--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I mean, being a child was being a child…" description: "\"I mean, being a child was being a child, was being a creature without power, without pocket money, without escape routes of any kind. So I didn't want ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a96/maurice-sendak-1273_being_i-mean-being-a-child-was-being-a-child-w_3135426.jpg" --- # I mean, being a child was being a child, was being a… ![“I mean, being a child was being a child, was being a creature without power, without pocket money, without escape routes of any kind. So I didn't want to be a child.” quote by Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a96/maurice-sendak-1273_being_i-mean-being-a-child-was-being-a-child-w_3135426.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a96/maurice-sendak-1273_being_i-mean-being-a-child-was-being-a-child-w_3135426.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a96/maurice-sendak-1273_being_i-mean-being-a-child-was-being-a-child-w_3135426.jpg) > “I mean, being a child was being a child, was being a creature without power, without pocket money, without escape routes of any kind. So I didn't want to be a child.” [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Childhood is portrayed as powerless and constrained, leading to a desire to escape that state. **In simple terms:** Children feel powerless and want to grow up. Key Takeaway Recognize and address childhood fears. Themes growth freedom power dynamics Mood nostalgic empathetic Type literary psychological When to use this quote - education - parenting - therapy - personal development Key Concepts psychology development agency Questions to Reflect On - How does powerlessness shape your adult choices? - What can be learned from childhood vulnerability? A Different Perspective Overcoming fear of childhood may ignore its value. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being/) [Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child/) [Child Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child-child-536000/) [Child Creature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child-creature-5563021/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Didn Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/didn-want-248723/) [Escape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/escape/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Routes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/routes/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Want Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-child-363417/) ## Related quotes > [Instead of inventing imaginary friends, I invented whole imaginary worlds. They were elaborate scenarios about spies and adventurers and top secret missions. I crawled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-wasserman/instead-of-inventing-imaginary-friends-i-invented-whole-imaginary/) [Robin Wasserman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-wasserman/) > [A child should be a child for as long as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angad-bedi/a-child-should-be-a-child-for-as-long-as-possible/) [Angad Bedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angad-bedi/) > [“We need to always deal with the child in front of us, not the child of our fantasies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-levine/we-need-to-always-deal-with-the-child-in-front-of-us-not-the-child-of/) [Madeline Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-levine/) > [“within the core of each of us is the child we once were. This child constitutes the foundation of what we have become, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/within-the-core-of-each-of-us-is-the-child-we-once-were-this-child/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Your child is always your child, regardless of age. You feel their feelings, share in their joys and hurt in their sorrows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/your-child-is-always-your-child-regardless-of-age-you-feel-their/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [When you're young, you don't have much sense. You don't have any reasoning power. You don't have any ability to take a blow, an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-howard/when-you-re-young-you-don-t-have-much-sense-you-don-t-have-any/) [Vernon Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-howard/) > [“Not only am I not my dad’s favorite child—I’m his only child.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/not-only-am-i-not-my-dad-s-favorite-child-i-m-his-only-child/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [It felt like being a child again, though it was not. Being a child is like nothing. It's only being. Later, when we think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/it-felt-like-being-a-child-again-though-it-was-not-being-a-child-is/) [China Mieville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [How long is a girl a child? She is a child, and then one morning you wake up she's a woman, and a dozen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-l-amour/how-long-is-a-girl-a-child-she-is-a-child-and-then-one-morning-you/) [Louis L'Amour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-l-amour/) > [She wanted nothing more than someone to miss, to touch, with whom to speak like a child, with whom to be a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/she-wanted-nothing-more-than-someone-to-miss-to-touch-with-whom-to/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [A child is a child in any country, whatever the politics. Let's get down to basics. That's what a child forces you to do.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/a-child-is-a-child-in-any-country-whatever-the-politics-let-s-get/) [Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/) > [Every child is your child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-child-is-your-child/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“A father must take credit for his child, but never a child for his father.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-syjuco/a-father-must-take-credit-for-his-child-but-never-a-child-for-his/) [Miguel Syjuco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-syjuco/) > [When facing a child, I become a child. When facing an elderly person, or a husband, or a wife, in my heart, I too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masahisa-goi/when-facing-a-child-i-become-a-child-when-facing-an-elderly-person-or/) [Masahisa Goi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masahisa-goi/) > [Discovery is the privilege of the child: the child who has no fear of being once again wrong, of looking like an idiot, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-grothendieck/discovery-is-the-privilege-of-the-child-the-child-who-has-no-fear-of/) [Alexander Grothendieck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-grothendieck/) ## More by Maurice Sendak > [I never thought of Bumble-Ardy in that way. But I still have that same deep feeling for children who are in dire trouble. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/i-never-thought-of-bumble-ardy-in-that-way-but-i-still-have-that-same/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [I was a very sickly child. My parents were immigrants. They were not decorous. They were not discreet. They always thought I was gonna…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/i-was-a-very-sickly-child-my-parents-were-immigrants-they-were-not/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [The distinctions of fine art bore me to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/the-distinctions-of-fine-art-bore-me-to-death/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [The fan mail I get from kids are asking me questions which they do not ask their mothers and fathers. Because if they had,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/the-fan-mail-i-get-from-kids-are-asking-me-questions-which-they-do/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [“May I ask what you have in your black leather bag with gold buckles?" "Everything." They were climbing a narrow staircase. Rhoda stopped to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/may-i-ask-what-you-have-in-your-black-leather-bag-with-gold-buckles/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [I grew up in a house that was in a constant state of mourning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/i-grew-up-in-a-house-that-was-in-a-constant-state-of-mourning/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [Illustrations have as much to say as the text. The trick is to say the same thing, but in a different way. It's no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/illustrations-have-as-much-to-say-as-the-text-the-trick-is-to-say-the/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [I'm a lucky buck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/i-m-a-lucky-buck/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [I've convinced myself - I hope I'm right - that children despair of you if you don't tell them the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/i-ve-convinced-myself-i-hope-i-m-right-that-children-despair-of-you/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [It's no fun being lonely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/it-s-no-fun-being-lonely/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [It dawned on me that art was the way I could survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/it-dawned-on-me-that-art-was-the-way-i-could-survive/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [I cry a lot because I miss people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/i-cry-a-lot-because-i-miss-people/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [You cannot write for children They're much too complicated. You can only write books that are of interest to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/you-cannot-write-for-children-they-re-much-too-complicated-you-can/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [All I liked to do when I was a kid was draw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/all-i-liked-to-do-when-i-was-a-kid-was-draw/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [I'm still as enamored and turned on by work as I was when I was young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/i-m-still-as-enamored-and-turned-on-by-work-as-i-was-when-i-was-young/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) [Explore all 262 Maurice Sendak quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) ## More Being quotes > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [There is something magical about being able to feel somebody. And that is something that has always moved me with music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-brink/there-is-something-magical-about-being-able-to-feel-somebody-and-that/) [Maria Brink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-brink/) > [I love being in Malibu. It's so cool there, and the water is just, it's nice and, and I love the beach. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-evancho/i-love-being-in-malibu-it-s-so-cool-there-and-the-water-is-just-it-s/) [Jackie Evancho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-evancho/) > [I talk to my mates about our kids, being too tired and being worn out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-willoughby/i-talk-to-my-mates-about-our-kids-being-too-tired-and-being-worn-out/) [Holly Willoughby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-willoughby/) > [I love to fish. I love the peacefulness of being around the water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evonne-goolagong-cawley/i-love-to-fish-i-love-the-peacefulness-of-being-around-the-water/) [Evonne Goolagong Cawley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evonne-goolagong-cawley/) > [When you're in your twenties and starting out, the problem is that you care about being cool. Being older, I can care less about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-righton/when-you-re-in-your-twenties-and-starting-out-the-problem-is-that-you/) [James Righton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-righton/) > [I am tired of our characters being so incomplete. When do we ever save the day in a film? When does a Latino actor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esai-morales/i-am-tired-of-our-characters-being-so-incomplete-when-do-we-ever-save/) [Esai Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esai-morales/) > [Being a new mother is a blessing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phaedra-parks/being-a-new-mother-is-a-blessing/) [Phaedra Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phaedra-parks/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-we-accept-being-talked-to-any-kind-of-a-way-then-we-are-telling/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Having small children and being an investigative reporter would seem like a difficult mix, but it worked well for me. I was often working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-abramson/having-small-children-and-being-an-investigative-reporter-would-seem/) [Jill Abramson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-abramson/) > [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/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. 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