--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A child who passes through many hands in…" description: "\"A child who passes through many hands in turn, can never be well brought up. At every change he makes a secret comparison, which continually tends to l..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e75/jean-jacques-rousseau-418_age_a-child-who-passes-through-many-hands-in_384349.png" --- # A child who passes through many hands in turn, can never… ![“A child who passes through many hands in turn, can never be well brought up. At every change he makes a secret comparison, which continually tends to lessen his respect for those who control him, and with it their authority over him. If once he thinks there are grown-up people with no more sense…” quote by Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e75/jean-jacques-rousseau-418_age_a-child-who-passes-through-many-hands-in_384349.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e75/jean-jacques-rousseau-418_age_a-child-who-passes-through-many-hands-in_384349.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e75/jean-jacques-rousseau-418_age_a-child-who-passes-through-many-hands-in_384349.png) > “A child who passes through many hands in turn, can never be well brought up. At every change he makes a secret comparison, which continually tends to lessen his respect for those who control him, and with it their authority over him. If once he thinks there are grown-up people with no more sense than children the authority of age is destroyed and his education is ruined.” [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Frequent changes in caregivers erode a child's respect for authority, undermining education. **In simple terms:** Changing caregivers weakens respect and learning. Key Takeaway Provide stable, consistent guidance. Themes education authority child development Mood reflective concerned Type advisory philosophical When to use this quote - parenting - schooling - mentor relationships Key Concepts Social learning attachment theory Questions to Reflect On - How does caregiver consistency affect long‑term learning? - What other factors protect a child's respect for authority? A Different Perspective Stability alone may not guarantee quality education. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority/) [Authority Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority-age-3479781/) [Authority Thinks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority-thinks-2697425/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Children Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children-authority-3479778/) [Comparison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comparison/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Lessen Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lessen-respect-3479779/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Respect Control](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect-control-3479780/) [Ruined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruined/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turns/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) ## Related quotes > [In talking with people that have experienced it, I learned that PTSD is something that a person in a position of authority sometimes thinks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stana-katic/in-talking-with-people-that-have-experienced-it-i-learned-that-ptsd/) [Stana Katic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stana-katic/) > [You control your own destiny. You go out there and work hard and show people that you come to work and earn your respect.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-henry/you-control-your-own-destiny-you-go-out-there-and-work-hard-and-show/) [Derrick Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-henry/) > [The man of power is ruined by power, the man of money by money, the submissive man by subservience, the pleasure seeker by pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/the-man-of-power-is-ruined-by-power-the-man-of-money-by-money-the/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [We seem to be young, in a very old Galaxy. We're like kids tiptoeing through a ruined mansion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-baxter/we-seem-to-be-young-in-a-very-old-galaxy-we-re-like-kids-tiptoeing/) [Stephen Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-baxter/) > [Once upon a time, there was a boy and a girl who both loved each other. Then a slut came along and ruined everything.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/once-upon-a-time-there-was-a-boy-and-a-girl-who-both-loved-each-other/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Out of the ruined lodge and forgotten mansion, bowers that are trodden under foot, and pleasure-houses that are dust, the poet calls up a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-de-quincey/out-of-the-ruined-lodge-and-forgotten-mansion-bowers-that-are-trodden/) [Thomas de Quincey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-de-quincey/) > [CGI has fully ruined car crashes. Because how can you be impressed with them now? When you watch them in the '70s, it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-tarantino/cgi-has-fully-ruined-car-crashes-because-how-can-you-be-impressed/) [Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/) > [The day the army of Virginia allows a negro regiment to enter their lines as soldiers they will be degraded, ruined, and disgraced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-toombs/the-day-the-army-of-virginia-allows-a-negro-regiment-to-enter-their/) [Robert Toombs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-toombs/) > [I hope the day will come when a wasp-waist and a pair of thin shoulders will not be esteemed beauty: we have had our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-mcnair-wright/i-hope-the-day-will-come-when-a-wasp-waist-and-a-pair-of-thin/) [Julia McNair Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-mcnair-wright/) > [Many people become bankrupt through having invested too heavily in the prose of life. To have ruined one's self over poetry is an honor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/many-people-become-bankrupt-through-having-invested-too-heavily-in/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Nobody wants to see someone's life ruined over a small-time lapse in judgment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-baker/nobody-wants-to-see-someone-s-life-ruined-over-a-small-time-lapse-in/) [Charlie Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-baker/) > [I ruined my hands in the ring. The referee kept stepping on them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hope/i-ruined-my-hands-in-the-ring-the-referee-kept-stepping-on-them/) [Bob Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hope/) > [I think we've all had enough of Coltrane saxophonists. There's a case of someone ruining a generation of saxophonists, as Louis Armstrong may have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bley/i-think-we-ve-all-had-enough-of-coltrane-saxophonists-there-s-a-case/) [Paul Bley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bley/) > [“I don't drink since it ruined the best thing I ever had.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-lauren/i-don-t-drink-since-it-ruined-the-best-thing-i-ever-had/) [Kimberly Lauren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-lauren/) > [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) ## More by Jean-Jacques Rousseau > [Her dignity consists in being unknown to the world; her glory is in the esteem of her husband; her pleasures in the happiness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/her-dignity-consists-in-being-unknown-to-the-world-her-glory-is-in/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [Take the course opposite to custom and you will almost always do well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/take-the-course-opposite-to-custom-and-you-will-almost-always-do-well/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [Everything we do not have at our birth and which we need when we are grown is given to us by education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/everything-we-do-not-have-at-our-birth-and-which-we-need-when-we-are/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [The first person who, having enclosed a plot of land, took it into his head to say this is mine and found people simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/the-first-person-who-having-enclosed-a-plot-of-land-took-it-into-his/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [...in respect of riches, no citizen shall ever be wealthy enough to buy another, and none poor enough to be forced to sell himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/in-respect-of-riches-no-citizen-shall-ever-be-wealthy-enough-to-buy/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [Take from the philosopher the pleasure of being heard and his desire for knowledge ceases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/take-from-the-philosopher-the-pleasure-of-being-heard-and-his-desire/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [Men, in general, are not this or that, they are what they are made to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/men-in-general-are-not-this-or-that-they-are-what-they-are-made-to-be/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [I would rather be a man of paradoxes than a man of prejudices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/i-would-rather-be-a-man-of-paradoxes-than-a-man-of-prejudices/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [“O Fabricius! What would your great soul have thought, if to your own misfortune you had been called back to life and had seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/o-fabricius-what-would-your-great-soul-have-thought-if-to-your-own/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [“The sword wears out its sheath, as it is sometimes said. That is my story. My passions have made me live, and my passions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/the-sword-wears-out-its-sheath-as-it-is-sometimes-said-that-is-my/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [Whence do I get my rules of conduct? I find them in my heart. Whatever I feel to be good is good. Whatever I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/whence-do-i-get-my-rules-of-conduct-i-find-them-in-my-heart-whatever/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [“If one divided all of human science into two parts - the one common to all men, the other particular to the learned -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/if-one-divided-all-of-human-science-into-two-parts-the-one-common-to/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [The social compact sets up among the citizens as equality of such kind, that they all bind themselves to observe the same conditions and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/the-social-compact-sets-up-among-the-citizens-as-equality-of-such/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [I do not know is a phrase which becomes us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/i-do-not-know-is-a-phrase-which-becomes-us/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [“How could I become wicked, when I had nothing but examples of gentleness before my eyes, and none around me but the best people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/how-could-i-become-wicked-when-i-had-nothing-but-examples-of/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) [Explore all 518 Jean-Jacques Rousseau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) ## More Age quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) > [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/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [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/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/) [Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/) > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [We have started to make music at age seven. That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A child who passes through many hands in turn, can never be well brought up. At every change he makes a secret comparison, which continually tends to lessen his respect for those who control him, and with it their authority over him. If once he thinks there are grown-up people with no more sense than children the authority of age is destroyed and his education is ruined.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jean-Jacques Rousseau" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/a-child-who-passes-through-many-hands-in-turn-can-never-be-well/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Age" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/a-child-who-passes-through-many-hands-in-turn-can-never-be-well/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e75/jean-jacques-rousseau-418_age_a-child-who-passes-through-many-hands-in_384349.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e75/jean-jacques-rousseau-418_age_a-child-who-passes-through-many-hands-in_384349.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e75/jean-jacques-rousseau-418_age_a-child-who-passes-through-many-hands-in_384349.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A child who passes through many hands in turn, can never be well brought up. At every change he makes a…” — Jean-Jacques Rousseau", "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": "Jean-Jacques Rousseau", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A child who passes through many...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/a-child-who-passes-through-many-hands-in-turn-can-never-be-well/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/a-child-who-passes-through-many-hands-in-turn-can-never-be-well/#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 } } ] } ```