#BigParentingIdea — ‘I Know You Better Than You Know Yourself’ Is One Of The Dumbest Clichés Ever

Lukasz Laniecki
Aug 9, 2017 · 2 min read

Last scene from the movie The Truman Show:

CHRISTOF: You can leave if you want. I won’t try to stop you. But you won’t survive out there. You don’t know what to do, where to go.

A wave of doubt washes over Truman’s face.

TRUMAN (referring to the photo of his love Silvia, the only real thing in his life whom Christof removed from the show crew): I have a map.

CHRISTOF: Truman, I’ve watched you your whole life. I saw you take your first step, your first word, your first kiss. I know you better than you know yourself. You’re not going to walk out that door.

TRUMAN: You never had a camera in my head.

By walking out that door Truman proved to Christof that he was wrong. That he only assumed (based on what he believed to be true) that he knew Truman better than Truman knew himself. In reality he didn’t know him better.

Watching someone grow up for so many years, seeing that first step, hearing that first word, is not tantamount to knowing this person better than he / she knows himself / herself.

A parent will never be able to know his / her child better than he / she is able to know himself / herself. It’s impossible.

Stop repeating those dumb clichés! You never had a camera in his / her head.


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Rethinking Parenting

Fundamental questions about the way we parent

Lukasz Laniecki

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Thinker | Writer | Artist | 100% Positivity | Zero Excuses My books 📚 http://amzn.to/2qdiu6c

Rethinking Parenting

Fundamental questions about the way we parent

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