--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Mother: It's broccoli, dear. --- Child: I…" description: "\"Mother: It's broccoli, dear. --- Child: I say it's spinach, and I say the hell with it.\" — E. B. White" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/e-b-white-1448_broccoli_mother-it-s-broccoli-dear-child-i-say-it_1343188.png" --- # Mother: It's broccoli, dear. --- Child: I say it's… ![“Mother: It's broccoli, dear. --- Child: I say it's spinach, and I say the hell with it.” quote by E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/e-b-white-1448_broccoli_mother-it-s-broccoli-dear-child-i-say-it_1343188.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/e-b-white-1448_broccoli_mother-it-s-broccoli-dear-child-i-say-it_1343188.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/e-b-white-1448_broccoli_mother-it-s-broccoli-dear-child-i-say-it_1343188.png) > “Mother: It's broccoli, dear. --- Child: I say it's spinach, and I say the hell with it.” [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A child resists adult authority by redefining the object, highlighting generational conflict and imagination. **In simple terms:** Kids push back against adult rules. Key Takeaway Listen to kids’ perspectives. Themes family authority imagination Mood playful defiant Type conversational narrative When to use this quote - parent‑child meals - school debates - creative play Key Concepts developmental psychology power dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How do you respond when a child reinterprets your instructions? - What can adults learn from a child's imagination? A Different Perspective Adults may feel dismissed when children challenge them. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) ## Related quotes > [“I say it's spinach, and I say the hell with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white-2/i-say-it-s-spinach-and-i-say-the-hell-with-it/) [E.B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white-2/) > [“It starts now. Right here, right now. If you do not want to get bent over this table and fucked in this booth, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lainey-reese/it-starts-now-right-here-right-now-if-you-do-not-want-to-get-bent/) [Lainey Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lainey-reese/) > [“Explore the wonderful range of choices: spinach, chard, kale, broccoli, broccolini, collard greens, lettuces, peppers, onions, mushrooms, Brussels sprouts, zucchini, squash, and so on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-davis/explore-the-wonderful-range-of-choices-spinach-chard-kale-broccoli/) [William Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-davis/) > [Choosing one thing over another doesn't necessarily mean we love the thing we choose. If given the choice to eat spinach or broccoli, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-chandler/choosing-one-thing-over-another-doesn-t-necessarily-mean-we-love-the/) [Matt Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-chandler/) > [Personally, I like to juice up several different kinds of fruit and vegetables - which may include various combinations of bananas, red bell peppers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-h-murdock/personally-i-like-to-juice-up-several-different-kinds-of-fruit-and/) [David H. Murdock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-h-murdock/) > [If someone doesn't have much use for praising Him now, it's foolish to think they're ready for heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-chandler/if-someone-doesn-t-have-much-use-for-praising-him-now-it-s-foolish-to/) [Matt Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-chandler/) > [The word 'vegetable' has no precise botanical meaning in reference to food plants, and we find that almost all parts of plants have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-heiser/the-word-vegetable-has-no-precise-botanical-meaning-in-reference-to/) Charles Heiser > [I actually love fish and vegetables. I was raised on vegetables! Anything green - spinach, broccoli, brussels sprouts - I crave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-longoria/i-actually-love-fish-and-vegetables-i-was-raised-on-vegetables/) [Eva Longoria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-longoria/) > [Shoot for a total of no more than 80 grams of carbs in your daily diet. This means favoring vegetables that grow above ground…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-perlmutter/shoot-for-a-total-of-no-more-than-80-grams-of-carbs-in-your-daily/) [David Perlmutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-perlmutter/) > [“DAY 6: Pineapple Spinach 2 cups fresh spinach, packed 1 cup pineapple chunks 2 cups frozen peaches 2 bananas, peeled 1½ packets stevia 2 cups water 2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jj-smith/day-6-pineapple-spinach-2-cups-fresh-spinach-packed-1-cup-pineapple/) JJ Smith > [A bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. "You want to be careful with those," Ron warned Harry. 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I wonder how we could make it a little more heart-healthy?” Samantha laughed and untied her apron. “I can tell you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lila-ashe/it-tastes-amazing-i-wonder-how-we-could-make-it-a-little-more-heart/) [Lila Ashe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lila-ashe/) > [Our bodies are garbage heaps: we collect experience, and from the decomposition of the thrown-out eggshells, spinach leaves, coffee grinds, and old steak bones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/our-bodies-are-garbage-heaps-we-collect-experience-and-from-the/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [I'm such a fitness freak that I eat so plain, it's gross. I have oatmeal in the morning and then I have chicken breasts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-such-a-fitness-freak-that-i-eat-so-plain-it-s-gross-i-have/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by E. B. White > [Writing is an act of faith, not a trick of grammar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/writing-is-an-act-of-faith-not-a-trick-of-grammar/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [“To hear, in the short space of one week, a Scottish terrier booed by an audience and President Roosevelt criticized by Charles Lindbergh was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/to-hear-in-the-short-space-of-one-week-a-scottish-terrier-booed-by-an/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [The sea answers all questions, and always in the same way; for when you read in the papers the interminable discussions and the bickering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/the-sea-answers-all-questions-and-always-in-the-same-way-for-when-you/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [New York blends the gift of privacy with the excitement of participation; and better than most dense communities it succeeds in insulating the individual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/new-york-blends-the-gift-of-privacy-with-the-excitement-of/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [The terror of the atom age is not the violence of the new power but the speed of man's adjustment to it, the speed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/the-terror-of-the-atom-age-is-not-the-violence-of-the-new-power-but/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [When my wife's Aunt Caroline was in her nineties, she lived with us, and she once remarked: 'Remembrance is sufficient of the beauty we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/when-my-wife-s-aunt-caroline-was-in-her-nineties-she-lived-with-us/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [Sailors have an expression about the weather: they say the weather is a great bluffer. I guess the same is true of our human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/sailors-have-an-expression-about-the-weather-they-say-the-weather-is/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [Anyone who writes down to children is simply wasting his time. You have to write up, not down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/anyone-who-writes-down-to-children-is-simply-wasting-his-time-you/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [A writer should concern himself with whatever absorbs his fancy, stirs his heart, and unlimbers his typewriter. ... A writer has the duty to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/a-writer-should-concern-himself-with-whatever-absorbs-his-fancy-stirs/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [Every morning I awake torn between a desire to save the world and an inclination to savor it. This makes it hard to plan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/every-morning-i-awake-torn-between-a-desire-to-save-the-world-and-an/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [I seldom went to bed before two or three o'clock in the morning, on the theory that if anything of interest were to happen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/i-seldom-went-to-bed-before-two-or-three-o-clock-in-the-morning-on/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [Necessity first mothered invention. Now invention has little ones of her own, and they look just like grandma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/necessity-first-mothered-invention-now-invention-has-little-ones-of/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [The bonus is really one of the great give-aways in business enterprise. It is the annual salve applied to the conscience of the rich…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/the-bonus-is-really-one-of-the-great-give-aways-in-business/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [There's no limit to how complicated things can get, on account of one thing always leading to another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/there-s-no-limit-to-how-complicated-things-can-get-on-account-of-one/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [The critic leaves at curtain fall To find, in starting to review it, He scarcely saw the play at all For starting to review…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/the-critic-leaves-at-curtain-fall-to-find-in-starting-to-review-it-he/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) [Explore all 240 E. B. White quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) ## More Broccoli quotes > [I eat broccoli. I think about the plot. I pace in circles for hours, counter-clockwise, listening to music. I try to think of one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-tobin-anderson/i-eat-broccoli-i-think-about-the-plot-i-pace-in-circles-for-hours/) [Matthew Tobin Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-tobin-anderson/) > [If God wanted us to be vegetarians, he would have made broccoli a lot more fun to hunt!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-god-wanted-us-to-be-vegetarians-he-would-have-made-broccoli-a-lot/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The cauliflower soup sounds so good. And the broccoli-melt sandwich. I've never heard of such a thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-o-dowd/the-cauliflower-soup-sounds-so-good-and-the-broccoli-melt-sandwich-i/) [Chris O'Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-o-dowd/) > [If I could uninvent anything, I would uninvent Hitler's mum, guns and broccoli.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominic-monaghan/if-i-could-uninvent-anything-i-would-uninvent-hitler-s-mum-guns-and/) [Dominic Monaghan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominic-monaghan/) > [I don't diet. There's going to be barbecues and macaroni and cheese - but I'll have broccoli and salad the next day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginnifer-goodwin/i-don-t-diet-there-s-going-to-be-barbecues-and-macaroni-and-cheese/) [Ginnifer Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginnifer-goodwin/) > [John McEnroe has hair like badly turned broccoli.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/john-mcenroe-has-hair-like-badly-turned-broccoli/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [When my children say, 'In the future, Mummy, will things get better or worse for humanity?' I say: 'Who knows, since Amy Winehouse died.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/when-my-children-say-in-the-future-mummy-will-things-get-better-or/) [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) > [Our brain, our body, craves fat. We cannot help it. That's why a kid will eat a hot dog quicker than a piece of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/our-brain-our-body-craves-fat-we-cannot-help-it-that-s-why-a-kid-will/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was at a party in London when I met Bond producer Barbara Broccoli. She introduced herself, and I didn't believe her name. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-bach/i-was-at-a-party-in-london-when-i-met-bond-producer-barbara-broccoli/) Catherine Bach > [I make sure to eat lots of kale, broccoli, blueberries, strawberries, and spinach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lara-spencer/i-make-sure-to-eat-lots-of-kale-broccoli-blueberries-strawberries-and/) [Lara Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lara-spencer/) > [Sadly, commercially-produced, frozen broccoli lacks the ability to form sulforaphane because the vegetables are flash-cooked before they are frozen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-greger/sadly-commercially-produced-frozen-broccoli-lacks-the-ability-to-form/) [Michael Greger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-greger/) > [When my family did shy away from Indian food, we'd eat a lot of Chinese. We'd use the wok a lot. I never had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parvesh-cheena/when-my-family-did-shy-away-from-indian-food-we-d-eat-a-lot-of/) [Parvesh Cheena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parvesh-cheena/) > [F.R. Leavis's "eat up your broccoli" approach to fiction emphasises this junkfood/wholefood dichotomy. If reading a novel--for theeighteenth century reader, the most frivolous of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/f-r-leavis-s-eat-up-your-broccoli-approach-to-fiction-emphasises-this/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [By the Obama administration's reasoning, it would be constitutionally permissible to make Americans purchase nearly any product (broccoli, gym membership) that improved their health…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cornyn/by-the-obama-administration-s-reasoning-it-would-be-constitutionally/) [John Cornyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cornyn/) > [Never eat broccoli when there are cameras around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-stipe/never-eat-broccoli-when-there-are-cameras-around/) [Michael Stipe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-stipe/) Browse all 123 Broccoli quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Mother: It's broccoli, dear. --- Child: I say it's spinach, and I say the hell with it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "E. 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