--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I read somewhere that when you're a kid…" description: "\"“I read somewhere that when you're a kid it's people's cruelty that makes you cry, then when you're an adult it's their kindness.”\" — Glen Duncan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5e/glen-duncan-1307_kindness_i-read-somewhere-that-when-you-re-a-kid_642021.png" --- # I read somewhere that when you're a kid it's people's… ![“I read somewhere that when you're a kid it's people's cruelty that makes you cry, then when you're an adult it's their kindness.” quote by Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5e/glen-duncan-1307_kindness_i-read-somewhere-that-when-you-re-a-kid_642021.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5e/glen-duncan-1307_kindness_i-read-somewhere-that-when-you-re-a-kid_642021.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5e/glen-duncan-1307_kindness_i-read-somewhere-that-when-you-re-a-kid_642021.png) > ““I read somewhere that when you're a kid it's people's cruelty that makes you cry, then when you're an adult it's their kindness.”” [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) ## 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 contrasts childhood pain caused by cruelty with adult sorrow caused by kindness, highlighting how sources of emotional hurt shift over life. **In simple terms:** Childhood pain from cruelty, adult pain from kindness. Key Takeaway Recognize how empathy can cause adult sorrow. Themes growth empathy emotional development Mood reflective melancholy Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - parenting - relationships - mental health counseling - conflict resolution Key Concepts psychology human nature emotional triggers Questions to Reflect On - How does your perception of kindness change with age? - Can you separate the pain of kindness from its value? A Different Perspective Kindness can also hurt when expectations are unmet. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adult Kindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adult-kindness-3008143/) [Cruelty Makes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruelty-makes-1649976/) [Kid People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kid-people-1748981/) [Kindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kindness/) [People Cruelty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-cruelty-2683758/) [People's Cruelty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peoples-cruelty-225055/) [Thriller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thriller/) [Werewolves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/werewolves/) ## Related quotes > [When you're a kid it's people's cruelty that makes you cry, then when you're an adult it's their kindness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/when-you-re-a-kid-it-s-people-s-cruelty-that-makes-you-cry-then-when/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“Thanks," she says - and suddenly tears well and fall. Augustus understands: not because she's suffered but because he's helping her. When you're a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/thanks-she-says-and-suddenly-tears-well-and-fall-augustus-understands/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“Afterwards, sitting on my bunk, I cried. I read somewhere that when you’re a kid it’s people’s cruelty that makes you cry, then when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/afterwards-sitting-on-my-bunk-i-cried-i-read-somewhere-that-when-you/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [I am always struck by how difficult it is for people to see how much cruelty they are bringing not only upon animals but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-barnard/i-am-always-struck-by-how-difficult-it-is-for-people-to-see-how-much/) [Neal Barnard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-barnard/) > [One of the ill effects of cruelty is that it makes the bystanders cruel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-ill-effects-of-cruelty-is-that-it-makes-the-bystanders/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When I was a kid, the people that used to push other people around, if someone whacked them, then they wouldn't be pushing people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-statham/when-i-was-a-kid-the-people-that-used-to-push-other-people-around-if/) [Jason Statham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-statham/) > [I think since I was kid people told me that they thought I was funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/i-think-since-i-was-kid-people-told-me-that-they-thought-i-was-funny/) [Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/) > [When I was a kid, people who got divorced were people who had no gumption.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-donahue/when-i-was-a-kid-people-who-got-divorced-were-people-who-had-no/) [Phil Donahue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-donahue/) > [“You know the thing that burns me most about being a kid?...The worst thing about being a kid is that people twice my size…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-carmichael/you-know-the-thing-that-burns-me-most-about-being-a-kid-the-worst/) [Clay Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-carmichael/) > [To you I might be 'Some Kid' But other people consider me 'Someone Special'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmine/to-you-i-might-be-some-kid-but-other-people-consider-me-someone/) [Jasmine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasmine/) > [When I was a kid, people kept saying, 'You can't do this, you can't do that,' and I wanted to prove them wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-the-eagle/when-i-was-a-kid-people-kept-saying-you-can-t-do-this-you-can-t-do/) [Eddie the Eagle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-the-eagle/) > [When you have a kid and people go, 'What a beautiful child,' it's the same kind of reaction when you play a song that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-springfield/when-you-have-a-kid-and-people-go-what-a-beautiful-child-it-s-the/) [Rick Springfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-springfield/) > [I'm not concerned with people seeing me in a certain way. Some people see me as a kid, some people see me as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/i-m-not-concerned-with-people-seeing-me-in-a-certain-way-some-people/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [I've done it my whole life: as a kid, when people made fun of you, I put positive stuff in there to keep me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-hunt/i-ve-done-it-my-whole-life-as-a-kid-when-people-made-fun-of-you-i-put/) [Mark Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-hunt/) > [When I was a kid, people reached out and gave me a chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-adams/when-i-was-a-kid-people-reached-out-and-gave-me-a-chance/) [Katrina Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-adams/) ## More by Glen Duncan > [Nineteenth-century English literature I know; 19th-century sewage systems, not so much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/nineteenth-century-english-literature-i-know-19th-century-sewage/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“For the longest time the romantic explanation for low rates of female infection endured: Possession of a womb, it was supposed, conferred a gentleness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/for-the-longest-time-the-romantic-explanation-for-low-rates-of-female/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“The question 'What was there before creation?' is meaningless. Time is a property of creation, therefore before creation there was no before creation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/the-question-what-was-there-before-creation-is-meaningless-time-is-a/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“The beauty spot by her lip was one of a dozen or so scattered over her body. My new constellations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/the-beauty-spot-by-her-lip-was-one-of-a-dozen-or-so-scattered-over/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [Fairy tales read before bed tend to make me dream. They're all quite violent stories, as are my dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/fairy-tales-read-before-bed-tend-to-make-me-dream-they-re-all-quite/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [I don’t know where the universe came from or what happens to creatures when they die. I don’t know if the whole thing’s an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/i-don-t-know-where-the-universe-came-from-or-what-happens-to/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [In a fit of pique, I said to my agent, 'I'm going to write something you can sell.' The idea was to write a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/in-a-fit-of-pique-i-said-to-my-agent-i-m-going-to-write-something-you/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“The Mortals are free, Lucifer. What they've done they've done from within themselves. - Raphael”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/the-mortals-are-free-lucifer-what-they-ve-done-they-ve-done-from/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [One day the ordinariness will be terminally punctuated by the extraordinary full stop of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/one-day-the-ordinariness-will-be-terminally-punctuated-by-the/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [When I see gurgling retarded children (that's God's doing, by the way, not mine) happily styling their hair with their own stinking mards, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/when-i-see-gurgling-retarded-children-that-s-god-s-doing-by-the-way/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“She understood the genre constraints, the decencies we were supposed to be observing. The morally cosy vision allows the embrace of monstrosity only as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/she-understood-the-genre-constraints-the-decencies-we-were-supposed/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“Show us the world's not the way we thought it was and part of us rejoices.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/show-us-the-world-s-not-the-way-we-thought-it-was-and-part-of-us/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“It’s just what you’re stuck with, the lousy furniture you can’t change. The educated me knows hell’s nothing, a fiction I happened to inherit.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/it-s-just-what-you-re-stuck-with-the-lousy-furniture-you-can-t-change/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“Afterwards, sitting on my bunk, I cried. I read somewhere that when you’re a kid it’s people’s cruelty that makes you cry, then when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/afterwards-sitting-on-my-bunk-i-cried-i-read-somewhere-that-when-you/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“The absurdity of it, she thought, this quest for the love of a man who was her equal. She loathed herself for it. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/the-absurdity-of-it-she-thought-this-quest-for-the-love-of-a-man-who/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) [Explore all 259 Glen Duncan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) ## More Kindness quotes > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Each of our acts makes a statement as to our purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-buscaglia/each-of-our-acts-makes-a-statement-as-to-our-purpose/) [Leo Buscaglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-buscaglia/) > [“I fight with love and kindness as my weapons and compassion as my defense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/i-fight-with-love-and-kindness-as-my-weapons-and-compassion-as-my/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [Liesel observed the strangeness of her foster father's eyes. They were made of kindness, and silver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/liesel-observed-the-strangeness-of-her-foster-father-s-eyes-they-were/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [Kindness unlocks doors that were thought to be closed forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown/kindness-unlocks-doors-that-were-thought-to-be-closed-forever/) [Unkown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unkown/) > [“You are very kind and very intelligent and those elements are not always found together. Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-are-very-kind-and-very-intelligent-and-those-elements-are-not/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Grace is the wonderful spirit that imbues every fiber of our being when we practice the fruits of the spirit: kindness, patience, understanding, forgiveness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-cayce/grace-is-the-wonderful-spirit-that-imbues-every-fiber-of-our-being/) [Edgar Cayce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-cayce/) > [Praise will come to those whose kindness leaves you without debt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-finn/praise-will-come-to-those-whose-kindness-leaves-you-without-debt/) [Neil Finn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-finn/) > [“A little bit of kindness goes a long way with women.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-unsworth/a-little-bit-of-kindness-goes-a-long-way-with-women/) [Barry Unsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-unsworth/) > [The smartest people are the ones who can bring a little bit of heaven to earth by using there kindness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isiahnunn/the-smartest-people-are-the-ones-who-can-bring-a-little-bit-of-heaven/) [IsiahNunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isiahnunn/) > [If you take all the food aid, America is by far the most generous country. If you take the direct aid, we're very generous.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/if-you-take-all-the-food-aid-america-is-by-far-the-most-generous/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [“No one has any right to tell you that the way you perceive yourself is wrong. Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [“la ilaha ilallah muhammadun rasulullah, alaihi salatullah wa alihi wal ahibba "shine your mercy like the sun, and be gracious as the earth let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-al-habib/la-ilaha-ilallah-muhammadun-rasulullah-alaihi-salatullah-wa-alihi-wal/) [Talib al Habib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talib-al-habib/) > [“A man full of warm, speculative benevolence may wish his society otherwise constituted than he finds it; but a good patriot, and a true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/a-man-full-of-warm-speculative-benevolence-may-wish-his-society/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [(I)f we are going to be kind, let it be out of simple generosity, not because we fear guilt or retribution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-f-we-are-going-to-be-kind-let-it-be-out-of-simple-generosity-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 6,600 Kindness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kindness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I read somewhere that when you're a kid it's people's cruelty that makes you cry, then when you're an adult it's their kindness.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Glen Duncan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/i-read-somewhere-that-when-you-re-a-kid-it-s-people-s-cruelty-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Kindness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/i-read-somewhere-that-when-you-re-a-kid-it-s-people-s-cruelty-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5e/glen-duncan-1307_kindness_i-read-somewhere-that-when-you-re-a-kid_642021.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5e/glen-duncan-1307_kindness_i-read-somewhere-that-when-you-re-a-kid_642021.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5e/glen-duncan-1307_kindness_i-read-somewhere-that-when-you-re-a-kid_642021.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I read somewhere that when you're a kid it's people's cruelty that makes you cry, then when you're an adult…” — Glen Duncan", "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": "Glen Duncan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I read somewhere that when you're...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/i-read-somewhere-that-when-you-re-a-kid-it-s-people-s-cruelty-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/i-read-somewhere-that-when-you-re-a-kid-it-s-people-s-cruelty-that/#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 } } ] } ```