Franklin compresses a demographic observation into a short proverb: children born when their parents are relatively old may lose those parents earlier in their own lives. The phrase “late children” refers to children born later in a parent’s lifetime, while “early orphans” describes the greater chance that they will experience parental death at a younger age.

The saying reflects the shorter life expectancy and greater mortality risks of Franklin’s period, but its underlying point concerns the relationship between generations. Parental age can affect how long parents and children are likely to share their lives. It should not be read as a fixed rule, since individual longevity varies greatly and modern health conditions differ substantially from those of the eighteenth century. The broader lesson is that the timing of parenthood can have consequences not only for parents, but also for the future experience of their children.