--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How old were you when you first realized…" description: "\"“How old were you when you first realized that your parents were human? That they were not omnipotent, that what they said did not, in fact, go, they h..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be6/eleanor-brown-9492_dreams_how-old-were-you-when-you-first-realized_1328735.jpg" --- # How old were you when you first realized that your parents… ![“How old were you when you first realized that your parents were human? That they were not omnipotent, that what they said did not, in fact, go, they had dreams and feelings and scars? Or have you not realized that yet?Do you still call your parents and have a one-sided conversation with them…” quote by Eleanor Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be6/eleanor-brown-9492_dreams_how-old-were-you-when-you-first-realized_1328735.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be6/eleanor-brown-9492_dreams_how-old-were-you-when-you-first-realized_1328735.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be6/eleanor-brown-9492_dreams_how-old-were-you-when-you-first-realized_1328735.jpg) > ““How old were you when you first realized that your parents were human? That they were not omnipotent, that what they said did not, in fact, go, they had dreams and feelings and scars? Or have you not realized that yet?Do you still call your parents and have a one-sided conversation with them, child to parent, not adult to adult?”” [Eleanor Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-brown/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Realizing parents are fallible human beings shifts the relationship from authority to mutual adulthood. **In simple terms:** Parents are human, not perfect. Key Takeaway Treat parents as adults. Themes family growth humanity Mood thoughtful empathetic Type psychological reflective When to use this quote - family counseling - personal reflection - parent‑child communication Key Concepts intergenerational empathy psychological development Questions to Reflect On - How does seeing parents as human affect you? - What steps can you take toward adult‑to‑adult dialogue? A Different Perspective Changing perception may be emotionally painful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Parents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parents/) ## Related quotes > [For anybody out there... who are parents who are taking care of an elderly parent or an adult child with disabilities, they know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-deese/for-anybody-out-there-who-are-parents-who-are-taking-care-of-an/) [Brian Deese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-deese/) > [“It was nice when you could look up to your parent, even as an adult, and think, This is who I fucking want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-scalzi/it-was-nice-when-you-could-look-up-to-your-parent-even-as-an-adult/) [John Scalzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-scalzi/) > [All the times I have suddenly realized that my parents are dead, even now, it still surprises me, to exist in the world while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/all-the-times-i-have-suddenly-realized-that-my-parents-are-dead-even/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [By the time I realized my parents were right, I had kids that didn't believe me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hussein-nishah/by-the-time-i-realized-my-parents-were-right-i-had-kids-that-didn-t/) [Hussein Nishah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hussein-nishah/) > [I think I realized my parents' relationship was special when I had my first girlfriend, and she came from a broken marriage. I watched…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-young/i-think-i-realized-my-parents-relationship-was-special-when-i-had-my/) [Brett Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-young/) > [“I hated those moments when you realized your parents were getting older.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karina-halle/i-hated-those-moments-when-you-realized-your-parents-were-getting/) [Karina Halle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karina-halle/) > [As parents, we're human beings, too, but sometimes we're not as understanding as we'd like to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-hines/as-parents-we-re-human-beings-too-but-sometimes-we-re-not-as/) [Gregory Hines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-hines/) > [Oh really!!!!!!!?? I agree that parents know better~ but parents are still human beings only, Parents can never always be right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shabana-adam/oh-really-i-agree-that-parents-know-better-but-parents-are-still/) Shabana Adam > [“One day,” he said, “everybody’s gonna wake up and realize their parents are human beings, just like them. Sometimes they’re good people, sometimes they’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krystal-sutherland/one-day-he-said-everybody-s-gonna-wake-up-and-realize-their-parents/) [Krystal Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krystal-sutherland/) > [Children start out loving their parents, but as they grow older and discover their parents are human, they become judgmental. And sometimes, when they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/children-start-out-loving-their-parents-but-as-they-grow-older-and/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Honestly, we'd probably be great parents. But it's a human being, and unless you think you have excellent skills and have a drive or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-degeneres/honestly-we-d-probably-be-great-parents-but-it-s-a-human-being-and/) [Ellen DeGeneres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-degeneres/) > [At some point, you realize your parents are human. They make the best decisions they can with the options available to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-monteith/at-some-point-you-realize-your-parents-are-human-they-make-the-best/) [Cory Monteith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-monteith/) > [You first parents of the human race...who ruined yourself for an apple, what might you have done for a truffled turkey?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-anthelme-brillat-savarin/you-first-parents-of-the-human-race-who-ruined-yourself-for-an-apple/) [Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-anthelme-brillat-savarin/) > [in the context of loss, each child is an only to her or his parents. Human relationships do not fill in for, do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-falk/in-the-context-of-loss-each-child-is-an-only-to-her-or-his-parents/) Marcia Falk > [“There must be other leaps in life - as momentous as the "mirror stage" - that Lacan didn't mention. Some are universal; others, culturally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-chaudhuri/there-must-be-other-leaps-in-life-as-momentous-as-the-mirror-stage/) [Amit Chaudhuri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-chaudhuri/) ## More by Eleanor Brown > [There is no problem a library card can't solve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-brown/there-is-no-problem-a-library-card-can-t-solve/) [Eleanor Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-brown/) > [“But Rose learned an important lesson: people don't always do what you tell them to do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-brown/but-rose-learned-an-important-lesson-people-don-t-always-do-what-you/) [Eleanor Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-brown/) > [“She remembered one of her boyfriends asking, offhandedly, how many books she read in a year. "A few hundred," she said. "How do you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-brown/she-remembered-one-of-her-boyfriends-asking-offhandedly-how-many/) [Eleanor Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-brown/) > [“Sisters keep secrets. Because sisters' secrets are swords.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-brown/sisters-keep-secrets-because-sisters-secrets-are-swords/) [Eleanor Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-brown/) > [“Instead, we'd do what we always did, the only thing we'd ever been dependably stellar at: we'd read.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-brown/instead-we-d-do-what-we-always-did-the-only-thing-we-d-ever-been/) [Eleanor Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-brown/) > [“Here's one of the problems with communicating in the words of a man who is not around to explain himself: it's damn hard sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-brown/here-s-one-of-the-problems-with-communicating-in-the-words-of-a-man/) [Eleanor Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-brown/) > [“Yes, you'd make a great partner for him. What with the embezzling and the adultery and the drinking. That's what every man wants in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-brown/yes-you-d-make-a-great-partner-for-him-what-with-the-embezzling-and/) [Eleanor Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-brown/) > [“Oh honey, we’re all fuckups in our own special ways.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-brown/oh-honey-we-re-all-fuckups-in-our-own-special-ways/) [Eleanor Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-brown/) > [“This conversation, you will not be surprised to know, was the impetus for their breakup, given that it caused her to realize the emotion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-brown/this-conversation-you-will-not-be-surprised-to-know-was-the-impetus/) [Eleanor Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-brown/) > [“We don't just come from the womb bearing our talents. They grow from all the things we learn.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-brown/we-don-t-just-come-from-the-womb-bearing-our-talents-they-grow-from/) [Eleanor Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-brown/) > [“Despite his money and his looks and all the good-on-paper attributes he possessed, he was not a reader, and, well, let's just say that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-brown/despite-his-money-and-his-looks-and-all-the-good-on-paper-attributes/) [Eleanor Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-brown/) > [“And the baby would never know what it meant to hate Barnwell so deeply that she couldn't help but return to it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-brown/and-the-baby-would-never-know-what-it-meant-to-hate-barnwell-so/) [Eleanor Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-brown/) > [“We've all done foolish, foolish things, dear. In my experience, good people punish themselves far more than any external body can manage. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-brown/we-ve-all-done-foolish-foolish-things-dear-in-my-experience-good/) [Eleanor Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-brown/) > [“We all have stories we tell ourselves. We tell ourselves we are too fat, or too ugly, or too old, or too foolish. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-brown/we-all-have-stories-we-tell-ourselves-we-tell-ourselves-we-are-too/) [Eleanor Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-brown/) > [Every room has a mood or personality...and it is this that one desires to develop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-brown/every-room-has-a-mood-or-personality-and-it-is-this-that-one-desires/) [Eleanor Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-brown/) [Explore all 67 Eleanor Brown quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-brown/) ## More Dreams quotes > [“Cine a ucis stelele? Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/) [Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/) > [“Once we become sensitive to dreams, we discover that every dynamic in a dream is manifesting itself in some way in our practical lives”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-johnson/once-we-become-sensitive-to-dreams-we-discover-that-every-dynamic-in/) [Robert A. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-johnson/) > [“Now you’re wet. You’re so wet you’re leaking down your ass. You’re soaking my pillow. I don’t think I’m ever washing it. I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-stoker/now-you-re-wet-you-re-so-wet-you-re-leaking-down-your-ass-you-re/) [Susan Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-stoker/) > [“Not that it matters, when you dream, there's no outside or in. Your mind is an unimaginable bloom. A willow catkin as big as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-shapero/not-that-it-matters-when-you-dream-there-s-no-outside-or-in-your-mind/) [Rich Shapero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-shapero/) > [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [“As dreams are the healing songs from the wilderness of our unconscious - So wild animals, wild plants, wild landscapes are the healing dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-pendell/as-dreams-are-the-healing-songs-from-the-wilderness-of-our/) [Dale Pendell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-pendell/) > [Alone in a world, With millions of souls Walking in circles Trapped in their dreams unhealthy, unclean walking in circles, now do not disturb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-bennington/alone-in-a-world-with-millions-of-souls-walking-in-circles-trapped-in/) [Chester Bennington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-bennington/) > [“Doing the work to transform your dreams into reality is like walking across the earth. It can be that hard, and it can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dragos-bratasanu/doing-the-work-to-transform-your-dreams-into-reality-is-like-walking/) [Dragos Bratasanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dragos-bratasanu/) > [As far as Im concerned, I didnt dream - ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/as-far-as-im-concerned-i-didnt-dream-ever/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [I guess, it's a father's dream for his daughter to be known around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-soberano/i-guess-it-s-a-father-s-dream-for-his-daughter-to-be-known-around-the/) [Liza Soberano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-soberano/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Sometimes life seems like a dream, especially when I look down and see that I forgot to put on my pants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/sometimes-life-seems-like-a-dream-especially-when-i-look-down-and-see/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [“I had a dream. I had an awesome dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-had-a-dream-i-had-an-awesome-dream/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 40,599 Dreams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“How old were you when you first realized that your parents were human? That they were not omnipotent, that what they said did not, in fact, go, they had dreams and feelings and scars? 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