee-stewart/you-are-the-smartest-children-i-know-you-just-don-t-beleive-it/) [Trenton Lee Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trenton-lee-stewart/) > [To my future children; you will know the true meaning of Christmas just not you get gifts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-my-future-children-you-will-know-the-true-meaning-of-christmas/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When I look into the eyes of my children, I know I have done something perfectly right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brii-ann/when-i-look-into-the-eyes-of-my-children-i-know-i-have-done-something/) [Brii Ann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brii-ann/) ## More by Dorothy Gilman > [“I wasn't offering her pity," Mrs. Caswell said impatiently. "Tragedies don't interest me, tragedies and heartbreaks are all alike, what matters is how a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/i-wasn-t-offering-her-pity-mrs-caswell-said-impatiently-tragedies-don/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [It's compassion that makes gods of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/it-s-compassion-that-makes-gods-of-us/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [The best things arrive on time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/the-best-things-arrive-on-time/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [People need dreams, there's as much nourishment in 'em as food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/people-need-dreams-there-s-as-much-nourishment-in-em-as-food/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [“Do you like Magda too?” His gaze left the gate to sweep the courtyard. “She seems pleasant enough when she’s not drugged. 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Wisdom and compromise come later.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/will-anything-but-fanaticism-make-for-change-wisdom-and-compromise/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [“the problems changed, but people were the same”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-gilman/the-problems-changed-but-people-were-the-same/) [Dorothy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-gilman/) > [“...why doesn't anything end happily?" 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Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-lyonne/i-would-have-done-well-as-a-gypsy-child-i-think-a-circus-baby-i/) [Natasha Lyonne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-lyonne/) > [We're raising children who have little tolerance for disappointment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/we-re-raising-children-who-have-little-tolerance-for-disappointment/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [I'm a weirdo and an only child. That comes together to create one-woman shows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-seales/i-m-a-weirdo-and-an-only-child-that-comes-together-to-create-one/) [Amanda Seales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-seales/) > [“Every child is born as angel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-child-is-born-as-angel/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [To assist a child we must provide him with an environment which will enable him to develop freely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/to-assist-a-child-we-must-provide-him-with-an-environment-which-will/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [Almost everywhere we find . . . the use of various coercive measures, to rid ourselves as quickly as possible of the child withinus--i.e.,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/almost-everywhere-we-find-the-use-of-various-coercive-measures-to-rid/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [Since I was a little child, my nose - I think it's too big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celine-dion/since-i-was-a-little-child-my-nose-i-think-it-s-too-big/) [Celine Dion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celine-dion/) > [if we center our lives on BMWs, RVs, VCRs, PCs and the other acronyms of consumerism, we cannot expect our children to do otherwise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnnetta-b-cole/if-we-center-our-lives-on-bmws-rvs-vcrs-pcs-and-the-other-acronyms-of/) [Johnnetta B. 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