--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is so much easier to try to help a…" description: "\"It is so much easier to try to help a six-month-old child or a six-year-old child than it is a 16-year-old troubled kid.\" — Nicholas Kristof" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c1/nicholas-kristof-6723_children_it-is-so-much-easier-to-try-to-help-a-si_2878874.jpg" --- # It is so much easier to try to help a six-month-old child… ![“It is so much easier to try to help a six-month-old child or a six-year-old child than it is a 16-year-old troubled kid.” quote by Nicholas Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c1/nicholas-kristof-6723_children_it-is-so-much-easier-to-try-to-help-a-si_2878874.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c1/nicholas-kristof-6723_children_it-is-so-much-easier-to-try-to-help-a-si_2878874.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c1/nicholas-kristof-6723_children_it-is-so-much-easier-to-try-to-help-a-si_2878874.jpg) > “It is so much easier to try to help a six-month-old child or a six-year-old child than it is a 16-year-old troubled kid.” [Nicholas Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-kristof/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Adults often overlook teenagers’ struggles, focusing instead on younger children. **In simple terms:** Teen needs need more attention. Key Takeaway Prioritize mental health support for teens. Themes adolescence empathy mental health Mood concerned empathetic Type inspirational social. When to use this quote - school counseling - community programs - parental guidance Key Concepts developmental psychology social support education policy Questions to Reflect On - How can adults better understand teen challenges? - What resources can help support troubled adolescents? A Different Perspective Teen issues are complex and may be misunderstood. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Help](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/help/) ## Related quotes > [I was a bit of a troubled kid growing up, let's put it that way. I didn't take pleasure in hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/i-was-a-bit-of-a-troubled-kid-growing-up-let-s-put-it-that-way-i-didn/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [Am I a troubled kid? Yeah, you could say that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/am-i-a-troubled-kid-yeah-you-could-say-that/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [I've had a pretty chequered past, you know, as a kid, as a troubled kid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-hunt/i-ve-had-a-pretty-chequered-past-you-know-as-a-kid-as-a-troubled-kid/) [Mark Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-hunt/) > [We're allowing every Eric Harris, every troubled kid out there, to become the next Tim McVeigh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-kaczynski/we-re-allowing-every-eric-harris-every-troubled-kid-out-there-to/) [Theodore Kaczynski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-kaczynski/) > [It is much easier to try one's hand at many things than to concentrate one's powers on one thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/it-is-much-easier-to-try-one-s-hand-at-many-things-than-to/) [Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) > [My son is an inspired child, a very positive and happy child. The year he was born, he travelled 13 countries with us. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonu-nigam/my-son-is-an-inspired-child-a-very-positive-and-happy-child-the-year/) [Sonu Nigam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonu-nigam/) > [“The baby was almost certainly one year old. They knew this because of the red rosette pinned to her front, which read, 1! "Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-rundell/the-baby-was-almost-certainly-one-year-old-they-knew-this-because-of/) [Katherine Rundell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-rundell/) > [Just because a child is one year old and you've been a parent of a one-year-old before doesn't mean that what worked for that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-marcille/just-because-a-child-is-one-year-old-and-you-ve-been-a-parent-of-a/) [Eva Marcille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-marcille/) > [“Sometimes it's easier not to try to understand people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-lowery-nixon/sometimes-it-s-easier-not-to-try-to-understand-people/) [Joan Lowery Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-lowery-nixon/) > [it is always easier to do nothing than to try a new line of action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/it-is-always-easier-to-do-nothing-than-to-try-a-new-line-of-action/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [Man, I was a troubled kid. I was going to get kicked out of a Christian school and got sent to military school for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-earnhardt-jr/man-i-was-a-troubled-kid-i-was-going-to-get-kicked-out-of-a-christian/) [Dale Earnhardt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-earnhardt-jr/) > [Across the troubled maelstrom of time, people always need a beer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-kushner/across-the-troubled-maelstrom-of-time-people-always-need-a-beer/) [Ellen Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-kushner/) > [“Never before had I used my service to escape any woes that troubled me, but I did that day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-carey/never-before-had-i-used-my-service-to-escape-any-woes-that-troubled/) [Jacqueline Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-carey/) > [When the Savior Himself was born, there were troubled times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-b-wirthlin/when-the-savior-himself-was-born-there-were-troubled-times/) [Joseph B. Wirthlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-b-wirthlin/) > [Earthly majesty is always akin to the fallen angel, who is proud and unhappy, beautiful but troubled, and whose plans and efforts, though vast,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/earthly-majesty-is-always-akin-to-the-fallen-angel-who-is-proud-and/) [Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/) ## More by Nicholas Kristof > [I have a one-question language test that people who have lived abroad do better on than those who studied in a classroom. Try my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-kristof/i-have-a-one-question-language-test-that-people-who-have-lived-abroad/) [Nicholas Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-kristof/) > [There's something to be said for CEOs' entering politics: In theory, they have management expertise and financial savvy. Then again, it didn't work so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-kristof/there-s-something-to-be-said-for-ceos-entering-politics-in-theory/) [Nicholas Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-kristof/) > [A basic element of the American dream is equal access to education as the lubricant of social and economic mobility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-kristof/a-basic-element-of-the-american-dream-is-equal-access-to-education-as/) [Nicholas Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-kristof/) > [Every high school and college graduate in America should, I think, have some familiarity with statistics, economics and a foreign language such as Spanish.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-kristof/every-high-school-and-college-graduate-in-america-should-i-think-have/) [Nicholas Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-kristof/) > [However imperfectly, subsidies for the poor do actually reduce hunger, ease suffering and create opportunity, while subsidies for the rich result in more private…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-kristof/however-imperfectly-subsidies-for-the-poor-do-actually-reduce-hunger/) [Nicholas Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-kristof/) > [One of the aims of higher education is to broaden perspectives, and what better way than by a home stay in a really different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-kristof/one-of-the-aims-of-higher-education-is-to-broaden-perspectives-and/) [Nicholas Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-kristof/) > [I suspect unconscious bias has been far more of a factor for President Obama than overt racism and will also be a challenge for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-kristof/i-suspect-unconscious-bias-has-been-far-more-of-a-factor-for/) [Nicholas Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-kristof/) > [Utah may well be the most cosmopolitan state in America. 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