--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An adult is just a child who started to rot" description: "\"An adult is just a child who started to rot\" — Rene Barjavel" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dd/ren-barjavel-34938_adult_an-adult-is-just-a-child-who-started-to_3187991.jpg" --- # An adult is just a child who started to rot ![“An adult is just a child who started to rot” quote by Rene Barjavel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dd/ren-barjavel-34938_adult_an-adult-is-just-a-child-who-started-to_3187991.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dd/ren-barjavel-34938_adult_an-adult-is-just-a-child-who-started-to_3187991.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dd/ren-barjavel-34938_adult_an-adult-is-just-a-child-who-started-to_3187991.jpg) > “An adult is just a child who started to rot” [Rene Barjavel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-barjavel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People age and become cynical, losing the openness of childhood. **In simple terms:** Adults become jaded like spoiled children. Key Takeaway Guard against cynicism. Themes aging innocence corruption Mood reflective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - workplace culture - personal relationships - education systems Key Concepts psychology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What habits preserve youthful curiosity? - How does society influence adult attitudes? A Different Perspective Not all adults become jaded; many retain curiosity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adult/) [Adult Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adult-just-1063209/) [Adults](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adults/) [Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child/) [Child Started](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child-started-5869130/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Just Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just-child-458934/) [Started Rot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/started-rot-5869129/) ## Related quotes > [You’re not really an adult at all. You’re just a tall child holding a beer, having a conversation you don’t understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-moran/you-re-not-really-an-adult-at-all-you-re-just-a-tall-child-holding-a/) [Dylan Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-moran/) > [To tell the truth, I don't read children's books. I'm an adult. I just write them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-steig/to-tell-the-truth-i-don-t-read-children-s-books-i-m-an-adult-i-just/) [William Steig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-steig/) > [“When you're young you can't work out the age of an adult - they're just quite old, old, or very old.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-morpurgo/when-you-re-young-you-can-t-work-out-the-age-of-an-adult-they-re-just/) [Michael Morpurgo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-morpurgo/) > [“Calling a book "Young Adult" is just a fancy way of saying the book is censored.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus/calling-a-book-young-adult-is-just-a-fancy-way-of-saying-the-book-is/) [Oliver Markus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus/) > [You’re not an adult at all - you're just a tall child holding a beer, having conversations you don't understand...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-moran/you-re-not-an-adult-at-all-you-re-just-a-tall-child-holding-a-beer/) [Dylan Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-moran/) > [Every young person needs some adult who's just wild and crazy about them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-j-palmer/every-young-person-needs-some-adult-who-s-just-wild-and-crazy-about/) [Parker J. Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-j-palmer/) > [A child wants things to be a certain way. When you get to be an adult, you just understand that some people are good,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/a-child-wants-things-to-be-a-certain-way-when-you-get-to-be-an-adult/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [I've always been the person that I am, and like any adult, I just happen to go through physical changes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lux-pascal/i-ve-always-been-the-person-that-i-am-and-like-any-adult-i-just/) [Lux Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lux-pascal/) > [Have as much fun as you want, but not too much, because from now on you are old enough to be tried as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/have-as-much-fun-as-you-want-but-not-too-much-because-from-now-on-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I grew up an only child, so I was so much more adult. 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And you're nothing more than a human child.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-winning/just-a-child-all-this-time-we-ve-feared-you-sought-you-and-you-re/) [Joshua Winning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-winning/) > [“Just as a child is freely given, so is God's grace.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/just-as-a-child-is-freely-given-so-is-god-s-grace/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“Just because you are a child of God, that doesn’t mean you can act like a child." ~Renaud”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-j-a-gilbert/just-because-you-are-a-child-of-god-that-doesn-t-mean-you-can-act/) [Robert J.A. Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-j-a-gilbert/) > [Now is the time to understand That all your ideas of right and wrong Were just a child's training wheelsTo be laid aside When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hafez/now-is-the-time-to-understand-that-all-your-ideas-of-right-and-wrong/) [Hafez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hafez/) ## More by Rene Barjavel > [“I will even be able to free it from the power of gravity which attracts it to the future and to make it go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-barjavel/i-will-even-be-able-to-free-it-from-the-power-of-gravity-which/) [René Barjavel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-barjavel/) > [But if Satan speaks sometimes, God keep silent, always. We have to find the answers alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-barjavel/but-if-satan-speaks-sometimes-god-keep-silent-always-we-have-to-find/) [Rene Barjavel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-barjavel/) > [“inside this prison he lived in freedom”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-barjavel/inside-this-prison-he-lived-in-freedom/) [René Barjavel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-barjavel/) > [Let those who want to dance, dance. Let those who can awaken, awake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-barjavel/let-those-who-want-to-dance-dance-let-those-who-can-awaken-awake/) [Rene Barjavel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-barjavel/) > [They're us!They've repopulated the world, and now they've achieved the same state of idiocy they were in before, ready to blow themselves up all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-barjavel/they-re-us-they-ve-repopulated-the-world-and-now-they-ve-achieved-the/) [Rene Barjavel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-barjavel/) > [“I have depeloped a substance which allows me to command time at my discretion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-barjavel/i-have-depeloped-a-substance-which-allows-me-to-command-time-at-my/) [René Barjavel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-barjavel/) [Explore all 7 Rene Barjavel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-barjavel/) ## More Adult quotes > [I feel as though I've fooled the world into thinking I'm an adult and now they're letting me procreate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-murray/i-feel-as-though-i-ve-fooled-the-world-into-thinking-i-m-an-adult-and/) [George Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-murray/) > [There's always that discussion about fiction about how do you market it - these are books for boys, these are books for girls, these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-a-weatherly/there-s-always-that-discussion-about-fiction-about-how-do-you-market/) [L.A. Weatherly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-a-weatherly/) > [I am a big outliner. For my adult book, 'The Visibles,' I did not outline, and it took me two years to write because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-shepard/i-am-a-big-outliner-for-my-adult-book-the-visibles-i-did-not-outline/) [Sara Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-shepard/) > [“The cactus thrives in the desert while the fern thrives in the wetland. 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Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-x-chang/) > [Adults look upon a child as something empty that is to be filled through their own efforts, as something inert and helpless for which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/adults-look-upon-a-child-as-something-empty-that-is-to-be-filled/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [“English: "Being an adult doesn't mean killing the child we once were; it means being able to protect him." Česky: „Být dospělým neznamená zabít…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebasti-n-wortys/english-being-an-adult-doesn-t-mean-killing-the-child-we-once-were-it/) [Sebastián Wortys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebasti-n-wortys/) > [You know, children philosophize more than adults - and they are critical of adults.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/you-know-children-philosophize-more-than-adults-and-they-are-critical/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“There's such an intimate kind of beauty in the act of listening to music being created right in front of your eyes, watching the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-c-frank/there-s-such-an-intimate-kind-of-beauty-in-the-act-of-listening-to/) [M.C. Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-c-frank/) > [Whether we think of Disney's blonde beauty and her pumpkin carriage or Marissa Meyer's recent recasting of 'Cinderella' as a cyborg in the young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-rutkoski/whether-we-think-of-disney-s-blonde-beauty-and-her-pumpkin-carriage/) [Marie Rutkoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-rutkoski/) > [You have, unfortunately, a K-12 educational system where the requirements to graduate are not the requirements to be college and career-ready. So if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-chertavian/you-have-unfortunately-a-k-12-educational-system-where-the/) [Gerald Chertavian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-chertavian/) > [Child actors going on to become adult actors never really works, apart from a few. Jodie Foster was the exception.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lester/child-actors-going-on-to-become-adult-actors-never-really-works-apart/) [Mark Lester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lester/) > [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/) > [“Oh, I don’t mean to infer that you’re not a great guy. I’m sure you’re the exception to the rule.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaye-frances/oh-i-don-t-mean-to-infer-that-you-re-not-a-great-guy-i-m-sure-you-re/) [Jaye Frances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaye-frances/) [Browse all 1,153 Adult quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adult/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "An adult is just a child who started to rot", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rene Barjavel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-barjavel/an-adult-is-just-a-child-who-started-to-rot/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Adult" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-barjavel/an-adult-is-just-a-child-who-started-to-rot/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dd/ren-barjavel-34938_adult_an-adult-is-just-a-child-who-started-to_3187991.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dd/ren-barjavel-34938_adult_an-adult-is-just-a-child-who-started-to_3187991.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dd/ren-barjavel-34938_adult_an-adult-is-just-a-child-who-started-to_3187991.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“An adult is just a child who started to rot” — Rene Barjavel", "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": "Rene Barjavel", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-barjavel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "An adult is just a child...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-barjavel/an-adult-is-just-a-child-who-started-to-rot/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-barjavel/an-adult-is-just-a-child-who-started-to-rot/#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 } } ] } ```