proverb · Words worth keeping
Study to be worthy of your parents.
Study to be worthy of your parents.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Aim to conduct yourself in a way that honours the care or example you received. Being worthy of parents is better understood as reflection on values than obedience to every expectation.
What the words are saying
The saying directs a child’s effort toward a standard associated with their parents. It can encourage gratitude and conscientious conduct where a family has offered care. Yet parents may have harmful expectations, and people do not need to earn basic worth by pleasing them. A careful reading asks which values deserve to be carried forward and which need to be questioned. Respect can include an independent, principled choice.
Everyday example
Someone carries forward a parent’s example of fairness while choosing a different profession from the one the parent preferred.
When to use it
Use it to reflect on worthwhile values received through family care.
What it does not mean
A person’s worth does not depend on parental approval or obedience to harmful expectations.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases
Entry 1210 · Parents
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English