"You know your children are growing up when they stop asking you where they came from and refuse to tell you where they're going"
About this Quote
The intent is comic, but the subtext is sharper than a sitcom punchline. "Where they came from" carries a double meaning: the literal sex talk, yes, but also origin stories, family mythology, the comforting belief that parents can explain the world. When kids "refuse to tell you where they're going", O'Rourke sketches the modern parent’s demotion from authority to bystander. It’s a loss of access: to plans, to friends, to interior life. Refusal becomes the new rite of passage.
Context matters: O'Rourke’s journalism trades in libertarian skepticism and anti-sentimental humor, so the line sidesteps the usual Hallmark framing of parenting. It treats family life as a negotiation over information and power, where the punchline is also the truth: raising children is, structurally, the long process of being made unnecessary.
Quote Details
| Topic | Parenting |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite | Cite this Quote |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
O'Rourke, P. J. (n.d.). You know your children are growing up when they stop asking you where they came from and refuse to tell you where they're going. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/you-know-your-children-are-growing-up-when-they-15920/
Chicago Style
O'Rourke, P. J. "You know your children are growing up when they stop asking you where they came from and refuse to tell you where they're going." FixQuotes. Accessed February 3, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/you-know-your-children-are-growing-up-when-they-15920/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"You know your children are growing up when they stop asking you where they came from and refuse to tell you where they're going." FixQuotes, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/you-know-your-children-are-growing-up-when-they-15920/. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.
