--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To most boys with growing limbs and…" description: "\"To most boys with growing limbs and swelling sinews, physical activity is a natural instinct, and there is no need to drive them into the football fiel..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bb/e-f-benson-2-37497_activity_to-most-boys-with-growing-limbs-and-swel_2955097.jpg" --- # To most boys with growing limbs and swelling sinews… ![“To most boys with growing limbs and swelling sinews, physical activity is a natural instinct, and there is no need to drive them into the football field or the fives court: they go there because they like it, and there is no need to make games compulsory for them.” quote by E. F. Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bb/e-f-benson-2-37497_activity_to-most-boys-with-growing-limbs-and-swel_2955097.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bb/e-f-benson-2-37497_activity_to-most-boys-with-growing-limbs-and-swel_2955097.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bb/e-f-benson-2-37497_activity_to-most-boys-with-growing-limbs-and-swel_2955097.jpg) > “To most boys with growing limbs and swelling sinews, physical activity is a natural instinct, and there is no need to drive them into the football field or the fives court: they go there because they like it, and there is no need to make games compulsory for them.” [E. F. Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-f-benson-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Children naturally gravitate toward play; forcing structured sport can diminish intrinsic motivation. **In simple terms:** Kids love play, no need to force it. Key Takeaway Encourage free play rather than compulsory games. Themes play motivation childhood education Mood joyful reflective Type advice observational When to use this quote - school recess - after‑school programs - family outings - community sports leagues Key Concepts intrinsic motivation developmental psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can adults nurture natural play without imposing rules? - What benefits arise from voluntary versus forced activity? A Different Perspective Some children may need guidance to discover enjoyable activities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Court](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/court/) [Drive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drive/) [Football](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/football/) [Football field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/football-field/) [Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/games/) [Instinct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instinct/) [Physical activity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physical-activity/) [Sinews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sinews/) [Sports](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sports/) ## Related quotes > [Avoid compulsion and let early education be a matter of amusement. Young children learn by games; compulsory education cannot remain in the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/avoid-compulsion-and-let-early-education-be-a-matter-of-amusement/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Because I see my own boys growing, and I see other children growing and I just have such a connection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-trammell/because-i-see-my-own-boys-growing-and-i-see-other-children-growing/) [Sam Trammell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-trammell/) > [I was used to Essex boys growing up. Russian boys are a lot more gentlemanly and thoughtful. They will express their emotions a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-riley/i-was-used-to-essex-boys-growing-up-russian-boys-are-a-lot-more/) [Rachel Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-riley/) > [One of the tragedies of our day is that too many boys are growing up without guidance of a father, or another man, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-rainey/one-of-the-tragedies-of-our-day-is-that-too-many-boys-are-growing-up/) [Dennis Rainey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-rainey/) > [Wealth is the sinews of affairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfred-bion/wealth-is-the-sinews-of-affairs/) [Wilfred Bion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfred-bion/) > [Anger is one of the sinews of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-fuller/anger-is-one-of-the-sinews-of-the-soul/) [Thomas Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-fuller/) > [The sinews of war are five - men, money, materials, maintenance (food) and morale.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-sinews-of-war-are-five-men-money-materials-maintenance-food-and/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“He had to keep busy; he had to keep moving so that the sinews connected behind his eyes did not slip loose and spin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-marmon-silko/he-had-to-keep-busy-he-had-to-keep-moving-so-that-the-sinews/) [Leslie Marmon Silko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-marmon-silko/) > [Shall I show you the sinews of a philosopher? What sinews are those? - A will undisappointed; evils avoided; powers daily exercised; careful resolutions;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/shall-i-show-you-the-sinews-of-a-philosopher-what-sinews-are-those-a/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [It's kind of a language I've developed over time that's basically breaking up the face into components and planes. Inside each plane, I draw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toyin-odutola/it-s-kind-of-a-language-i-ve-developed-over-time-that-s-basically/) [Toyin Odutola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toyin-odutola/) > [The painter who is familiar with the nature of the sinews, muscles, and tendons, will know very well, in giving movement to a limb,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/the-painter-who-is-familiar-with-the-nature-of-the-sinews-muscles-and/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Libyans have to work together for a new Libya. They should keep in place the sinews of security.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-mitchell/libyans-have-to-work-together-for-a-new-libya-they-should-keep-in/) [Andrew Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mitchell/) > [Endless money forms the sinews of war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/endless-money-forms-the-sinews-of-war/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [In the sinews of the dead there is no blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/in-the-sinews-of-the-dead-there-is-no-blood/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [Wealth is the sinews of success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bion-of-borysthenes/wealth-is-the-sinews-of-success/) [Bion of Borysthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bion-of-borysthenes/) ## More by E. F. Benson > [Taste is one of the five senses, and the man who tells us with priggish pride that he does not care what he eats…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-f-benson-2/taste-is-one-of-the-five-senses-and-the-man-who-tells-us-with/) [E. F. Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-f-benson-2/) > [Queen Victoria was a woman of peerless common sense; her common sense, which is a rare gift at any time, amounted to genius. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-f-benson-2/queen-victoria-was-a-woman-of-peerless-common-sense-her-common-sense/) [E. F. Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-f-benson-2/) > [The greedy man is he who habitually eats too much, knowing that he is injuring his bodily health thereby, and this is a vice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-f-benson-2/the-greedy-man-is-he-who-habitually-eats-too-much-knowing-that-he-is/) [E. F. Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-f-benson-2/) > [Rightly or wrongly, the Victorian considered that there were certain subjects which were not meet for inter-sexual discussion, just as they held that certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-f-benson-2/rightly-or-wrongly-the-victorian-considered-that-there-were-certain/) [E. F. Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-f-benson-2/) > [All the teaching I had ever received had failed to make me apply such intelligence as I was possessed of, directly and vividly: there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-f-benson-2/all-the-teaching-i-had-ever-received-had-failed-to-make-me-apply-such/) [E. F. Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-f-benson-2/) > [There is no reason to suppose that taste is in any way a lower sense than the other four; a fine palate is as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-f-benson-2/there-is-no-reason-to-suppose-that-taste-is-in-any-way-a-lower-sense/) [E. F. Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-f-benson-2/) > [Young gentlemen with literary aspirations usually start a new university magazine, which for wit and pungency is designed to eclipse all such previous efforts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-f-benson-2/young-gentlemen-with-literary-aspirations-usually-start-a-new/) [E. F. Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-f-benson-2/) > [Romance is a bird that will not sing in every bush, and love-affairs, however devoted the sentiments that inspire them, are often so business-like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-f-benson-2/romance-is-a-bird-that-will-not-sing-in-every-bush-and-love-affairs/) [E. F. Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-f-benson-2/) > [What man is there, surrounded though he be with the love of wife and children, who does not retain a memory of the romantic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-f-benson-2/what-man-is-there-surrounded-though-he-be-with-the-love-of-wife-and/) [E. F. Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-f-benson-2/) > [Early impressions are like glimpses seen through the window by night when lightning is about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-f-benson-2/early-impressions-are-like-glimpses-seen-through-the-window-by-night/) [E. F. Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-f-benson-2/) > [Queen Victoria did not regard art, letters, or music as in any way springing from national character: they were something quite apart, elegant decorations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-f-benson-2/queen-victoria-did-not-regard-art-letters-or-music-as-in-any-way/) [E. F. Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-f-benson-2/) [Explore all 12 E. F. Benson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-f-benson-2/) ## More Activity quotes > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [And also I think the rise of other, you could say, destinations for international jihadis mean that Pakistan isn't necessarily the place where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/and-also-i-think-the-rise-of-other-you-could-say-destinations-for/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Fighting's fun, man. It's a great activity, it's a great sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mitrione/fighting-s-fun-man-it-s-a-great-activity-it-s-a-great-sport/) [Matt Mitrione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mitrione/) > [There were books everywhere in my house. Books were very present. I just loved books. I never understood reading as anything but a pleasurable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lucas/there-were-books-everywhere-in-my-house-books-were-very-present-i/) [Lisa Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lucas/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [The only activity a cynic will find contagious is yawning, that is, with other people, at other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/the-only-activity-a-cynic-will-find-contagious-is-yawning-that-is/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [For the longest time, neuroscientists were forced to be passive observers of brain activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gero-miesenbock/for-the-longest-time-neuroscientists-were-forced-to-be-passive/) Gero Miesenbock > [Enjoyment is not a goal, it is a feeling that accompanies important ongoing activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/enjoyment-is-not-a-goal-it-is-a-feeling-that-accompanies-important/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [Once an activity has been socialized, it is impossible to point out, by concrete example, how men in a free market could better conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-read/once-an-activity-has-been-socialized-it-is-impossible-to-point-out-by/) [Leonard Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-read/) > [“Fun is not an activity, it is a state of mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/fun-is-not-an-activity-it-is-a-state-of-mind/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [I have to consider everything I eat; I consider every activity I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kimball/i-have-to-consider-everything-i-eat-i-consider-every-activity-i-do/) [Charlie Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kimball/) > [Almost all good businesses engage in 'pain today, gain tomorrow' activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/almost-all-good-businesses-engage-in-pain-today-gain-tomorrow/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) Browse all 3,263 Activity quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To most boys with growing limbs and swelling sinews, physical activity is a natural instinct, and there is no need to drive them into the football field or the fives court: they go there because they like it, and there is no need to make games compulsory for them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "E. 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