--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Above all, though, children are linked to…" description: "\"Above all, though, children are linked to adults by the simple fact that they are in process of turning into them. For this they may be forgiven much. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b6/philip-larkin-1822_adults_above-all-though-children-are-linked-to_1576232.jpg" --- # Above all, though, children are linked to adults by the… ![“Above all, though, children are linked to adults by the simple fact that they are in process of turning into them. For this they may be forgiven much. Children are bound to be inferior to adults, or there is no incentive to grow up.” quote by Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b6/philip-larkin-1822_adults_above-all-though-children-are-linked-to_1576232.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b6/philip-larkin-1822_adults_above-all-though-children-are-linked-to_1576232.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b6/philip-larkin-1822_adults_above-all-though-children-are-linked-to_1576232.jpg) > “Above all, though, children are linked to adults by the simple fact that they are in process of turning into them. For this they may be forgiven much. Children are bound to be inferior to adults, or there is no incentive to grow up.” [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Children inevitably become adults, earning forgiveness as they grow, but must be inferior to motivate maturation. **In simple terms:** Kids grow into adults, needing patience and growth. Key Takeaway Accept growth as a process. Themes growth forgiveness development Mood thoughtful empathetic Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - education - parenting - career progression Key Concepts human development intergenerational dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How can society value youth contributions? - What supports help children mature healthily? A Different Perspective Adults may resist acknowledging children's potential. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adults](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adults/) [Adults Incentive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adults-incentive-5944005/) [Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Children Linked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children-linked-5944003/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Forgiven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgiven/) [Forgiven Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgiven-children-3787881/) [Growing up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-up/) [Grows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grows/) [Incentives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incentives/) [Inferior Adults](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inferior-adults-5944004/) [Linked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/linked/) [Linked Adults](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/linked-adults-5944006/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Simple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simple/) ## Related quotes > [“Many of our churches have become content with creating well-behaved constituents instead of forgiven children of God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-grunewald/many-of-our-churches-have-become-content-with-creating-well-behaved/) [R.J. Grunewald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-grunewald/) > [In the bureaucracy, incentives will forever be inverted. Failure results in success: in more funds, more training, more time off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilana-mercer/in-the-bureaucracy-incentives-will-forever-be-inverted-failure/) [Ilana Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilana-mercer/) > [People from both political parties have long recognized that welfare without work creates negative incentives that lead to permanent poverty. 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Some of the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/biographies-of-great-but-especially-of-good-men-are-most-instructive/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [The world's industry must gain incentives to stop polluting and to invest in clean technologies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-tanti/the-world-s-industry-must-gain-incentives-to-stop-polluting-and-to/) [Tulsi Tanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-tanti/) > [When you rely on incentives, you undermine virtues. 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We have to take a look at the incentives that we can perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-think-we-have-to-take-a-look-at-corporate-law-we-have-to-take-a/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) ## More by Philip Larkin > [Deprivation is for me what daffodils were for Wordsworth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/deprivation-is-for-me-what-daffodils-were-for-wordsworth/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [Only one ship is seeking us, a black-Sailed unfamiliar, towing at her backA huge and birdless silence. In her wakeNo waters breed or break.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/only-one-ship-is-seeking-us-a-black-sailed-unfamiliar-towing-at-her/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [And immediately Rather than words comes the thought of high windows: The sun-comprehending glass, And beyond it, the deep blue air, that shows Nothing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/and-immediately-rather-than-words-comes-the-thought-of-high-windows/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [“Living toys are something novel, But it soon wears off somehow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/living-toys-are-something-novel-but-it-soon-wears-off-somehow/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [“Once I am sure there's nothing going on I step inside, letting the door thud shut. 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Something to do with violence A long way back, and wrong rewards, And arrogant eternity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/it-never-worked-for-me-something-to-do-with-violence-a-long-way-back/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [Seriously, I think it is a grave fault in life that so much time is wasted in social matters, because it not only takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/seriously-i-think-it-is-a-grave-fault-in-life-that-so-much-time-is/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [So many things I had thought forgotten Return to my mind with stranger pain: Like letters that arrive addressed to someone Who left the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/so-many-things-i-had-thought-forgotten-return-to-my-mind-with/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [“One of the quainter quirks of life is that we shall never know who dies on the same day as we do ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/one-of-the-quainter-quirks-of-life-is-that-we-shall-never-know-who/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [“I sit in my room like Miss Havisham, about whom I have been reading this week. 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