--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no experience like having…" description: "\"There is no experience like having children.’ That’s all. There is no substitute for it. You cannot do it with a friend. You cannot do it with a lover...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28a/mitch-albom-187_children_there-is-no-experience-like-having-child_1773526.png" --- # There is no experience like having children.’ That’s all… ![“There is no experience like having children.’ That’s all. There is no substitute for it. You cannot do it with a friend. You cannot do it with a lover. If you want the experience of having complete responsibility for another human being, and to learn how to love and bond in the deepest way, then…” quote by Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28a/mitch-albom-187_children_there-is-no-experience-like-having-child_1773526.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28a/mitch-albom-187_children_there-is-no-experience-like-having-child_1773526.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28a/mitch-albom-187_children_there-is-no-experience-like-having-child_1773526.png) > “There is no experience like having children.’ That’s all. There is no substitute for it. You cannot do it with a friend. You cannot do it with a lover. If you want the experience of having complete responsibility for another human being, and to learn how to love and bond in the deepest way, then you should have children.” [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Parenthood offers a unique, irreplaceable experience of total responsibility and deep love that cannot be replicated by any other relationship. **In simple terms:** Children provide unmatched responsibility and love. Key Takeaway Consider parenthood for deep relational growth. Themes family responsibility love uniqueness growth Mood thoughtful hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - raising children - volunteering with youth - mentoring - family planning Key Concepts attachment theory existential meaning developmental psychology Questions to Reflect On - What does total responsibility mean to you? - Can deep bonds be formed without children? A Different Perspective Parenthood is demanding and may not suit everyone's life goals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Experience Having](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience-having-378446/) [Experience Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience-like-370944/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Having children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/having-children/) [How to love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/how-to-love/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Lover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lover/) [Lovers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lovers/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Substitutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/substitutes/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Want Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-experience-983474/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [There is no experience like having children...If you want the experience of having complete responsibility for another human being, and to learn to love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morrie-schwartz/there-is-no-experience-like-having-children-if-you-want-the/) [Morrie Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morrie-schwartz/) > [I think most of us, as writers, have had experiences where you get edited and it doesn't feel like your voice at all. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-stillman/i-think-most-of-us-as-writers-have-had-experiences-where-you-get/) [Sarah Stillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-stillman/) > [I really do believe that the experience of having a child is going to actually make me a much better cinematographer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-morrison/i-really-do-believe-that-the-experience-of-having-a-child-is-going-to/) [Rachel Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-morrison/) > [If I could sell 500 million records every time, it would be great. But I've also had the luxury experience of having it when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alanis-morissette/if-i-could-sell-500-million-records-every-time-it-would-be-great-but/) [Alanis Morissette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alanis-morissette/) > [It's all about the experience and having a good time and connecting with the fans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-trujillo/it-s-all-about-the-experience-and-having-a-good-time-and-connecting/) [Robert Trujillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-trujillo/) > [“Expecta­tions can become goals, which only get in the way of the experience we are having in this moment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-mark-g-williams/expecta-tions-can-become-goals-which-only-get-in-the-way-of-the/) [J. Mark G. Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-mark-g-williams/) > [I was having the surreal experience of having myself show myself around my office and bullpen.” “Oh! My desk. I could’ve sat at my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-was-having-the-surreal-experience-of-having-myself-show-myself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It was when I was on the set of Dead Poets Society.There was actor,his name was Norman Lloyd. One day he took us all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-hawke/it-was-when-i-was-on-the-set-of-dead-poets-society-there-was-actor/) [Ethan Hawke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-hawke/) > [“One thing we do know: Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness. 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Having can never replace being. -Ilsa Crawford”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-thomsen-brits/material-goods-rarely-alter-our-levels-of-happiness-unlike-emotional/) [Louisa Thomsen Brits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-thomsen-brits/) > [Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness. How do you know this is the experience you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/life-will-give-you-whatever-experience-is-most-helpful-for-the/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) ## More by Mitch Albom > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“After the funeral, my life changed. I felt as if time were suddenly precious, water going down an open drain, and I could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/after-the-funeral-my-life-changed-i-felt-as-if-time-were-suddenly/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [the words people do not speak are louder than the ones they do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/the-words-people-do-not-speak-are-louder-than-the-ones-they-do/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“Once, lovers on faraway shores sat by candlelight and dipped ink to parchment, writing words that could not be erased. They took an evening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/once-lovers-on-faraway-shores-sat-by-candlelight-and-dipped-ink-to/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [Giving to other people makes me feel alive. Not my car or my house. Not what I look like in the mirror. When I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/giving-to-other-people-makes-me-feel-alive-not-my-car-or-my-house-not/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [Life goes quickly, doesn't it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/life-goes-quickly-doesn-t-it/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [As children grow, they gravitate to their fates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/as-children-grow-they-gravitate-to-their-fates/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“If the only thing wrong with Moses is that he's not yours; if the only thing wrong with Jesus is that he's not yours;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/if-the-only-thing-wrong-with-moses-is-that-he-s-not-yours-if-the-only/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“Sometimes your kids will say the nastiest things, won't they, Rose? You want to ask,'Whose child is this?'" Rose chuckled. "But usually, they're just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/sometimes-your-kids-will-say-the-nastiest-things-won-t-they-rose-you/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“whisper their good-byes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/whisper-their-good-byes/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“I had also developed my own culture. Work. Over the years, I had taken labor as my companion and had moved everything else to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/i-had-also-developed-my-own-culture-work-over-the-years-i-had-taken/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [When we are most alone is when we embrace another's loneliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/when-we-are-most-alone-is-when-we-embrace-another-s-loneliness/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“You didn’t get it. Sacrifice is a part of life. It’s supposed to be. 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Why do kids assume so much from one parent and hold the other to a lower,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/it-was-sad-the-imbalance-of-it-all-why-do-kids-assume-so-much-from/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) [Explore all 962 Mitch Albom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) ## More Children quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It doesnt seem to me strange that children should like the macabre, the sensational, and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hecht/it-doesnt-seem-to-me-strange-that-children-should-like-the-macabre/) [Anthony Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hecht/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [My embarrassing confession is that my father is a 'Camelot: The Musical' obsessive. So as a child, when we were going to visit relatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-chibnall/my-embarrassing-confession-is-that-my-father-is-a-camelot-the-musical/) [Chris Chibnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-chibnall/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [My school was one of the most beautiful places a child can grow up in. 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Your childhood is always ending and your adult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-espach/children-s-lives-are-always-beginning-and-adults-lives-are-always/) [Alison Espach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-espach/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) [Browse all 62,396 Children quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is no experience like having children.’ That’s all. There is no substitute for it. You cannot do it with a friend. You cannot do it with a lover. 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