They disliked children while they were children themselves

From Florence King's With Charity Toward None: A Fond Look at Misanthropy, page 162, discussing Ayn Rand and Ambrose Bierce.

It was not simply that Rand and Bierce came as adults to dislike children (they did), but that they disliked children while they were children themselves, and resented being children. I know the feeling well; it's hard to be a misanthrope when you're that short.