What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child.
George Bernard ShawRead
The natural term of the affection of the human animal for its offspring is six years.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that the instinctive emotional bond between parents and their children has a natural duration of about six years.
George Bernard Shaw's quote implies that the profound affection and attachment that parents feel towards their children has a biological or instinctual limitation, positing that the most intense emotional connection typically lasts around six years. This could suggest a transition in parental roles or relationships as the child grows older and becomes more independent, reflecting a natural evolution in familial dynamics.
Themes
AffectionChildrenParentingBondFamilyAttachment
In practice
Example use cases
A parent quoting this at a parenting seminar to discuss the nature of emotional attachment.
More from George Bernard Shaw
All quotes βMarriage is good enough for the lower classes: they have facilities for desertion that are denied to us.
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Forgive him, for he believes that the customs of his tribe are the laws of nature!
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Those who talk most about the blessings of marriage and the constancy of its vows are the very people who declare that if the chain were broken and the prisoners left free to choose, the whole social fabric would fly asunder. You cannot have the argument both ways. If the prisoner is happy, why lock him in? If he is not, why pretend that he is?
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Treat a friend as a person who may someday become your enemy; an enemy as a person who may someday become your friend.
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The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality.
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Similar quotes
I have a sister, so I know-that relationship, it's all about fairness: you want your sibling to have exactly what you have-the same amount of toys, the same number of meatballs on your spaghetti, the same share of love. But being a mother is completely different. You want your child to have more than you ever did. You want to build a fire underneath her and watch her soar. It's bigger than words.
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A father may turn his back on his child, brothers and sisters may become inveterate enemies, husbands may desert their wives, wives their husbands. But a mother's love endures through all.
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I think you are who you are, and your kids will see who you are. So you'd better be a good person, because they are going to see it, and that's going to shape them. They are going to become you.
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I tell myself that God gave my children many gifts - spirit, beauty, intelligence, the capacity to make friends and to inspire respect. There was only one gift he held back - length of life.
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