--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The middle years are ones in which…" description: "\"The middle years are ones in which children increasingly face conflicts on their own,... One of the truths to be faced by parentsduring this period is ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2af/dorothy-h-cohen-33807_action_the-middle-years-are-ones-in-which-child_2325214.jpg" --- # The middle years are ones in which children increasingly… ![“The middle years are ones in which children increasingly face conflicts on their own,... One of the truths to be faced by parentsduring this period is that they cannot do the work of living and relating for their children. They can be sounding boards and they can probe with the children the…” quote by Dorothy H Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2af/dorothy-h-cohen-33807_action_the-middle-years-are-ones-in-which-child_2325214.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2af/dorothy-h-cohen-33807_action_the-middle-years-are-ones-in-which-child_2325214.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2af/dorothy-h-cohen-33807_action_the-middle-years-are-ones-in-which-child_2325214.jpg) > “The middle years are ones in which children increasingly face conflicts on their own,... One of the truths to be faced by parentsduring this period is that they cannot do the work of living and relating for their children. They can be sounding boards and they can probe with the children the consequences of alternative actions.” [Dorothy H Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-h-cohen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Parents should guide rather than solve, allowing teens to face and learn from conflicts. **In simple terms:** Parents act as guides, not fixers, for teenage conflicts. Key Takeaway Encourage independence while offering support. Themes parenting adolescence autonomy Mood concerned thoughtful Type advice educational When to use this quote - teenage conflict - parental guidance - life skills training Key Concepts developmental psychology family dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How can parents know when to intervene? - What boundaries foster healthy teen growth? A Different Perspective Parents may struggle to balance involvement and overreach. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) [Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Conflict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conflict/) [Consequence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consequence/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [In the middle years of childhood, it is more important to keep alive and glowing the interest in finding out and to support this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-h-cohen/in-the-middle-years-of-childhood-it-is-more-important-to-keep-alive/) [Dorothy H Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-h-cohen/) > [Parents must begin to discover their children as individuals of developing tastes and views and so help them be, and see, themselves as thinking,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-h-cohen/parents-must-begin-to-discover-their-children-as-individuals-of/) [Dorothy H Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-h-cohen/) > [Children of the middle years do not do their learning unaffected by attendant feelings of interest, boredom, success, failure, chagrin, joy, humiliation, pleasure, distress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-h-cohen/children-of-the-middle-years-do-not-do-their-learning-unaffected-by/) [Dorothy H Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-h-cohen/) > [Ingenue parts are plentiful. 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Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-k-fisher/) > [Me in the middle! years and years ago!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-in-the-middle-years-and-years-ago/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In youth, everything seems possible; but we reach a point in the middle years when we realize that we are never going to reach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson-2/in-youth-everything-seems-possible-but-we-reach-a-point-in-the-middle/) [Adlai E Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson-2/) ## More by Dorothy H Cohen > [Children of eight and nine who love their mothers dearly will cross to the other side of the street when they see her coming,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-h-cohen/children-of-eight-and-nine-who-love-their-mothers-dearly-will-cross/) [Dorothy H Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-h-cohen/) > [Children of the middle years do not do their learning unaffected by attendant feelings of interest, boredom, success, failure, chagrin, joy, humiliation, pleasure, distress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-h-cohen/children-of-the-middle-years-do-not-do-their-learning-unaffected-by/) [Dorothy H Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-h-cohen/) > [Parents must begin to discover their children as individuals of developing tastes and views and so help them be, and see, themselves as thinking,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-h-cohen/parents-must-begin-to-discover-their-children-as-individuals-of/) [Dorothy H Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-h-cohen/) > [The frantic search of five-year-olds for friends can thus be seen to forecast the beginnings of a basic shift in the parent-childrelationship, a shift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-h-cohen/the-frantic-search-of-five-year-olds-for-friends-can-thus-be-seen-to/) [Dorothy H Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-h-cohen/) > [Nevertheless, no school can work well for children if parents and teachers do not act in partnership on behalf of the children's best interests.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-h-cohen/nevertheless-no-school-can-work-well-for-children-if-parents-and/) [Dorothy H Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-h-cohen/) > [ They \[parents\] can help the children work out schedules for homework, play, and television that minimize the conflicts involved in what to do first.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-h-cohen/they-parents-can-help-the-children-work-out-schedules-for-homework/) [Dorothy H Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-h-cohen/) > [ The child to be concerned about is the one who is actively unhappy, \[in school\]… In the long run, a child's emotional development has… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-h-cohen/the-child-to-be-concerned-about-is-the-one-who-is-actively-unhappy-in/) [Dorothy H Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-h-cohen/) > [Those who first introduced compulsory education into American life knew exactly why children should go to school and learn to read: to save their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-h-cohen/those-who-first-introduced-compulsory-education-into-american-life/) [Dorothy H Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-h-cohen/) > [In the middle years of childhood, it is more important to keep alive and glowing the interest in finding out and to support this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-h-cohen/in-the-middle-years-of-childhood-it-is-more-important-to-keep-alive/) [Dorothy H Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-h-cohen/) > [No school can work well for children if parents and teachers do not act in partnership on behalf of the children's best interests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-h-cohen/no-school-can-work-well-for-children-if-parents-and-teachers-do-not/) [Dorothy H Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-h-cohen/) > [Television programming for children need not be saccharine or insipid in order to give to violence its proper balance in the scheme of things……](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-h-cohen/television-programming-for-children-need-not-be-saccharine-or-insipid/) [Dorothy H Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-h-cohen/) > [Parents can offer their help by suggesting and locating resources likely to be unfamiliar to children, such as people, books, andmaterials that can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-h-cohen/parents-can-offer-their-help-by-suggesting-and-locating-resources/) [Dorothy H Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-h-cohen/) > [Helping children at a level of genuine intellectual inquiry takes imagination on the part of the adult. 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