--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [T]he parent-child relationship was one…" description: "\"“[T]he parent-child relationship was one way, you gave them all your love and they were under no obligation to pay a penny back. Of course, if they did..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f5/kate-atkinson-1265_icing-on-the-cake_t-he-parent-child-relationship-was-one-w_2108426.jpg" --- # \[T\]he parent-child relationship was one way, you gave them… ![“[T]he parent-child relationship was one way, you gave them all your love and they were under no obligation to pay a penny back. Of course, if they did love you then that was the icing on the cake with cherries on top. And chocolate shavings and those little silver balls that cracked your fillings.” quote by Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f5/kate-atkinson-1265_icing-on-the-cake_t-he-parent-child-relationship-was-one-w_2108426.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f5/kate-atkinson-1265_icing-on-the-cake_t-he-parent-child-relationship-was-one-w_2108426.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f5/kate-atkinson-1265_icing-on-the-cake_t-he-parent-child-relationship-was-one-w_2108426.jpg) > ““\[T\]he parent-child relationship was one way, you gave them all your love and they were under no obligation to pay a penny back. Of course, if they did love you then that was the icing on the cake with cherries on top. And chocolate shavings and those little silver balls that cracked your fillings.”” [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The parent‑child bond is given freely, without expectation of repayment, and any extra affection is a bonus. **In simple terms:** Parents give love unconditionally; extra love is a bonus. Key Takeaway Give love without expecting return. Themes family love expectations Mood reflective thoughtful Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - parenting - family gatherings - caregiver support - emotional bonding Key Concepts unconditional love reciprocity Questions to Reflect On - Do you give love expecting something back? - How do you handle feeling unappreciated? A Different Perspective Children may feel pressured to reciprocate, creating guilt. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Icing on the cake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/icing-on-the-cake/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Parent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parent/) [Parent child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parent-child/) ## Related quotes > [Every job after the first job I got was icing on the cake. This is so much fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katee-sackhoff/every-job-after-the-first-job-i-got-was-icing-on-the-cake-this-is-so/) [Katee Sackhoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katee-sackhoff/) > [We have always said that advertising is just the icing on the cake. It is not the cake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-whitman/we-have-always-said-that-advertising-is-just-the-icing-on-the-cake-it/) [Meg Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-whitman/) > [It's so much fun that the money is just icing on the cake. There seems to be a lot of icing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/it-s-so-much-fun-that-the-money-is-just-icing-on-the-cake-there-seems/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [“I think it's more accurate to think of aesthetics as a key ingredient in a recipe, as opposed to the icing on the cake.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-p-anderson/i-think-it-s-more-accurate-to-think-of-aesthetics-as-a-key-ingredient/) Stephen P. Anderson > [“You're the icing on the cake on the table at my wake, You're the extra ton of cash on my sinking life raft, You're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/modest-mouse/you-re-the-icing-on-the-cake-on-the-table-at-my-wake-you-re-the-extra/) [Modest Mouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/modest-mouse/) > [I told her that I can't be doing with the Wonder part of these trips, but she said it should be the icing on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pilkington/i-told-her-that-i-can-t-be-doing-with-the-wonder-part-of-these-trips/) [Karl Pilkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pilkington/) > [When it comes to the awards and everything, and the press, the publicity, this is all icing on the cake to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-hawkins/when-it-comes-to-the-awards-and-everything-and-the-press-the/) [Corey Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-hawkins/) > [I don't work for awards; they're just an icing on the cake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kalki-koechlin/i-don-t-work-for-awards-they-re-just-an-icing-on-the-cake/) [Kalki Koechlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kalki-koechlin/) > [The icing on the cake is when other people enjoy your vision and support what you do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cise-star/the-icing-on-the-cake-is-when-other-people-enjoy-your-vision-and/) Cise Star > [Stories aren't the icing on the cake; they are the cake!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-guber/stories-aren-t-the-icing-on-the-cake-they-are-the-cake/) [Peter Guber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-guber/) > [“Flow can be described as the icing on the cake”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-tate/flow-can-be-described-as-the-icing-on-the-cake/) Derek Tate > [If the theory turns out to be right, that will be tremendously thick and tasty icing on the cake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-greene/if-the-theory-turns-out-to-be-right-that-will-be-tremendously-thick/) [Brian Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-greene/) > [Nine times out of ten, I'm trying to meet someone else's expectations, whether it's the director or the writer or the animator, when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-pasdar/nine-times-out-of-ten-i-m-trying-to-meet-someone-else-s-expectations/) [Adrian Pasdar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-pasdar/) > [I see window treatments as not just the icing on the cake but one of the ingredients going in the cake when you're considering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clarke/i-see-window-treatments-as-not-just-the-icing-on-the-cake-but-one-of/) [George Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clarke/) > [I'm attracted to how fraught the parent-child relationship is, swerving so easily between love and hostility, with almost no plausible way to end, unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-marcus/i-m-attracted-to-how-fraught-the-parent-child-relationship-is/) [Ben Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-marcus/) ## More by Kate Atkinson > [“Sweet sixteen," Hugh said, kissing her affectionately. "Happy birthday, little bear. Your future's all ahead of you." Ursula still harbored the feeling that some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/sweet-sixteen-hugh-said-kissing-her-affectionately-happy-birthday/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [When you chopped logs with the ax and they split open they smelled beautiful, like Christmas. But when you split someone's head open it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/when-you-chopped-logs-with-the-ax-and-they-split-open-they-smelled/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“He had made a vow, a private promise to the world in the long dark watches of the night, that if he did survive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/he-had-made-a-vow-a-private-promise-to-the-world-in-the-long-dark/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“When she was little they had lived in an old farmhouse too, in the middle of nothing of but landscape.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/when-she-was-little-they-had-lived-in-an-old-farmhouse-too-in-the/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“Do you keep time in the same place that you save it? If so why is it always so difficult to find? It must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/do-you-keep-time-in-the-same-place-that-you-save-it-if-so-why-is-it/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [I was on the verge of something numinous and profound and in one more second the universe was going to crack open and arcana…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/i-was-on-the-verge-of-something-numinous-and-profound-and-in-one-more/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [I feel as if I’m waiting for something dreadful to happen, and then I realize it already has.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/i-feel-as-if-i-m-waiting-for-something-dreadful-to-happen-and-then-i/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“If she had been in charge of designing the human race she would have gone about things differently. (A golden shaft of light through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/if-she-had-been-in-charge-of-designing-the-human-race-she-would-have/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [The beginning is the word and the end is silence. And in between are all the stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/the-beginning-is-the-word-and-the-end-is-silence-and-in-between-are/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“The only way to stop the tears was to keep drinking the whisky.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/the-only-way-to-stop-the-tears-was-to-keep-drinking-the-whisky/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [I don't want to spoil the magic, but it's a very curious thing that honestly baffles me. 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The first-person narrative is a very intimate thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/because-i-write-fiction-i-don-t-write-autobiography-and-to-me-they/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“she could see Sylvie and her friends on the lawn below, their dresses fluttering like moths in the encroaching dusk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/she-could-see-sylvie-and-her-friends-on-the-lawn-below-their-dresses/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“misquote Edmund Burke rather than Milton. All that is necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/misquote-edmund-burke-rather-than-milton-all-that-is-necessary-for/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) [Explore all 261 Kate Atkinson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) ## More Icing on the cake quotes > [My childhood dream was to win the Olympics, and I've done that. Everything else is icing on the cake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-vonn/my-childhood-dream-was-to-win-the-olympics-and-i-ve-done-that/) [Lindsey Vonn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-vonn/) > [Chivalry is a poor substitute for justice, if one cannot have both. Chivalry is something like the icing on the cake, sweet but not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-l-mcclung/chivalry-is-a-poor-substitute-for-justice-if-one-cannot-have-both/) [Nellie L. McClung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-l-mcclung/) > [The true excitement comes from the actors - that gives you the true drama - and whatever I can do with the camera, that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-scott/the-true-excitement-comes-from-the-actors-that-gives-you-the-true/) [Tony Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-scott/) > [When people get cancer now, the first thing you do is you go to some doctors to get some advice, figure out what to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/exene-cervenka/when-people-get-cancer-now-the-first-thing-you-do-is-you-go-to-some/) [Exene Cervenka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/exene-cervenka/) > [“As they entered, Lemuel Sixpack was in the middle of his trademark long- winded oration. His last name was really Sixpack and, as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krzysztof-pacy-ski/as-they-entered-lemuel-sixpack-was-in-the-middle-of-his-trademark/) [Krzysztof Pacyński](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krzysztof-pacy-ski/) > [Every job after the first job I got was icing on the cake. This is so much fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katee-sackhoff/every-job-after-the-first-job-i-got-was-icing-on-the-cake-this-is-so/) [Katee Sackhoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katee-sackhoff/) > [It's just nice to work hard and be rewarded, which is having lots of people watch. And the icing on the cake is for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-meloni/it-s-just-nice-to-work-hard-and-be-rewarded-which-is-having-lots-of/) [Christopher Meloni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-meloni/) > [Illium, with his wings of silver-kissed blue and a face designed to seduce both males and females, not to mention his ability to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nalini-singh/illium-with-his-wings-of-silver-kissed-blue-and-a-face-designed-to/) [Nalini Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nalini-singh/) > [At the end of the day, I love making music and expressing myself and making things that inspire me. The fact that other people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-rodrigo/at-the-end-of-the-day-i-love-making-music-and-expressing-myself-and/) [Olivia Rodrigo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-rodrigo/) > [Guys who are charismatic and fun-loving and sweet and generous are the ones I want to date. Good looks are secondary for me...it's just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-justice/guys-who-are-charismatic-and-fun-loving-and-sweet-and-generous-are/) [Victoria Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-justice/) > [I would have done anything. I just really love the Duplass brothers. I was at a place where I was desperate for good writing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-peet/i-would-have-done-anything-i-just-really-love-the-duplass-brothers-i/) [Amanda Peet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-peet/) > [The A-list celebrities were always going to be the icing on the cake. It's always been more of an ensemble piece.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-gervais/the-a-list-celebrities-were-always-going-to-be-the-icing-on-the-cake/) [Ricky Gervais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-gervais/) > [Winning the Diamond League with a personal record, it's like icing on the cake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-coleman/winning-the-diamond-league-with-a-personal-record-it-s-like-icing-on/) [Christian Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-coleman/) > [Words that say you care are just icing on the cake of action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-f-shubnell-2/words-that-say-you-care-are-just-icing-on-the-cake-of-action/) [Thomas F Shubnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-f-shubnell-2/) > [For me the Everest solo was the icing on the cake of my climbs: the highest mountain in the world, during a monsoon, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-messner/for-me-the-everest-solo-was-the-icing-on-the-cake-of-my-climbs-the/) [Reinhold Messner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-messner/) [Browse all 85 Icing on the cake quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/icing-on-the-cake/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“[T]he parent-child relationship was one way, you gave them all your love and they were under no obligation to pay a penny back. 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