---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: . . . if we have children. When they are…"
description: "\". . . if we have children. When they are just born we do everything for them. We are omnipotent, they are completely dependent on us, but then when the..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba2/j-rgen-moltmann-9122_born_if-we-have-children-when-they-are-just-b_2128744.png"
---

#  . . . if we have children. When they are just born we do…

![“. . . if we have children. When they are just born we do everything for them. We are omnipotent, they are completely dependent on us, but then when they grow up you must take back your influence on them, to give them freedom.” quote by Jürgen Moltmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba2/j-rgen-moltmann-9122_born_if-we-have-children-when-they-are-just-b_2128744.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba2/j-rgen-moltmann-9122_born_if-we-have-children-when-they-are-just-b_2128744.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba2/j-rgen-moltmann-9122_born_if-we-have-children-when-they-are-just-b_2128744.png)

> “. . . if we have children. When they are just born we do everything for them. We are omnipotent, they are completely dependent on us, but then when they grow up you must take back your influence on them, to give them freedom.”

[Jürgen Moltmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-rgen-moltmann/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Parents must transition from total control to granting autonomy as children mature.

**In simple terms:** Parents shift from control to freedom.

Key Takeaway

Gradually release control, foster independence.

Themes

parenting growth freedom

Mood

hopeful thoughtful

Type

advisory reflective

When to use this quote

- early childhood
- adolescence
- college years
- career start
- marriage

Key Concepts

developmental psychology autonomy

Questions to Reflect On

- When did you first feel the need to let go?
- What signs indicate a child is ready for more freedom?

A Different Perspective

Balancing guidance and freedom can be difficult, risking neglect or over‑protection.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Growing up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-up/) [Influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence/) [Omnipotent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/omnipotent/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/)

## Related quotes

> [Nobody in the world is completely dependent on another person, but we are all interdependent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangari-maathai/nobody-in-the-world-is-completely-dependent-on-another-person-but-we/)

[Wangari Maathai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangari-maathai/)

> [Your biggest fears are completely dependent on you for their survival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suman-rai/your-biggest-fears-are-completely-dependent-on-you-for-their-survival/)

[Suman Rai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suman-rai/)

> [If our parents fixed everything for us and did not allow us to do anything on our own, or intervened every single time, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-sinek/if-our-parents-fixed-everything-for-us-and-did-not-allow-us-to-do/)

[Simon Sinek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-sinek/)

> [The average American is just like the child in the family. You give him some responsibility and he is going to amount to something.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-average-american-is-just-like-the-child-in-the-family-you-give/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Before, I guess, mum and dad were everything, but now, in my case, I had two new girls and all of a sudden they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-federer/before-i-guess-mum-and-dad-were-everything-but-now-in-my-case-i-had/)

[Roger Federer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-federer/)

> [The way a play is seen is completely dependent on the circumstances and the world in which it is received.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-hadden-paton/the-way-a-play-is-seen-is-completely-dependent-on-the-circumstances/)

[Harry Hadden-Paton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-hadden-paton/)

> [We are moving away from the old idea of leadership -- leadership has less to do (now) with heroism. We don't look for... unblemished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-truett-anderson/we-are-moving-away-from-the-old-idea-of-leadership-leadership-has/)

[Walter Truett Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-truett-anderson/)

> [The cult of the omnipotent state has millions of followers in the united States. Americans of today view their government in the same way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-g-hornberger/the-cult-of-the-omnipotent-state-has-millions-of-followers-in-the/)

[Jacob G. Hornberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-g-hornberger/)

> [For an omnipotent and omniscient being, God has made some really lousy earthly staffing decisions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cole/for-an-omnipotent-and-omniscient-being-god-has-made-some-really-lousy/)

[John Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cole/)

> [“Hate not the most abject sinner, look not to his exterior. Turn thy gaze inward, where resides the Paramatman. Proclaim to the whole world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/hate-not-the-most-abject-sinner-look-not-to-his-exterior-turn-thy/)

[Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/)

> [Sometimes we like to think if we had power, that we would be different, and we would be omnipotent, but the truth is absolute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-ackie/sometimes-we-like-to-think-if-we-had-power-that-we-would-be-different/)

[Naomi Ackie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-ackie/)

> [Nothing, therefore, happens unless the Omnipotent wills it to happen. He either permits it to happen, or He brings it about Himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/nothing-therefore-happens-unless-the-omnipotent-wills-it-to-happen-he/)

[Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/)

> [What more does man want to know than that the hand or power that made these things is divine, is omnipotent? Let him believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/what-more-does-man-want-to-know-than-that-the-hand-or-power-that-made/)

[Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/)

> [About 120 million of us place the big bang 2,500 years after the Babylonians and Sumerians learned to brew beer. If our polls are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/about-120-million-of-us-place-the-big-bang-2-500-years-after-the/)

[Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/)

> [“Intuition is an omnipotent wonder, for it is not bound by the bands of time or space. When we are tune with it, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaeda-dewalt/intuition-is-an-omnipotent-wonder-for-it-is-not-bound-by-the-bands-of/)

[Jaeda DeWalt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaeda-dewalt/)

## More by Jürgen Moltmann

> [That is why faith, wherever it develops into hope, causes not rest but unrest, not patience but impatience… Those who hope in Christ can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-rgen-moltmann/that-is-why-faith-wherever-it-develops-into-hope-causes-not-rest-but/)

[Jürgen Moltmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-rgen-moltmann/)

> [To reinvent your own country you need a great audacity of hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-rgen-moltmann/to-reinvent-your-own-country-you-need-a-great-audacity-of-hope/)

[Jürgen Moltmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-rgen-moltmann/)

> [“Here the crucified Christ was seen less as the sacrifice which God creates to reconcile the world to himself, and more as the exemplary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-rgen-moltmann/here-the-crucified-christ-was-seen-less-as-the-sacrifice-which-god/)

[Jurgen Moltmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-rgen-moltmann/)

> [God weeps with us so that we may one day laugh with him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-rgen-moltmann/god-weeps-with-us-so-that-we-may-one-day-laugh-with-him/)

[Jürgen Moltmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-rgen-moltmann/)

> [“When the fear of death leaves us, the destructive craving for life leaves us too. We can then restrict our desires and our demands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-rgen-moltmann/when-the-fear-of-death-leaves-us-the-destructive-craving-for-life/)

[Jürgen Moltmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-rgen-moltmann/)

> [ “\[Faith\] sees in the resurrection of Christ not the eternity of heaven, but the future of the very earth on which his cross stands.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-rgen-moltmann/faith-sees-in-the-resurrection-of-christ-not-the-eternity-of-heaven/)

[Jürgen Moltmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-rgen-moltmann/)

> [No where else in Christianity does the terrible or heroic name of Armageddon play such role as in America. Not even in the Revelation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-rgen-moltmann/no-where-else-in-christianity-does-the-terrible-or-heroic-name-of/)

[Jürgen Moltmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-rgen-moltmann/)

> [Despair can be like an iron band constricting the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-rgen-moltmann/despair-can-be-like-an-iron-band-constricting-the-heart/)

[Jürgen Moltmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-rgen-moltmann/)

> [“The problem of modern man is no longer so much how he can live with gods and demons, but how he can survive with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-rgen-moltmann/the-problem-of-modern-man-is-no-longer-so-much-how-he-can-live-with/)

[Jürgen Moltmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-rgen-moltmann/)

> [“with Christ in faith a wholly new life begins. It is not a restored life, and it is not a rejuvenated life either. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-rgen-moltmann/with-christ-in-faith-a-wholly-new-life-begins-it-is-not-a-restored/)

[Jürgen Moltmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-rgen-moltmann/)

> [“It can be summed up by saying that suffering is overcome by suffering, and wounds are healed by wounds. For the suffering in suffering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-rgen-moltmann/it-can-be-summed-up-by-saying-that-suffering-is-overcome-by-suffering/)

[Jurgen Moltmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-rgen-moltmann/)

> [“When the crucified Jesus is called "the image of the invisible God," the meaning is that THIS is God, and God is like THIS.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-rgen-moltmann/when-the-crucified-jesus-is-called-the-image-of-the-invisible-god-the/)

[Jürgen Moltmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-rgen-moltmann/)

> [“But the ultimate reason for our hope is not to be found at all in what we want, wish for and wait for; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-rgen-moltmann/but-the-ultimate-reason-for-our-hope-is-not-to-be-found-at-all-in/)

[Jürgen Moltmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-rgen-moltmann/)

> [Even the disciples of Jesus all fled from their master's cross. Christians who do not have the feeling that they must flee the crucified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-rgen-moltmann/even-the-disciples-of-jesus-all-fled-from-their-master-s-cross/)

[Jürgen Moltmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-rgen-moltmann/)

> [“Just as they were formulated to express Jewish or Greek reasons for faith in Jesus, it is possible on principle to formulate new titles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-rgen-moltmann/just-as-they-were-formulated-to-express-jewish-or-greek-reasons-for/)

[Jürgen Moltmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-rgen-moltmann/)

[Explore all 75 Jürgen Moltmann quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-rgen-moltmann/)

## More Born quotes

> [My mother says I didn't open my eyes for eight days after I was born, but when I did, the first thing I saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-taylor/my-mother-says-i-didn-t-open-my-eyes-for-eight-days-after-i-was-born/)

[Elizabeth Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-taylor/)

> [I always thought if I was born 2000 years earlier, I would be a monk, probably carving a monastery or some giant pantheon buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/i-always-thought-if-i-was-born-2000-years-earlier-i-would-be-a-monk/)

[Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/)

> [The real world out there isn't nearly as nice as some people prefer it to be, so don't swallow everything your high-born teachers tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-real-world-out-there-isn-t-nearly-as-nice-as-some-people-prefer/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Anybody looking for a quiet life has picked the wrong century to born in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anybody-looking-for-a-quiet-life-has-picked-the-wrong-century-to-born/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I was born and raised in Orlando, where the economy and culture has been powerfully shaped by tourism, and so I've long been interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-van-den-berg/i-was-born-and-raised-in-orlando-where-the-economy-and-culture-has/)

[Laura van den Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-van-den-berg/)

> [I know that in the rap game you've got a lot of people, that come from poverty, was born in poverty and if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-connor/i-know-that-in-the-rap-game-you-ve-got-a-lot-of-people-that-come-from/)

[Jon Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-connor/)

> [Nothing old is ever reborn but neither does it totally disappear. And that which has once been born, will always reappear in a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvar-aalto/nothing-old-is-ever-reborn-but-neither-does-it-totally-disappear-and/)

[Alvar Aalto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvar-aalto/)

> [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/)

[Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/)

> [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [Must I go bound while you go free Must I love a manwho doesn't love me Must I be born with so little art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/must-i-go-bound-while-you-go-free-must-i-love-a-manwho-doesn-t-love/)

[Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/)

> [I'm not against gay people. I have a relative who is also gay. We can't help it if they were born that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manny-pacquiao/i-m-not-against-gay-people-i-have-a-relative-who-is-also-gay-we-can-t/)

[Manny Pacquiao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manny-pacquiao/)

> [“Every child is born as angel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-child-is-born-as-angel/)

[Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/)

> [For the glory born of Goodness Never dies, And its flag is not half-masted In the skies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/for-the-glory-born-of-goodness-never-dies-and-its-flag-is-not-half/)

[Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/)

> [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/)

[Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/)

> [If you can believe it, Hollywood wanted to change my birthdate. I was born after Valentine's Day, so they wanted to change it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-romero/if-you-can-believe-it-hollywood-wanted-to-change-my-birthdate-i-was/)

[Cesar Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-romero/)

Browse all 11,606 Born quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": ". . . if we have children. When they are just born we do everything for them. We are omnipotent, they are completely dependent on us, but then when they grow up you must take back your influence on them, to give them freedom.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Jürgen Moltmann"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-rgen-moltmann/if-we-have-children-when-they-are-just-born-we-do-everything-for-them/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Born"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-rgen-moltmann/if-we-have-children-when-they-are-just-born-we-do-everything-for-them/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba2/j-rgen-moltmann-9122_born_if-we-have-children-when-they-are-just-b_2128744.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba2/j-rgen-moltmann-9122_born_if-we-have-children-when-they-are-just-b_2128744.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba2/j-rgen-moltmann-9122_born_if-we-have-children-when-they-are-just-b_2128744.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“. . . if we have children. When they are just born we do everything for them. We are omnipotent, they are…” — Jürgen Moltmann",
                "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": "Jürgen Moltmann",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-rgen-moltmann/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": ". . . if we have...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-rgen-moltmann/if-we-have-children-when-they-are-just-born-we-do-everything-for-them/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-rgen-moltmann/if-we-have-children-when-they-are-just-born-we-do-everything-for-them/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
