--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The thing that's so hard about being a…" description: "\"The thing that's so hard about being a kid is you don't have enough knowledge to explain things yourself.\" — Lena Dunham" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/717/lena-dunham-1013_adolescence_the-thing-that-s-so-hard-about-being-a-k_207448.jpg" --- # The thing that's so hard about being a kid is you don't… ![“The thing that's so hard about being a kid is you don't have enough knowledge to explain things yourself.” quote by Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/717/lena-dunham-1013_adolescence_the-thing-that-s-so-hard-about-being-a-k_207448.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/717/lena-dunham-1013_adolescence_the-thing-that-s-so-hard-about-being-a-k_207448.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/717/lena-dunham-1013_adolescence_the-thing-that-s-so-hard-about-being-a-k_207448.jpg) > “The thing that's so hard about being a kid is you don't have enough knowledge to explain things yourself.” [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Children lack the knowledge to articulate their own experiences, making self‑explanation difficult. **In simple terms:** Kids can't explain themselves well. Key Takeaway Provide space for kids to ask questions. Themes education childhood communication growth Mood empathetic thoughtful Type educational reflective When to use this quote - parenting - school - peer interactions - media literacy Key Concepts developmental psychology self‑expression Questions to Reflect On - What ways can adults model honest uncertainty? - How does curiosity foster learning? A Different Perspective Children may also feel pressured to appear knowledgeable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adolescence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adolescence/) [Being a kid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-a-kid/) [Kids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kids/) ## Related quotes > [You don't need an explanation for everything, Recognize that there are such things as miracles - events for which there are no ready explanations.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-browne/you-don-t-need-an-explanation-for-everything-recognize-that-there-are/) [Harry Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-browne/) > [It's very hard to be a kid, especially in a predominantly white school or white town where other people want to police your body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-lelia-bundles/it-s-very-hard-to-be-a-kid-especially-in-a-predominantly-white-school/) [A'Lelia Bundles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-lelia-bundles/) > [It's so hard to find the time. I only have one kid and it's hard with one kid. I can't imagine people who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/busy-philipps/it-s-so-hard-to-find-the-time-i-only-have-one-kid-and-it-s-hard-with/) [Busy Philipps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/busy-philipps/) > [Everyone talks about how hard it is to have a kid, and that scares you into waiting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-kershaw/everyone-talks-about-how-hard-it-is-to-have-a-kid-and-that-scares-you-2/) [Clayton Kershaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-kershaw/) > [I remember laughing so hard as a kid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/i-remember-laughing-so-hard-as-a-kid/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [The reason I play so hard is that somewhere out there is some kid who has never seen me play before, and I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-dimaggio/the-reason-i-play-so-hard-is-that-somewhere-out-there-is-some-kid-who/) [Joe DiMaggio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-dimaggio/) > [I've worked very hard since I was a kid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-freese/i-ve-worked-very-hard-since-i-was-a-kid/) [Josh Freese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-freese/) > [I think I'm very hard on myself. I think I've always been very hard on myself since I was a kid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harbour/i-think-i-m-very-hard-on-myself-i-think-i-ve-always-been-very-hard-on/) [David Harbour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harbour/) > [“Life is hard, Kid, you gotta be harder. You gotta take it on and fight for it and be a fucking man about how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-frey/life-is-hard-kid-you-gotta-be-harder-you-gotta-take-it-on-and-fight/) [James Frey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-frey/) > [The road can be hard on a kid if he's not careful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-haley/the-road-can-be-hard-on-a-kid-if-he-s-not-careful/) [Bill Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-haley/) > [Remember me as a hard kid from Atlanta with a dream, who believed in himself and bettered himself - and won.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-homie-quan/remember-me-as-a-hard-kid-from-atlanta-with-a-dream-who-believed-in/) [Rich Homie Quan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-homie-quan/) > [The right thing to do and the hard thing to do are usually the same thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/the-right-thing-to-do-and-the-hard-thing-to-do-are-usually-the-same/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [“The truth of the matter is that we know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-jio/the-truth-of-the-matter-is-that-we-know-the-right-thing-to-do-the/) [Sarah Jio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-jio/) > [I hate you for not being here with me but I hate her more for having the only thing that is hard to live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaila-august/i-hate-you-for-not-being-here-with-me-but-i-hate-her-more-for-having/) Kaila August > [“I ought to have awe­some core strength, you know, because this bal­anc­ing thing is hard work.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaalidah-muhammad-ali/i-ought-to-have-awe-some-core-strength-you-know-because-this-bal-anc/) Khaalidah Muhammad-Ali ## More by Lena Dunham > [It was only when I started making short films in college and I was looking for girls to play the me-ish parts that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/it-was-only-when-i-started-making-short-films-in-college-and-i-was/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [“Oberlin being a liberal haven where opposition was king, the coolest clique at school was a group of rugby-playing, neon-wearing lesbians. They dominated every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/oberlin-being-a-liberal-haven-where-opposition-was-king-the-coolest/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [Calling someone a drama queen is so negative. Why not 'content creator'?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/calling-someone-a-drama-queen-is-so-negative-why-not-content-creator/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [My relationship to eating, my relationship to critiquing my own shape, all of that has changed since I've started viewing my body much more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/my-relationship-to-eating-my-relationship-to-critiquing-my-own-shape/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [“I am sorry (not to you but in a deeper way, sorry for my brain chemistry and who I am.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/i-am-sorry-not-to-you-but-in-a-deeper-way-sorry-for-my-brain/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [It's very easy for me to say what success is. I think success is connecting with an audience who understands you and having a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/it-s-very-easy-for-me-to-say-what-success-is-i-think-success-is/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [At my age, no one is married, no one has kids, no one has a career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/at-my-age-no-one-is-married-no-one-has-kids-no-one-has-a-career/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [I should do the things that make me feel cool and smart. As I get older, I'm realizing more and more that it doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/i-should-do-the-things-that-make-me-feel-cool-and-smart-as-i-get/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [My shape reminds me a lot of my grandmother, whom I was really close to. She died when I was 13, and we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/my-shape-reminds-me-a-lot-of-my-grandmother-whom-i-was-really-close/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [I never set out to make any statements about a specific character, I just set out to tell what feels like is a truthful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/i-never-set-out-to-make-any-statements-about-a-specific-character-i/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [You’ve learned a new rule and it’s simple: don’t put yourself in situations you’d like to run away from. But when you run, run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/you-ve-learned-a-new-rule-and-it-s-simple-don-t-put-yourself-in/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [I would go to work from 9 to 6, go home, nap for two hours, then write from 8 to 2 a.m.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/i-would-go-to-work-from-9-to-6-go-home-nap-for-two-hours-then-write/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [My uncle's a lawyer and I remember going to see him in court and thinking, 'That's cool, too bad I could never be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/my-uncle-s-a-lawyer-and-i-remember-going-to-see-him-in-court-and/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [I love directing scenes that I'm not in because suddenly I really feel like a filmmaker which is a different thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/i-love-directing-scenes-that-i-m-not-in-because-suddenly-i-really/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [I'm glad if my work can make a difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/i-m-glad-if-my-work-can-make-a-difference/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) [Explore all 301 Lena Dunham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) ## More Adolescence quotes > [They must move from a psychological state of victimization to a psychological state of accepting responsibility. The Palestinians must leave behind their revolutionary adolescence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-shavit/they-must-move-from-a-psychological-state-of-victimization-to-a/) [Ari Shavit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-shavit/) > [Having children truly ends adolescence. We are all either parents or children: responsibility-takers or those who demand from others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shapiro/having-children-truly-ends-adolescence-we-are-all-either-parents-or/) [Ben Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shapiro/) > [Teenage girls are extremists who see the world in black-and- white terms, missing shades of gray. Life is either marvelous or notworth living. School…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-pipher/teenage-girls-are-extremists-who-see-the-world-in-black-and-white/) [Mary Pipher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-pipher/) > [Teenagers complain there's nothing to do, then stay out all night doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-phillips/teenagers-complain-there-s-nothing-to-do-then-stay-out-all-night/) [Bob Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-phillips/) > [The idols of one's adolescence tend to endure - you never forget how you worshipped them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/the-idols-of-one-s-adolescence-tend-to-endure-you-never-forget-how/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [Being an adult is the ability to postpone a want for the sake of a family need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hogan/being-an-adult-is-the-ability-to-postpone-a-want-for-the-sake-of-a/) [Chris Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hogan/) > [The donning of the ear buds marks the beginning of teen life, when children set off on their own for the passage through adolescence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amity-shlaes/the-donning-of-the-ear-buds-marks-the-beginning-of-teen-life-when/) [Amity Shlaes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amity-shlaes/) > [Adolescence is when the very worst and best impulses in the human soul struggle against each other for possession.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/adolescence-is-when-the-very-worst-and-best-impulses-in-the-human/) [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) > [Most adults would not dream of belittling, humiliating, or bullying (verbally or physically) another adult. But many of the same adults think nothing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-steinberg/most-adults-would-not-dream-of-belittling-humiliating-or-bullying/) [Laurence Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-steinberg/) > [If you can't count, they can cheat you. If you can't read, they can beat you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/if-you-can-t-count-they-can-cheat-you-if-you-can-t-read-they-can-beat/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“He'd possessed all the key elements of a school shooter: hormones, misery, ammunition. People wondered how something like Columbine could happen. Jude wondered why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-hill/he-d-possessed-all-the-key-elements-of-a-school-shooter-hormones/) [Joe Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-hill/) > [ I remember realizing, when I did Little Women \[1994\], that that was the only time girls that age were being written about. It was… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-ryder/i-remember-realizing-when-i-did-little-women-1994-that-that-was-the/) [Winona Ryder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-ryder/) > [Content without style is propaganda or adolescence. Style without content is decadence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/content-without-style-is-propaganda-or-adolescence-style-without/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [Adolescence is interesting. I mean, all of life is interesting and all of life is transitionary. But I think there is an exponential growth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-henson/adolescence-is-interesting-i-mean-all-of-life-is-interesting-and-all/) [Bill Henson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-henson/) > [“Yet GenX'er teens didn't slow down--they were just as likely to drive, drink alcohol, and date as their Boomer peers and more likely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-m-twenge/yet-genx-er-teens-didn-t-slow-down-they-were-just-as-likely-to-drive/) [Jean M. Twenge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-m-twenge/) [Browse all 787 Adolescence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adolescence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The thing that's so hard about being a kid is you don't have enough knowledge to explain things yourself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lena Dunham" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/the-thing-that-s-so-hard-about-being-a-kid-is-you-don-t-have-enough/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Adolescence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/the-thing-that-s-so-hard-about-being-a-kid-is-you-don-t-have-enough/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/717/lena-dunham-1013_adolescence_the-thing-that-s-so-hard-about-being-a-k_207448.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/717/lena-dunham-1013_adolescence_the-thing-that-s-so-hard-about-being-a-k_207448.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/717/lena-dunham-1013_adolescence_the-thing-that-s-so-hard-about-being-a-k_207448.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The thing that's so hard about being a kid is you don't have enough knowledge to explain things yourself.” — Lena Dunham", "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": "Lena Dunham", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The thing that's so hard about...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/the-thing-that-s-so-hard-about-being-a-kid-is-you-don-t-have-enough/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/the-thing-that-s-so-hard-about-being-a-kid-is-you-don-t-have-enough/#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 } } ] } ```