--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Two things are terrible in childhood…" description: "\"Two things are terrible in childhood: helplessness (being in other people's power) and apprehension - the apprehension that something is being conceale..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59e/elizabeth-bowen-1197_apprehension_two-things-are-terrible-in-childhood-hel_1514669.png" --- # Two things are terrible in childhood: helplessness (being… ![“Two things are terrible in childhood: helplessness (being in other people's power) and apprehension - the apprehension that something is being concealed from us because it is too bad to be told.” quote by Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59e/elizabeth-bowen-1197_apprehension_two-things-are-terrible-in-childhood-hel_1514669.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59e/elizabeth-bowen-1197_apprehension_two-things-are-terrible-in-childhood-hel_1514669.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59e/elizabeth-bowen-1197_apprehension_two-things-are-terrible-in-childhood-hel_1514669.png) > “Two things are terrible in childhood: helplessness (being in other people's power) and apprehension - the apprehension that something is being concealed from us because it is too bad to be told.” [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Childhood can be marked by feeling powerless and fearing hidden truths that are too painful to reveal. **In simple terms:** Kids feel powerless and fear hidden bad things. Key Takeaway Recognize and address fear and powerlessness early. Themes childhood powerlessness secrecy trust Mood anxious reflective Type advice psychological When to use this quote - parenting - education - therapy - family counseling Key Concepts psychology development trauma Questions to Reflect On - How can adults create safe spaces for children to express fear? - What signs indicate a child feels powerless? A Different Perspective Children may also develop resilience and agency despite these challenges. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Apprehension](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apprehension/) [Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Helplessness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helplessness/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [And, I know the sense of helplessness that people feel. I know the urge to arm yourself because that's what I did. I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dianne-feinstein/and-i-know-the-sense-of-helplessness-that-people-feel-i-know-the-urge/) [Dianne Feinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dianne-feinstein/) > [After a lifetime's independence– yes, selfish independence as my daughter would rightly claim – I am terrified of being reduced to childhood once more,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-thomas/after-a-lifetime-s-independence-yes-selfish-independence-as-my/) [Rosie Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-thomas/) > [I am afraid of reduction. After a lifetime's independence- yes, selfish independence- I am terrified of being reduced to childhood once more, to helplessness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-thomas/i-am-afraid-of-reduction-after-a-lifetime-s-independence-yes-selfish/) [Rosie Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-thomas/) > [“Lorenz’s concept of learned helplessness: how people believed that there was nothing they could do to help themselves even when opportunities for betterment arose. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-brady/lorenz-s-concept-of-learned-helplessness-how-people-believed-that/) R.D. Brady > [“As a society, we assume that humans naturally run from emotions like suffering, helplessness, and hopelessness, but the truth is these emotions are highly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-collins/as-a-society-we-assume-that-humans-naturally-run-from-emotions-like/) [Simone Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-collins/) > [“Fritz had an older sister that he’d never thought to mention, and that his story about having had a terrible childhood that kept him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariah-stewart/fritz-had-an-older-sister-that-he-d-never-thought-to-mention-and-that/) [Mariah Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariah-stewart/) > [Sometimes I wish I had a terrible childhood, so that at least I'd have an excuse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-fallon/sometimes-i-wish-i-had-a-terrible-childhood-so-that-at-least-i-d-have/) [Jimmy Fallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-fallon/) > [“Cathy slowly discovers the terrible childhood Dawn has had; rejected by her parents, left to fend for herself, then subjected to violent treatment by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-glass/cathy-slowly-discovers-the-terrible-childhood-dawn-has-had-rejected/) Cathy Glass > [Some people who've read my story think I had a terrible childhood and that I was neglected or even abused, while others feel that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/some-people-who-ve-read-my-story-think-i-had-a-terrible-childhood-and/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [“Man may feel like a feeble and powerless pawn, at some moment in his life. This apprehension can come out of the blue, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/man-may-feel-like-a-feeble-and-powerless-pawn-at-some-moment-in-his/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [LIFE, n. A spiritual pickle preserving the body from decay. We live in daily apprehension of its loss; yet when lost it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/life-n-a-spiritual-pickle-preserving-the-body-from-decay-we-live-in/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [The apprehension whether people will like it or not also doesn't bother me much. I've always done my work with a gut feeling that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiku-sharda/the-apprehension-whether-people-will-like-it-or-not-also-doesn-t/) [Kiku Sharda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiku-sharda/) > [At length weariness succeeds to labor, and the mind lies at ease in the contemplation of her own attainments without any desire of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/at-length-weariness-succeeds-to-labor-and-the-mind-lies-at-ease-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Perhapsthemost sublimeinsights oftheJewishprophets and the Christian gospel is the knowledge that since perfection is love, the apprehension of perfection is at once the means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/perhapsthemost-sublimeinsights-ofthejewishprophets-and-the-christian/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [Marriages are always moving from one season to another. Sometimes we find ourselves in winter--discouraged, detached, and dissatisfied; other times we experience springtime, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-chapman/marriages-are-always-moving-from-one-season-to-another-sometimes-we/) [Gary Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-chapman/) ## More by Elizabeth Bowen > [Temperamentally, the writer exists on happenings, on contacts, conflicts, action and reaction, speed, pressure, tension. Were he acontemplative purely, he would not write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/temperamentally-the-writer-exists-on-happenings-on-contacts-conflicts/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [“Are you really an orphan? Yes, I am, said Portia a shade shortly. Are you? No, not at present, but I suppose it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/are-you-really-an-orphan-yes-i-am-said-portia-a-shade-shortly-are-you/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [It is not our exalted feelings, it is our sentiments that build the necessary home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/it-is-not-our-exalted-feelings-it-is-our-sentiments-that-build-the/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [Every love has a poetic relevance of its own; each love brings to light only what to it is relevant. Outside lies the junk-yard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/every-love-has-a-poetic-relevance-of-its-own-each-love-brings-to/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [without fiction, either life would be insufficient or the winds from the north would blow too cold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/without-fiction-either-life-would-be-insufficient-or-the-winds-from/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [One's sentiments -- call them that -- one's fidelities are so instinctive that one hardly knows they exist: only when they are betrayed or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/one-s-sentiments-call-them-that-one-s-fidelities-are-so-instinctive/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [Only in a house where one has learnt to be lonely does one have this solicitude for things. One's relation to them, the daily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/only-in-a-house-where-one-has-learnt-to-be-lonely-does-one-have-this/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [To walk into history is to be free at once, to be at large among people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/to-walk-into-history-is-to-be-free-at-once-to-be-at-large-among-people/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [The wish to lead out one's lover must be a tribal feeling; the wish to be seen as loved is part of one's self-respect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/the-wish-to-lead-out-one-s-lover-must-be-a-tribal-feeling-the-wish-to/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [Convention was our safeguard: could one have stronger?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/convention-was-our-safeguard-could-one-have-stronger/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [“First love, with its frantic haughty imagination, swings its object clear of the everyday, over the rut of living, making him all looks, silences,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/first-love-with-its-frantic-haughty-imagination-swings-its-object/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [to leap is not only to leap, it is to hit the ground somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/to-leap-is-not-only-to-leap-it-is-to-hit-the-ground-somewhere/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [That is partly why women marry - to keep up the fiction of being in the hub of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/that-is-partly-why-women-marry-to-keep-up-the-fiction-of-being-in-the/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [“But Miss Pym gave an impression, somehow, of having been attacked from within .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/but-miss-pym-gave-an-impression-somehow-of-having-been-attacked-from/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [rudeness to Mrs. Dosely was like dropping a pat of butter on to a hot plate - it slid and melted away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/rudeness-to-mrs-dosely-was-like-dropping-a-pat-of-butter-on-to-a-hot/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) [Explore all 275 Elizabeth Bowen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) ## More Apprehension quotes > [Marriages are always moving from one season to another. Sometimes we find ourselves in winter--discouraged, detached, and dissatisfied; other times we experience springtime, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-chapman/marriages-are-always-moving-from-one-season-to-another-sometimes-we/) [Gary Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-chapman/) > [Perhapsthemost sublimeinsights oftheJewishprophets and the Christian gospel is the knowledge that since perfection is love, the apprehension of perfection is at once the means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/perhapsthemost-sublimeinsights-ofthejewishprophets-and-the-christian/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [At length weariness succeeds to labor, and the mind lies at ease in the contemplation of her own attainments without any desire of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/at-length-weariness-succeeds-to-labor-and-the-mind-lies-at-ease-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The apprehension whether people will like it or not also doesn't bother me much. I've always done my work with a gut feeling that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiku-sharda/the-apprehension-whether-people-will-like-it-or-not-also-doesn-t/) [Kiku Sharda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiku-sharda/) > [LIFE, n. A spiritual pickle preserving the body from decay. We live in daily apprehension of its loss; yet when lost it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/life-n-a-spiritual-pickle-preserving-the-body-from-decay-we-live-in/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [“Man may feel like a feeble and powerless pawn, at some moment in his life. This apprehension can come out of the blue, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/man-may-feel-like-a-feeble-and-powerless-pawn-at-some-moment-in-his/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [We stand for organized terror - this should be frankly admitted. Terror is an absolute necessity during times of revolution. Our aim is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dzerzhinsky/we-stand-for-organized-terror-this-should-be-frankly-admitted-terror/) Felix Dzerzhinsky > [The regulation of commerce, it is true, is a new power; but that seems to be an addition which few oppose and from which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/the-regulation-of-commerce-it-is-true-is-a-new-power-but-that-seems/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [As a father and grandfather, I have witnessed firsthand the joy of new life entering the world. I know the pain and apprehension that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-ortiz/as-a-father-and-grandfather-i-have-witnessed-firsthand-the-joy-of-new/) [Solomon Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-ortiz/) > [Lord, enlighten thou our enemies. Sharpen their wits, give acuteness to their perceptions, and consecutiveness and clearness to their reasoning powers: we are in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/lord-enlighten-thou-our-enemies-sharpen-their-wits-give-acuteness-to/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [The sense of death is most in apprehension.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/the-sense-of-death-is-most-in-apprehension/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Since philosophy is the exploration of the rational, it is for that very reason the apprehension of the present and the actual, not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/since-philosophy-is-the-exploration-of-the-rational-it-is-for-that/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Injustice is not evil in itself, but only in the fear and apprehension that one will not escape those who have been set up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/injustice-is-not-evil-in-itself-but-only-in-the-fear-and-apprehension/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [The fact about himself that the liar hides is that he is attempting to lead us away from a correct apprehension of reality; we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-frankfurt/the-fact-about-himself-that-the-liar-hides-is-that-he-is-attempting/) [Harry Frankfurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-frankfurt/) > [“A person can hurry through or sleep walk through life, but whenever they stop to catch their breath or awaken from a long nap,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/a-person-can-hurry-through-or-sleep-walk-through-life-but-whenever/) [Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) [Browse all 258 Apprehension quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apprehension/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Two things are terrible in childhood: helplessness (being in other people's power) and apprehension - the apprehension that something is being concealed from us because it is too bad to be told.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elizabeth Bowen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/two-things-are-terrible-in-childhood-helplessness-being-in-other/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Apprehension" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/two-things-are-terrible-in-childhood-helplessness-being-in-other/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59e/elizabeth-bowen-1197_apprehension_two-things-are-terrible-in-childhood-hel_1514669.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59e/elizabeth-bowen-1197_apprehension_two-things-are-terrible-in-childhood-hel_1514669.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59e/elizabeth-bowen-1197_apprehension_two-things-are-terrible-in-childhood-hel_1514669.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Two things are terrible in childhood: helplessness (being in other people's power) and apprehension - the…” — Elizabeth Bowen", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Elizabeth Bowen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Two things are terrible in childhood:...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/two-things-are-terrible-in-childhood-helplessness-being-in-other/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/two-things-are-terrible-in-childhood-helplessness-being-in-other/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```