“Children begin by loving their parents; as they grow older they judge them; sometimes they forgive them.”Oscar Wilde · Portretul lui Dorian Gray · 1890 · capitolul 2
We love our parents blindly, judge them once we form our own standards, and forgive them when we understand how hard parenting is.
Wilde maps three stages of growing up. The child sees parents as infallible gods, because he depends on them completely and has nothing to compare them with. The young adult develops his own standards and judges his parents harshly for their failures. Only later, once he understands how hard raising a child actually is, can he forgive. Many people live exactly this arc: at thirty they resent a father's absences, and at forty, having children of their own, they finally grasp the choices he made.
Why it matters The line helps anyone now fighting with their parents see the conflict as a stage rather than a final verdict, and reassures parents being judged by their children.