--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: my childhood grew thin and flat…" description: "\"my childhood grew thin and flat, paperlike. It was tired and threadbare, and in low moments it didn't look like it would last until I was grown up.\" — ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6b/tove-ditlevsen-48825_childhood_my-childhood-grew-thin-and-flat-paperlik_1492155.png" --- # my childhood grew thin and flat, paperlike. It was tired… ![“my childhood grew thin and flat, paperlike. It was tired and threadbare, and in low moments it didn't look like it would last until I was grown up.” quote by Tove Ditlevsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6b/tove-ditlevsen-48825_childhood_my-childhood-grew-thin-and-flat-paperlik_1492155.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6b/tove-ditlevsen-48825_childhood_my-childhood-grew-thin-and-flat-paperlik_1492155.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6b/tove-ditlevsen-48825_childhood_my-childhood-grew-thin-and-flat-paperlik_1492155.png) > “my childhood grew thin and flat, paperlike. It was tired and threadbare, and in low moments it didn't look like it would last until I was grown up.” [Tove Ditlevsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-ditlevsen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It portrays childhood as fragile, worn, and uncertain about lasting into adulthood. **In simple terms:** Childhood feels fragile and uncertain. Key Takeaway Nurture resilience in youth. Themes childhood fragility growth Mood melancholic hopeful Type reflective poetic When to use this quote - parenting - education - mental health support Key Concepts vulnerability identity formation Questions to Reflect On - How can we protect children’s sense of stability? - What helps transform fragile childhoods into strong adulthood? A Different Perspective Not all childhoods are fragile; many are resilient. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Week by week my orders grew, and the flat of the old mill soon assumed a very busy aspect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nasmyth/week-by-week-my-orders-grew-and-the-flat-of-the-old-mill-soon-assumed/) [James Nasmyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nasmyth/) > [Mine wasn't a lakes-and-boats kind of childhood. I grew up on a Glasgow council estate with a single mother. For our holidays, we went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-macdonald/mine-wasn-t-a-lakes-and-boats-kind-of-childhood-i-grew-up-on-a/) [Kelly Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-macdonald/) > [I grew up in a small town in northeastern Indiana. I had an all-American childhood. And I grew up as an optimist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-meeker/i-grew-up-in-a-small-town-in-northeastern-indiana-i-had-an-all/) [Mary Meeker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-meeker/) > [(Talks about her childhood) I grew up on a Christmas tree farm in Reading, PA. It was the most magical fun childhood. We had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/talks-about-her-childhood-i-grew-up-on-a-christmas-tree-farm-in/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [My whole childhood I grew up wanting to be a professional basketball player.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becky-hammon/my-whole-childhood-i-grew-up-wanting-to-be-a-professional-basketball/) [Becky Hammon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becky-hammon/) > [I grew up in uptown Jamaica; I went to a rich school. I was raised by my mother and my stepfather; they made sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-marley/i-grew-up-in-uptown-jamaica-i-went-to-a-rich-school-i-was-raised-by/) [Damian Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-marley/) > [“Why are you perpetuating a childhood you grew up despising?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-rodriguez/why-are-you-perpetuating-a-childhood-you-grew-up-despising/) Mona Rodriguez > [I had a nice childhood, even though I grew up in hotels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luka-modric/i-had-a-nice-childhood-even-though-i-grew-up-in-hotels/) [Luka Modric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luka-modric/) > [That was my childhood. 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One of my obsessions is men's co-respondent lace-ups.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twiggy/i-love-flat-shoes-more-so-than-heels-one-of-my-obsessions-is-men-s-co/) [Twiggy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twiggy/) > [ Gonna rain like a cow pissin' on a flat rock" \[drugstore clerk to detective Virgil Flowers\] Dark of the Moon, p.7 ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sandford/gonna-rain-like-a-cow-pissin-on-a-flat-rock-drugstore-clerk-to/) [John Sandford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sandford/) > [Flat muscled and honey coloured. Sea secrets in his eyes. A silver raindrop in his ear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/flat-muscled-and-honey-coloured-sea-secrets-in-his-eyes-a-silver/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Christianity does not oppose debauchery and uncontrollable passions and the like as much as it opposes... flat mediocrity, this nauseating atmosphere, this homey, civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christianity-does-not-oppose-debauchery-and-uncontrollable-passions/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage! Blow! You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout Till you have drenched our teeples, drowned the cocks! You sulphurour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/blow-winds-and-crack-your-cheeks-rage-blow-you-cataracts-and/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## More by Tove Ditlevsen > [Childhood is long and narrow like a coffin, and you can't get out of it on your own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-ditlevsen/childhood-is-long-and-narrow-like-a-coffin-and-you-can-t-get-out-of/) [Tove Ditlevsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-ditlevsen/) > [I fear / the place I have / in the memory of others. / They remind me of things / I myself have forgot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-ditlevsen/i-fear-the-place-i-have-in-the-memory-of-others-they-remind-me-of/) [Tove Ditlevsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-ditlevsen/) > [my poems covered the bare places in my childhood like the fine, new skin under a scab that hasn't yet fallen off completely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-ditlevsen/my-poems-covered-the-bare-places-in-my-childhood-like-the-fine-new/) [Tove Ditlevsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-ditlevsen/) > [Memory, that library of the soul from which I will draw knowledge and experience for the rest of my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-ditlevsen/memory-that-library-of-the-soul-from-which-i-will-draw-knowledge-and/) [Tove Ditlevsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-ditlevsen/) > [ \[On her mother:\] My relationship with her is close, painful, and skaky, and I always have to keep searching for a sign of love.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-ditlevsen/on-her-mother-my-relationship-with-her-is-close-painful-and-skaky-and/) [Tove Ditlevsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-ditlevsen/) > [Down in the bottom of my childhood my father stands laughing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-ditlevsen/down-in-the-bottom-of-my-childhood-my-father-stands-laughing/) [Tove Ditlevsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-ditlevsen/) [Explore all 7 Tove Ditlevsen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-ditlevsen/) ## More Childhood quotes > [“Children's lives are always beginning and adults' lives are always ending. Or is it the opposite? 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/) > [“From childhood’s hour I have not been As others were—I have not seen As others saw—I could not bring My passions from a common…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/from-childhood-s-hour-i-have-not-been-as-others-were-i-have-not-seen/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [We were so poor as kids. I didn't even see a bathtub, running water, hot water, commode - we didn't have any of that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-robertson/we-were-so-poor-as-kids-i-didn-t-even-see-a-bathtub-running-water-hot/) [Phil Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-robertson/) > [I had a rough upbringing. Group homes. Foster homes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-shamrock/i-had-a-rough-upbringing-group-homes-foster-homes/) [Frank Shamrock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-shamrock/) > [When I talk about my childhood I used to say it as if it was scripted and I'd make jokes because it was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-katona/when-i-talk-about-my-childhood-i-used-to-say-it-as-if-it-was-scripted/) [Kerry Katona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-katona/) > [Every man remembers his childhood as a kind of mythical age, just as every nation's childhood is its mythical age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/every-man-remembers-his-childhood-as-a-kind-of-mythical-age-just-as/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) > [It's a very familiar type of place where people either go to their house on the lake or they get together in different places.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-carell/it-s-a-very-familiar-type-of-place-where-people-either-go-to-their/) [Steve Carell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-carell/) > [Ideal for the child and society in the best of times, Rudolf Steiner's brilliant process of education is critically needed and profoundly relevant now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-chilton-pearce/ideal-for-the-child-and-society-in-the-best-of-times-rudolf-steiner-s/) [Joseph Chilton Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-chilton-pearce/) > [Downstairs in my house, I have a museum room. I keep all of my awards down there, and childhood photos, and even all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-kelly/downstairs-in-my-house-i-have-a-museum-room-i-keep-all-of-my-awards/) [R. Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-kelly/) > [Childhood is Last Chance Gulch for happiness. After that, you know too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/childhood-is-last-chance-gulch-for-happiness-after-that-you-know-too/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [On paper, it looks rough, but I had a great childhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-morton/on-paper-it-looks-rough-but-i-had-a-great-childhood/) [Samantha Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-morton/) > [Let positive, strong, helpful thoughts enter into your brains from very childhood. Lay yourselves open to these thoughts, and not to weakening and paralysing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/let-positive-strong-helpful-thoughts-enter-into-your-brains-from-very/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [I always knew that I was kind of bored; the regular life of a child didn't fit me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-ricci/i-always-knew-that-i-was-kind-of-bored-the-regular-life-of-a-child/) [Christina Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-ricci/) > [Children are not a zoo of entertainingly exotic creatures, but an array of mirrors in which the human predicament leaps out at us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/children-are-not-a-zoo-of-entertainingly-exotic-creatures-but-an/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I'm not sure I would have ever started to draw, let alone write, if my childhood hadn't been so happy. It was a mixture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-jansson/i-m-not-sure-i-would-have-ever-started-to-draw-let-alone-write-if-my/) [Tove Jansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-jansson/) [Browse all 5,837 Childhood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "my childhood grew thin and flat, paperlike. 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