--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Historians once assumed that when…" description: "\"Historians once assumed that when childhood mortality was high, people must not have loved their children very much; it would have been too painful. Re..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fb/jill-lepore-4886_assumed_historians-once-assumed-that-when-childh_249510.jpg" --- # Historians once assumed that when childhood mortality was… ![“Historians once assumed that when childhood mortality was high, people must not have loved their children very much; it would have been too painful. Research has since proved that assumption wrong.” quote by Jill Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fb/jill-lepore-4886_assumed_historians-once-assumed-that-when-childh_249510.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fb/jill-lepore-4886_assumed_historians-once-assumed-that-when-childh_249510.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fb/jill-lepore-4886_assumed_historians-once-assumed-that-when-childh_249510.jpg) > “Historians once assumed that when childhood mortality was high, people must not have loved their children very much; it would have been too painful. Research has since proved that assumption wrong.” [Jill Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-lepore/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Historical research shows even with high child mortality, parents deeply loved their children, disproving earlier assumptions. **In simple terms:** Parents loved their children despite high mortality rates. Key Takeaway Acknowledge deep parental love regardless of era. Themes family history love misconception Mood empathetic analytical Type historical educational When to use this quote - parenting - historical analysis - cultural studies - policy making Key Concepts anthropology emotional bonds Questions to Reflect On - How does this change our view of past societies? - What evidence shows parental affection? A Different Perspective Historical data may still miss personal nuances. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assumed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assumed/) [Assumed Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assumed-childhood-2485423/) [Assumption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assumption/) [Been](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/been/) [Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) [Childhood Mortality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood-mortality-2485420/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Children Painful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children-painful-2485422/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [High](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high/) [Historians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historians/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Loved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loved/) [Loved Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loved-children-552559/) [Mortality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mortality/) [Mortality High](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mortality-high-2485421/) [Much](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/much/) [Must](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/must/) [Once](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/once/) [Painful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painful/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Proved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proved/) [Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research/) [Since](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/since/) [Too](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too/) [Very](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/very/) [Would](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would/) [Wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrong/) ## Related quotes > [More generally, people who lived in a period when maternal, infant and childhood mortality were still high would have been tougher than most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/more-generally-people-who-lived-in-a-period-when-maternal-infant-and/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [Through the blur, I wondered if I was alone or if other parents felt the same way I did - that everything involving our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-ginsberg/through-the-blur-i-wondered-if-i-was-alone-or-if-other-parents-felt/) [Debra Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-ginsberg/) > [“The primary reason that U.S. infant mortality is so high compared to other countries is that African Americans suffer a staggering rate. If Black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-briggs/the-primary-reason-that-u-s-infant-mortality-is-so-high-compared-to/) [Laura Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-briggs/) > [I thought that would go without saying, that if a mother gives up her children, it's very painful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-thought-that-would-go-without-saying-that-if-a-mother-gives-up-her/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [My mother loved children - she would have given anything if I had been one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/my-mother-loved-children-she-would-have-given-anything-if-i-had-been/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [“Our family was starting. We kept on moving with our young lives, shortly afterward and took Ben Young with us everywhere. But pretty soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/our-family-was-starting-we-kept-on-moving-with-our-young-lives/) [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) > [Fidel Castro is loved down into the children. The Revolution won't die!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-farrakhan/fidel-castro-is-loved-down-into-the-children-the-revolution-won-t-die/) [Louis Farrakhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-farrakhan/) > [I've always loved children. When I was working with children as a librarian, I loved being with them and working around them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-bush/i-ve-always-loved-children-when-i-was-working-with-children-as-a/) [Laura Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-bush/) > ['The Man Who Loved Children,' Christina Stead's masterpiece, remains the most fabulous book that hardly anyone I know has read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/the-man-who-loved-children-christina-stead-s-masterpiece-remains-the/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [Using a child as a pawn to make money using there own kids is WRONG kids are not pawns there to be LOVED. Children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mccarty/using-a-child-as-a-pawn-to-make-money-using-there-own-kids-is-wrong/) [Kevin McCarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mccarty/) > [I have always loved children. I've been fantasizing about motherhood since I was probably 2 ½. I loved to babysit my cousins, and nieces, you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupita-nyong-o/i-have-always-loved-children-i-ve-been-fantasizing-about-motherhood/) [Lupita Nyong'o](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupita-nyong-o/) > [There's nothing better than having a baby. I've always loved children. I used to work summers at the YMCA and be in charge of,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-cobain/there-s-nothing-better-than-having-a-baby-i-ve-always-loved-children/) [Kurt Cobain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-cobain/) > [I've never made a secret of the fact that I'd have loved to have children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/i-ve-never-made-a-secret-of-the-fact-that-i-d-have-loved-to-have/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) > [Ammu loved her children (of course), but their wide-eyed vulnerability and their willingness to love people who didn't really love them exasperated her and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/ammu-loved-her-children-of-course-but-their-wide-eyed-vulnerability/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [That satisfied me until I began to figure that if God loved all his children equally, why did he bother about my red hat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-farmer/that-satisfied-me-until-i-began-to-figure-that-if-god-loved-all-his/) [Frances Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-farmer/) ## More by Jill Lepore > [Weirdly, there have been a lot of critics of conservatism, but very few critics of innovation. As a culture, we are deeply paranoid about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-lepore/weirdly-there-have-been-a-lot-of-critics-of-conservatism-but-very-few/) [Jill Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-lepore/) > [History is only written from what remains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-lepore/history-is-only-written-from-what-remains/) [Jill Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-lepore/) > [The study of history requires investigation, imagination, empathy, and respect. Reverence just doesn't enter into it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-lepore/the-study-of-history-requires-investigation-imagination-empathy-and/) [Jill Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-lepore/) > [Well-reported news is a public good; bad news is bad for everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-lepore/well-reported-news-is-a-public-good-bad-news-is-bad-for-everyone/) [Jill Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-lepore/) > [The very first television ad targeted to women was produced by the Eisenhower-Nixon campaign in 1956. It includes footage of a woman supervising her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-lepore/the-very-first-television-ad-targeted-to-women-was-produced-by-the/) [Jill Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-lepore/) > [Republicans were more pro-choice than Democrats up until the late 1980s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-lepore/republicans-were-more-pro-choice-than-democrats-up-until-the-late/) [Jill Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-lepore/) > [It feels silly to watch endless hours of winter sports every four years, when we never watch them any other time, and we don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-lepore/it-feels-silly-to-watch-endless-hours-of-winter-sports-every-four/) [Jill Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-lepore/) > [When carrying a concealed weapon for self-defense is understood NOT as a failure of civil society, to be mourned, but as an act of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-lepore/when-carrying-a-concealed-weapon-for-self-defense-is-understood-not/) [Jill Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-lepore/) > ['Doctor Who' is, unavoidably, a product of mid-twentieth-century debates about Britain's role in the world as its empire unravelled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-lepore/doctor-who-is-unavoidably-a-product-of-mid-twentieth-century-debates/) [Jill Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-lepore/) > [“Still, it strikes me that, taken together, they do make an argument, and it is this: the rise of American democracy is bound up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-lepore/still-it-strikes-me-that-taken-together-they-do-make-an-argument-and/) [Jill Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-lepore/) > [One day, I was playing 'The Game of Life,' the board game, with a mess of kids, and I wasn't quite sure how, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-lepore/one-day-i-was-playing-the-game-of-life-the-board-game-with-a-mess-of/) [Jill Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-lepore/) > [Mainly, the more faddish and newer stages of life are really just marketing schemes. Tweenhood. The young old. The quarter-life crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-lepore/mainly-the-more-faddish-and-newer-stages-of-life-are-really-just/) [Jill Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-lepore/) > [“Politics is a story about the relationship between the past and the future; history is a story about the relationship between the past and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-lepore/politics-is-a-story-about-the-relationship-between-the-past-and-the/) [Jill Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-lepore/) > [Not long before my mother died, I found a long-lost portrait of Jane Franklin's granddaughter, Jane Flagg, aged nine - oil on canvas -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-lepore/not-long-before-my-mother-died-i-found-a-long-lost-portrait-of-jane/) [Jill Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-lepore/) > [“In 1934, after Upton Sinclair was defeated in his campaign to become the next governor of California, he labeled the advertising concern that defeated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-lepore/in-1934-after-upton-sinclair-was-defeated-in-his-campaign-to-become/) [Jill Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-lepore/) [Explore all 105 Jill Lepore quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-lepore/) ## More Assumed quotes > [“If I didn't say anything, people always assumed the worst.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fight-club/if-i-didn-t-say-anything-people-always-assumed-the-worst/) [Fight club](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fight-club/) > [We assumed the customers were smart and that they'll buy what they like, not what the ads tell them to buy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renzo-rosso/we-assumed-the-customers-were-smart-and-that-they-ll-buy-what-they/) [Renzo Rosso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renzo-rosso/) > [I always assumed that, like my mother before me, one day I would have children. When I was 5, my fantasy was to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-cattrall/i-always-assumed-that-like-my-mother-before-me-one-day-i-would-have/) [Kim Cattrall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-cattrall/) > [When I don't have a girlfriend, who I am answerable to, I can go out and hang with people. But whether you go for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shahid-kapoor/when-i-don-t-have-a-girlfriend-who-i-am-answerable-to-i-can-go-out/) [Shahid Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shahid-kapoor/) > [That which He has not assumed He has not healed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-of-nazianzus/that-which-he-has-not-assumed-he-has-not-healed/) [Gregory of Nazianzus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-of-nazianzus/) > [I first picked up a violin aged five - I just assumed everyone played.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-rieu/i-first-picked-up-a-violin-aged-five-i-just-assumed-everyone-played/) [Andre Rieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-rieu/) > [“In Sweden, everyone is assumed to have similar resources, so it seems inappropriate to pay for someone else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-johansson-robinowitz/in-sweden-everyone-is-assumed-to-have-similar-resources-so-it-seems/) [Christina Johansson Robinowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-johansson-robinowitz/) > [I'd assumed that a deal was a deal when Princeton admitted me, but I was wrong. The price of getting in - to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/i-d-assumed-that-a-deal-was-a-deal-when-princeton-admitted-me-but-i/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [People have always assumed that I am privileged. And that has been a problem sometimes. When I first started modelling, and I was schlepping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmine-guinness/people-have-always-assumed-that-i-am-privileged-and-that-has-been-a/) [Jasmine Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasmine-guinness/) > [“Abashed, should assumed its place in the list of what could be accomplished, what couldn't.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-mnookin/abashed-should-assumed-its-place-in-the-list-of-what-could-be/) [Wendy Mnookin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-mnookin/) > [“Jax turned to Jove. “She’s mine. Don’t assign her anywhere else.”“I already assumed as much, darling,” Jove replied.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-clarke/jax-turned-to-jove-she-s-mine-don-t-assign-her-anywhere-else-i/) [Alexandria Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-clarke/) > [Before I started Coffee of Grace, I assumed all coffee came from Latin America or Indonesia. I wasn't familiar with African coffee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-hightower/before-i-started-coffee-of-grace-i-assumed-all-coffee-came-from-latin/) [Grace Hightower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-hightower/) > [You know when you read that someone has to leave a show or a tour because they had 'nervous exhaustion'? Well, I had one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-johansen/you-know-when-you-read-that-someone-has-to-leave-a-show-or-a-tour/) [David Johansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-johansen/) > [There's been more than one time when I've said something, and sort of the middle of what I've said is not said but thought,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-dean/there-s-been-more-than-one-time-when-i-ve-said-something-and-sort-of/) [Howard Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-dean/) > [It was always assumed I would be a professor. I grew up thinking it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/it-was-always-assumed-i-would-be-a-professor-i-grew-up-thinking-it/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) [Browse all 159 Assumed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assumed/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Historians once assumed that when childhood mortality was high, people must not have loved their children very much; it would have been too painful. 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