22 Helpful Family Boundaries Quotes to Think About

While boundaries are necessary to protect ourselves and our sense of self, they can be difficult to set with our family members. Here are some family boundaries quotes to remind you that you are not alone.

You have every right to set boundaries within your family and create space for your inner growth and healing. And, if you enjoy quotes, check out these on self care and happiness.

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Family boundaries quotes for setting them

#1. “Living a connected life ultimately is about setting boundaries, spending less time and energy hustling and winning over people who don’t matter, and seeing the value of working on cultivating connection with family and close friends.” ~ Brené Brown (from Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead)

#2. “Honoring your own boundaries is the clearest message to others to honor them, too.” ~ Gina Greenlee

#3. “Setting boundaries brings division, honoring boundaries brings unity.” ~ Ashta Chaitanya

#4. “Your personal boundaries protect the inner core of your identity and your right to choices.” ~ Gerard Manley Hopkins

#5. “Boundaries are the distance at which I can love you and me simultaneously.” ~ Prentis Hemphill

#6. “Setting boundaries is a way of caring for myself. It doesn’t make me mean, selfish, or uncaring because I don’t do things your way. I care about me too.” ~ Christine Morgan

#7. “Setting boundaries is not a betrayal of your family, friends, partner, work, or anyone or anything else.” ~ Nedra Glover Tawwab (from Set Boundaries, Find Peace: A Guide to Reclaiming Yourself)

#8. “Sometimes you have to let go of what is killing you, even when it’s killing you to let go.” ~ Sherrie Campbell

Healthy boundaries quotes

#9. “A family is like a forest, when you are outside it is dense, when you are inside you see that each tree has its place.” ~ African proverb

#10. “You best teach others about healthy boundaries by enforcing yours on them.” ~ Bryant McGill

#11. “The hardest part about setting boundaries with people, no matter who they are, is not feeling confident in our authority to do so. As long as you realize that setting boundaries is necessary for healthy relationships, you will feel better defining and keeping them.” ~ Tamera Mowry

#12. “Compassion is all inclusive. Compassion knows no boundaries. Compassion comes with awareness, and awareness breaks all narrow territories.” ~ Amit Ray

#13. “Compassionate people ask for what they need. They say no when they need to, and when they say yes, they mean it. They’re compassionate because their boundaries keep them out of resentment.” ~ Brené Brown (from Rising Strong: The Reckoning. The Rumble. The Revolution)

#14. “There is healing in standing up for yourself. There is healing in setting boundaries. There is healing in self-love.” ~ Dana Arcuri (from Soul Cry: Releasing & Healing the Wounds of Trauma)

#15. “In a healthy family, you know how love is defined: It’s clear, has boundaries, and is attainable. Unfortunately, in a shame-bound family, love is a moving target; one day it’s this and one day it’s that, and just when you’re sure you’ve got it figured out, you discover you don’t.” ~ Brennan Manning

Difficulty with family boundaries quotes

#16. “Families living in dysfunction seldom have healthy boundaries. Dysfunctional families have trouble knowing where they stop and others begin.” ~ David W. Earle

#17. “When a parent refuses to hear the issues of adult children, the children turn either to each other or to outsiders, but both sides lose. The parent loses an opportunity for greater closeness with the child and the adult child must grieve the loss of the sought-for resolution that cannot come about.” ~ Anne Katherine (from Boundaries: Where You End and I Begin – How to Recognize and Set Healthy Boundaries)

#18. “Children who are not encouraged to do, to try, to explore, to master, and to risk failure, often feel helpless and inadequate. Over-controlled by anxious, fearful parents, these children often become anxious and fearful themselves. This makes it difficult for them to mature. Many never outgrow the need for ongoing parental guidance and control. As a result, their parents continue to invade, manipulate, and frequently dominate their lives.” ~ Susan Forward

#19. “You cannot fix people who will not take feedback, because from their perspective, they do not have a problem.” ~ Henry Cloud (from Necessary Endings)

#20. “People may get angry at us for setting boundaries; they can’t use us anymore. They may try to help us feel guilty so we will remove our boundary and return to the old system of letting them use or abuse us. Don’t feel guilty and don’t back down.” ~ Melody Beattie

#21. “People with a style of denial and blaming are definitely on the list of unsafe people to avoid.” ~ Henry Cloud

#22. “Unhealthy families discourage individual expression. Everyone must conform to the thoughts and actions of the toxic parents. They promote fusion, a blurring of personal boundaries, a welding together of family members. On an unconscious level, it is hard for family members to know where one ends and another begins. In their efforts to be close, they often suffocate one another’s individuality.” ~ Susan Forward (from Toxic Parents: Overcoming Their Hurtful Legacy and Reclaiming Your Life)

Setting and respecting healthy boundaries is tough to achieve but it is vital for maintaining strong, healthy family ties. I hope these family boundaries quotes remind you it’s okay and normal to prioritize your own needs. Doing just that can actually strengthen the relationship with those we love and create happier, healthier family dynamics.