---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I knew, even at eight, that the confusion…"
description: "\"I knew, even at eight, that the confusion of values thrust upon me by parents, teachers, other children, nannies, camp counselors, and others would onl..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/567/jean-liedloff-31409_add_i-knew-even-at-eight-that-the-confusion_2043410.png"
---

#  I knew, even at eight, that the confusion of values thrust…

![“I knew, even at eight, that the confusion of values thrust upon me by parents, teachers, other children, nannies, camp counselors, and others would only worsen as I grew up. The years would add complications and steer me into more and more impenetrable tangles of rights and wrongs, desirables and…” quote by Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/567/jean-liedloff-31409_add_i-knew-even-at-eight-that-the-confusion_2043410.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/567/jean-liedloff-31409_add_i-knew-even-at-eight-that-the-confusion_2043410.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/567/jean-liedloff-31409_add_i-knew-even-at-eight-that-the-confusion_2043410.png)

> “I knew, even at eight, that the confusion of values thrust upon me by parents, teachers, other children, nannies, camp counselors, and others would only worsen as I grew up. The years would add complications and steer me into more and more impenetrable tangles of rights and wrongs, desirables and undesirables. I had already seen enough to know that.”

[Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/)

## About This Quote

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

Early exposure to conflicting moral messages creates complex value entanglements that intensify with age.

**In simple terms:** Childhood value conflicts grow more tangled over time.

Key Takeaway

Seek clarity and personal values early.

Themes

values development conflict

Mood

introspective serious

Type

philosophical guidance

When to use this quote

- parenting
- education
- personal reflection

Key Concepts

moral psychology socialization identity formation

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you untangle inherited values?
- What practices help clarify personal ethics?

A Different Perspective

Rigid cultural norms can limit personal growth.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Add](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/add/) [Camp counselors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/camp-counselors/) [Camps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/camps/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Complication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complication/) [Confusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confusion/) [Counselor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/counselor/) [Eight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eight/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Grew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grew/) [Grew up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grew-up/) [Grew Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grew-years-1073884/) [Knew Confusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knew-confusion-3815429/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Nannies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nannies/) [Parent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parent/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) [Rights and wrongs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights-and-wrongs-159374/) [Rights Wrongs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights-wrongs-421038/) [Steers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steers/) [Teacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teacher/) [Thrust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thrust/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) [Wrongs Desirables](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrongs-desirables-3815430/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/)

## Related quotes

> [I strongly believe in my own rights and wrongs and impose them on myself and my family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nita-ambani/i-strongly-believe-in-my-own-rights-and-wrongs-and-impose-them-on/)

[Nita Ambani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nita-ambani/)

> [I analyse everything I do to see if I can do better, that's how I grew over the years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-leclerc/i-analyse-everything-i-do-to-see-if-i-can-do-better-that-s-how-i-grew/)

[Charles Leclerc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-leclerc/)

> [“On my way home from the junior high, I would sometimes stop at the edge of our property and watch my mother ride the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/on-my-way-home-from-the-junior-high-i-would-sometimes-stop-at-the/)

[Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

> [I was two years old when I told my mom I was going to be in a band when I grew up, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kinsella/i-was-two-years-old-when-i-told-my-mom-i-was-going-to-be-in-a-band/)

[Tim Kinsella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kinsella/)

> [I think everybody knows my sound because I'm me, you know? But, on your fourth album, I think you've definitely gotta show growth because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/young-jeezy/i-think-everybody-knows-my-sound-because-i-m-me-you-know-but-on-your/)

[Young Jeezy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/young-jeezy/)

> [“Her eyes were the eyes of one who can remember; one whose childhood does not fade like a dream, nor whose youth vanish like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/her-eyes-were-the-eyes-of-one-who-can-remember-one-whose-childhood/)

[Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [Tonight, darling, we are going to right a lot of wrongs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/tonight-darling-we-are-going-to-right-a-lot-of-wrongs/)

[John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/)

> [Once upon a time lasts forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/once-upon-a-time-lasts-forever/)

[Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/)

> [I am persuaded that the world has been tricked into adopting some false and most pernicious notions about consistency - and to such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-am-persuaded-that-the-world-has-been-tricked-into-adopting-some/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [Man is one; and he hath one great heart. It is thus we feel, with a gigantic throb athwart the sea, each other's rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-james-bailey/man-is-one-and-he-hath-one-great-heart-it-is-thus-we-feel-with-a/)

[Philip James Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-james-bailey/)

> [Everything that I think that I need to do, is all in order to propel me to some place, that when I get there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/everything-that-i-think-that-i-need-to-do-is-all-in-order-to-propel/)

[Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/)

> [When I was 14 or 15, a camp counselor told me I was smart. I had never been very good in school, but he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/when-i-was-14-or-15-a-camp-counselor-told-me-i-was-smart-i-had-never/)

[Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/)

> [I was 12 years old and in summer camp. I started a company called Aardvark Industries, which provided basic services to camp counselors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-taffer/i-was-12-years-old-and-in-summer-camp-i-started-a-company-called/)

[Jon Taffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-taffer/)

> [I was a camp counselor for kids whose moms were on welfare, unfortunately, and right across the camp was the best, most pristine and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-weinstein/i-was-a-camp-counselor-for-kids-whose-moms-were-on-welfare/)

[Harvey Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-weinstein/)

> [My first paying job, when I was 15, I was a day camp counselor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-pratt/my-first-paying-job-when-i-was-15-i-was-a-day-camp-counselor/)

[Victoria Pratt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-pratt/)

## More by Jean Liedloff

> [This, at last, was where things were as they ought to be. Everything was in its place -- the tree, the earth underneath, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/this-at-last-was-where-things-were-as-they-ought-to-be-everything-was/)

[Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/)

> [Happiness ceases to be a normal condition of being alive, and becomes a goal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/happiness-ceases-to-be-a-normal-condition-of-being-alive-and-becomes/)

[Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/)

> [I would be ashamed to admit to the Indians that, where I come from, the women do not feel themselves capable of raising children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/i-would-be-ashamed-to-admit-to-the-indians-that-where-i-come-from-the/)

[Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/)

> [The two words that I've arrived at to describe what we all need to feel about ourselves, children and adults, in order to perceive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/the-two-words-that-i-ve-arrived-at-to-describe-what-we-all-need-to/)

[Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/)

> [We take it for granted that life is hard and feel lucky to have whatever happiness we get. We do not look upon happiness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/we-take-it-for-granted-that-life-is-hard-and-feel-lucky-to-have/)

[Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/)

> [The broader unquestioned premises upon which my own culture founded its view of the human condition, such as the one that Unhappiness is as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/the-broader-unquestioned-premises-upon-which-my-own-culture-founded/)

[Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/)

> [It is our genetic nature as a species to believe as young children that our parents and elders are right. We watch them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/it-is-our-genetic-nature-as-a-species-to-believe-as-young-children/)

[Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/)

> [Children need to see that they are assumed to be well-intentioned, naturally social people who are trying to do the right thing and who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/children-need-to-see-that-they-are-assumed-to-be-well-intentioned/)

[Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/)

> [Our parents, our tribesman, our authority figures, clearly expect us to be bad or anti-social or greedy or selfish or dirty or destructive or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/our-parents-our-tribesman-our-authority-figures-clearly-expect-us-to/)

[Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/)

> [It's perfectly clear that the millions of babies, who are crying at this very moment, want unanimously to be next to a live body.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/it-s-perfectly-clear-that-the-millions-of-babies-who-are-crying-at/)

[Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/)

> [As a child I was attracted to Tarzan and everything that had to do with jungles. It seemed to me -- and this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/as-a-child-i-was-attracted-to-tarzan-and-everything-that-had-to-do/)

[Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/)

> [A baby's cry is precisely as serious as it sounds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/a-baby-s-cry-is-precisely-as-serious-as-it-sounds/)

[Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/)

> [Our own system of trying to guess what or how much a child's mind can assimilate results in cross purposes, misunderstanding, disappointments, anger and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/our-own-system-of-trying-to-guess-what-or-how-much-a-child-s-mind-can/)

[Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/)

> [Pain and illness, the deaths of those one loves, and discomforts and disappointments mar the happy norm, but they do not alter the fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/pain-and-illness-the-deaths-of-those-one-loves-and-discomforts-and/)

[Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/)

> [Nobody's born rotten. You just don't have bad kids. It's not true. There is no such thing. But we can make them bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/nobody-s-born-rotten-you-just-don-t-have-bad-kids-it-s-not-true-there/)

[Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/)

[Explore all 16 Jean Liedloff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/)

## More Add quotes

> [Most marriages don't add two people together. They subtract one from the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-fleming/most-marriages-don-t-add-two-people-together-they-subtract-one-from/)

[Ian Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-fleming/)

> [Friendship, "the wine of life," should, like a well-stocked cellar, be continually renewed; and it is consolatory to think, that although we can seldom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/friendship-the-wine-of-life-should-like-a-well-stocked-cellar-be/)

[James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/)

> [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/)

[Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/)

> [Give me a platter of choice finnan haddie, freshly cooked in its bath of water and milk, add melted butter, a slice or two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-claiborne/give-me-a-platter-of-choice-finnan-haddie-freshly-cooked-in-its-bath/)

[Craig Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-claiborne/)

> [Writing adds up to the conscience of our times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-firrell/writing-adds-up-to-the-conscience-of-our-times/)

[Martin Firrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-firrell/)

> [A 'modern' man has nothing to add to modernism, if only because he has nothing to oppose it with. The well-adapted drop off the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elias-canetti/a-modern-man-has-nothing-to-add-to-modernism-if-only-because-he-has/)

[Elias Canetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elias-canetti/)

> [Observation and theory get on best when they are mixed together, both helping one another in the pursuit of truth. It is a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-eddington/observation-and-theory-get-on-best-when-they-are-mixed-together-both/)

[Arthur Eddington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-eddington/)

> [I may add that we have more than once stated our willingness to conclude nonaggression pacts with the states neighboring our own!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/i-may-add-that-we-have-more-than-once-stated-our-willingness-to/)

[Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/)

> [The American Constitution declares 'All men are born equal.' The British Socialist Party add: 'All men must be kept equal'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-american-constitution-declares-all-men-are-born-equal-the-british/)

[Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/)

> [New generations of humans inherit the acquired discoveries of generations past, allowing cosmic insight to accumulate without limit. Each discovery of science therefore adds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/new-generations-of-humans-inherit-the-acquired-discoveries-of/)

[Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/)

> [Thirty days is just about the right amount of time to add a new habit or subtract a habit - like watching the news…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-cutts/thirty-days-is-just-about-the-right-amount-of-time-to-add-a-new-habit/)

[Matt Cutts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-cutts/)

> [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/)

[John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/)

> [The Greeks said grandly in their tragic phrase, 'Let no one be called happy till his death;' to which I would add, 'Let no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/the-greeks-said-grandly-in-their-tragic-phrase-let-no-one-be-called/)

[Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/)

> [Mostly we just add to the piles of rainbow glass that's been blown off the exteriors of the cany-colored buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/mostly-we-just-add-to-the-piles-of-rainbow-glass-that-s-been-blown/)

[Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/)

> [Global is a unifying bond for people. Once they get outside their own heads and their own communities and see themselves in a broader…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-calvin/global-is-a-unifying-bond-for-people-once-they-get-outside-their-own/)

[Kathy Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-calvin/)

[Browse all 2,710 Add quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/add/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I knew, even at eight, that the confusion of values thrust upon me by parents, teachers, other children, nannies, camp counselors, and others would only worsen as I grew up. The years would add complications and steer me into more and more impenetrable tangles of rights and wrongs, desirables and undesirables. I had already seen enough to know that.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Jean Liedloff"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/i-knew-even-at-eight-that-the-confusion-of-values-thrust-upon-me-by/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Add"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/i-knew-even-at-eight-that-the-confusion-of-values-thrust-upon-me-by/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/567/jean-liedloff-31409_add_i-knew-even-at-eight-that-the-confusion_2043410.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/567/jean-liedloff-31409_add_i-knew-even-at-eight-that-the-confusion_2043410.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/567/jean-liedloff-31409_add_i-knew-even-at-eight-that-the-confusion_2043410.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I knew, even at eight, that the confusion of values thrust upon me by parents, teachers, other children…” — Jean Liedloff",
                "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 Liedloff",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I knew, even at eight, that...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/i-knew-even-at-eight-that-the-confusion-of-values-thrust-upon-me-by/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/i-knew-even-at-eight-that-the-confusion-of-values-thrust-upon-me-by/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
