--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If children live with hostility, they…" description: "\"If children live with hostility, they learn to fight. If they live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive. If they live with criticism, they learn to..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc9/ron-finley-40957_children_if-children-live-with-hostility-they-lea_1942342.jpg" --- # If children live with hostility, they learn to fight. If… ![“If children live with hostility, they learn to fight. If they live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive. If they live with criticism, they learn to condemn.” quote by Ron Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc9/ron-finley-40957_children_if-children-live-with-hostility-they-lea_1942342.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc9/ron-finley-40957_children_if-children-live-with-hostility-they-lea_1942342.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc9/ron-finley-40957_children_if-children-live-with-hostility-they-lea_1942342.jpg) > “If children live with hostility, they learn to fight. If they live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive. If they live with criticism, they learn to condemn.” [Ron Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-finley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Children absorb the emotional climate around them, shaping their future behavior and attitudes. **In simple terms:** Kids mimic the feelings they grow up with. Key Takeaway Create nurturing, safe environments for children. Themes parenting emotional development behavior education psychology growth Mood concerned hopeful reflective Type advice observational psychological When to use this quote - family meals - school settings - therapy sessions - community programs - parenting workshops Key Concepts attachment theory social learning emotional intelligence Questions to Reflect On - How does your own emotional state affect your child? - What steps can you take to foster positivity? A Different Perspective If external factors are negative, children may develop maladaptive coping mechanisms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticism/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Fight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fight/) [Hostility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hostility/) ## Related quotes > [If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn. If he lives with hostility, he learn s to fight. 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Michael Straczynski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-michael-straczynski/) > [“All Criticism is Good Criticism. Learn from it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamilia-fair/all-criticism-is-good-criticism-learn-from-it/) Jamilia Fair > [“Pretending to know everything gets you nowhere. Seek criticism. That's how you learn what you need to know. That's how you grow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tannerc/pretending-to-know-everything-gets-you-nowhere-seek-criticism-that-s/) Tannerc > [You learn from any criticism. You learn from any self-criticism. And you learn from when you do things the right way: you try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-nagy/you-learn-from-any-criticism-you-learn-from-any-self-criticism-and/) [Matt Nagy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-nagy/) > [The most effective self-criticism is to also learn the art of self-encouragement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/the-most-effective-self-criticism-is-to-also-learn-the-art-of-self/) Senoraroy > [Children learn what they live. If a child lives with criticism... he learns to condemn. 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But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-ponder/it-is-easy-to-speak-words-of-love-or-to-meditate-lovingly-upon-those/) [Catherine Ponder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-ponder/) > [Indifference is harder to fight than hostility, and there is nothing that kills an agitation like having everybody admit that it is fundamentally right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crystal-eastman/indifference-is-harder-to-fight-than-hostility-and-there-is-nothing/) [Crystal Eastman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crystal-eastman/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) ## More by Ron Finley > [People in my neighborhood are so disconnected from the fresh food supply that kids don't know an eggplant from a sweet potato. We have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-finley/people-in-my-neighborhood-are-so-disconnected-from-the-fresh-food/) [Ron Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-finley/) > [The funny thing about sustainability is you gotta sustain it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-finley/the-funny-thing-about-sustainability-is-you-gotta-sustain-it/) [Ron Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-finley/) > [If kids grow kale, kids eat kale. If they grow tomatoes, they eat tomatoes. But when none of this is presented to them, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-finley/if-kids-grow-kale-kids-eat-kale-if-they-grow-tomatoes-they-eat/) [Ron Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-finley/) > [People need to realize how powerful the transformation of soil can be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-finley/people-need-to-realize-how-powerful-the-transformation-of-soil-can-be/) [Ron Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-finley/) > [I'm an artist. Gardening is my graffiti. I grow my art. 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