--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've often said that the most important…" description: "\"I've often said that the most important thing you can give your children is wings. Because, you're not gonna always be able to bring food to the nest. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/646/elizabeth-edwards-3857_able_i-ve-often-said-that-the-most-important_1548444.png" --- # I've often said that the most important thing you can give… ![“I've often said that the most important thing you can give your children is wings. Because, you're not gonna always be able to bring food to the nest. You're... sometimes... they're gonna have to be able to fly by themselves.” quote by Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/646/elizabeth-edwards-3857_able_i-ve-often-said-that-the-most-important_1548444.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/646/elizabeth-edwards-3857_able_i-ve-often-said-that-the-most-important_1548444.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/646/elizabeth-edwards-3857_able_i-ve-often-said-that-the-most-important_1548444.png) > “I've often said that the most important thing you can give your children is wings. Because, you're not gonna always be able to bring food to the nest. You're... sometimes... they're gonna have to be able to fly by themselves.” [Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote emphasizes teaching children independence so they can support themselves when parents cannot. **In simple terms:** Teach kids to be self‑reliant. Key Takeaway Give children tools for self‑sufficiency. Themes independence responsibility parenting Mood reflective encouraging Type advice parenting When to use this quote - raising children - career guidance - financial literacy - life coaching Key Concepts Self‑reliance empowerment Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance support and autonomy? - What skills are essential for self‑sufficiency? A Different Perspective Children may lack resources or guidance despite independence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) ## Related quotes > [There's nothing better than being able to give your children wings so they can soar and fly in the direction they want to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-deen/there-s-nothing-better-than-being-able-to-give-your-children-wings-so/) [Paula Deen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-deen/) > [“Some people are afraid to fly just because there is always food in their nest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laine-alcantara/some-people-are-afraid-to-fly-just-because-there-is-always-food-in/) Laine Alcantara > [“Two greatest things we can give children are wings to help fly over their troubles and despair and common sense to repair them when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-pina/two-greatest-things-we-can-give-children-are-wings-to-help-fly-over/) [Timothy Pina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-pina/) > [I say: If you don't know how to cook, I'm sure you have at least one friend who knows how to cook. Well, call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-p-pin/i-say-if-you-don-t-know-how-to-cook-i-m-sure-you-have-at-least-one/) [Jacques Pepin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-p-pin/) > [“(I bring food and drink to the guards when they are on post during feasts. I believe it is written in the Obfuscations of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-moore/i-bring-food-and-drink-to-the-guards-when-they-are-on-post-during/) [Christopher Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-moore/) > [“Thanks, Lieutenant. Casey's going to be really excited about Saturday. Um, can we bring something?" "Like what?" "A dish?" "We have dishes. We have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-robb/thanks-lieutenant-casey-s-going-to-be-really-excited-about-saturday/) [J.D. Robb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-robb/) > [“Bring food home,” I told him. “Lots of food. I’m going to need lots of the food.” “Okay, drunky. I’ll bring you lots of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-schurig/bring-food-home-i-told-him-lots-of-food-i-m-going-to-need-lots-of-the/) [Rachel Schurig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-schurig/) > [Queuing tips for fans: wrap up and bring food!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-horan/queuing-tips-for-fans-wrap-up-and-bring-food/) [Niall Horan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-horan/) > [If you're going to America, bring your own food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/if-you-re-going-to-america-bring-your-own-food/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [For me, love always means spending time with people. 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As I got older, I went to the food bank…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/callum-wilson/my-mum-would-never-make-me-aware-that-someone-needed-to-bring-us-food/) [Callum Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/callum-wilson/) > [When I travel I normally eat club sandwiches or I bring my own food. When you go into a new town, it's very had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-prudhomme/when-i-travel-i-normally-eat-club-sandwiches-or-i-bring-my-own-food/) [Paul Prudhomme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-prudhomme/) > [Murmuring doesn't make sense. You won't get rich nor bring food to the table and much more doesn't make you good at all. Move…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misty-fairy/murmuring-doesn-t-make-sense-you-won-t-get-rich-nor-bring-food-to-the/) [Misty Fairy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misty-fairy/) ## More by Elizabeth Edwards > [Every parent has gone through a period when their child wasn't so happy with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-edwards/every-parent-has-gone-through-a-period-when-their-child-wasn-t-so/) [Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) > [If I had lost a leg, I would tell them, instead of a boy, no one would ever ask me if I was 'over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-edwards/if-i-had-lost-a-leg-i-would-tell-them-instead-of-a-boy-no-one-would/) [Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) > [A lot of sad stories in a row - that wears on you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-edwards/a-lot-of-sad-stories-in-a-row-that-wears-on-you/) [Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) > [Resilience is accepting your new reality, even if it's less good than the one you had before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-edwards/resilience-is-accepting-your-new-reality-even-if-it-s-less-good-than/) [Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) > [The military is already sexually integrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-edwards/the-military-is-already-sexually-integrated/) [Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) > [I was a 16-year-old girl at one point, so of course I wrote poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-edwards/i-was-a-16-year-old-girl-at-one-point-so-of-course-i-wrote-poetry/) [Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) > [Sometimes you get politicians who dig their feet into the sand and aren't willing to listen to another voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-edwards/sometimes-you-get-politicians-who-dig-their-feet-into-the-sand-and/) [Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) > [I have three living children for whom this is a father who I want them to love and on whom they're going to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-edwards/i-have-three-living-children-for-whom-this-is-a-father-who-i-want/) [Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) > [I think that it is our intention to deny cancer any control over us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-edwards/i-think-that-it-is-our-intention-to-deny-cancer-any-control-over-us/) [Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) > [I love children, love spending time with them; I love getting things for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-edwards/i-love-children-love-spending-time-with-them-i-love-getting-things/) [Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) > [You have to have enough respect for other human beings to leave their lives alone. If you admire that life, build it for yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-edwards/you-have-to-have-enough-respect-for-other-human-beings-to-leave-their/) [Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) > [She stood in the storm, and when the wind did not blow her way, she adjusted her sails.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-edwards/she-stood-in-the-storm-and-when-the-wind-did-not-blow-her-way-she/) [Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) > [I can't turn on the television without seeing me, or open the newspaper without seeing me and, honestly, I'm sick to death of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-edwards/i-can-t-turn-on-the-television-without-seeing-me-or-open-the/) [Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) > [The way campaign funds are distributed are all a matter of record.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-edwards/the-way-campaign-funds-are-distributed-are-all-a-matter-of-record/) [Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) > [Brave people are the firemen who run into the burning building. That's brave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-edwards/brave-people-are-the-firemen-who-run-into-the-burning-building-that-s/) [Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) [Explore all 120 Elizabeth Edwards quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. 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I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. 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I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-don-t-know-if-i-would-qualify-as-mainstream-i-think-i-have-managed/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [It was an important period for us, because even though we weren't a "punk band", and what became a model for a punk band,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mallinder/it-was-an-important-period-for-us-because-even-though-we-weren-t-a/) [Stephen Mallinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mallinder/) > [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) Browse all 17,257 Able quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I've often said that the most important thing you can give your children is wings. Because, you're not gonna always be able to bring food to the nest. 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