A friend of mine has a not-so-great mother. He asked me, “What are some toxic mom quotes that I can use to help someone understand the situation that I’m in?” I felt compelled to put together a list… So I did.
It’s not easy to grow out of a toxic environment, especially when they are your immediate family members. This includes your parents, who are your primary caregivers, but sometimes parents are the ones who are toxic to the development of their children.
Being a mother must be one of the toughest and most challenging of them all, which is why it is understandable when children have complicated relationships with their mothers. However, there’s a fine line between having a complicated relationship with her and having a toxic relationship with your mother.
Some mothers or parents might be toxic to their children unknowingly or unintentionally, but the damage to the child’s self-esteem is still the same. Such unhealthy patterns in the mother’s behavior can significantly impact children, which manifests in the child’s personality and behavior, sometimes for the worse.
Look at these quotes about a toxic mother to help you understand this on a deeper leave.
Relatable Toxic Mom Quotes
βToxic mom quotes
“A child should never feel as if they need to earn a mother’s love.”
β Sherrie Campbell
“You don’t have to repeat the trauma of your childhood. Use the pain your mother inflicted on you to motivate you to find a better way to raise your own children.”
β Barrie Davenport
Related: Motivational quotes for your boyfriend
“Always keep in mind the existence of those individuals, whether relatives or great friends, who believe that reality must adapt to their immediate impulses and desires. Those who created opportunities to hurt you, and then find it funny to watch your pain, sometimes pointing it out to others, instead of protecting your privacy and helping you comfort yourself.”
“If the family you chose before your birth no longer supports your path towards fulfilling your true destiny, it is never too late to find a new tribe.”
“It is both tragic and freeing to accept that your mother is not capable of being the mother you always needed her to be.”
β Stephanie Wagner
“I was worthy of her love whether she gave it to me or not. Every child is worthy of love.”
“A toxic mother talks but never listens, and she gives advice but never takes any.”
β Sherrie Campbell
“An unloving mother robs the child of a sense of belonging. The need to belong can become a lifelong quest for him or her.”
β Peg Streep
“Our mothers tell us that there are no monsters under our beds, or hidden inside our closets, but they don’t warn us that sometimes monsters come dressed as people that claim to love you more than the sun loves the moon.”
β Nikita Gill
“When someone says, ‘After all I’ve done for youβ¦’ they are revealing that what they did for you was not for you at all, but for their own need to control you. Their generosity was just a contract with hidden terms of compliance. Breach that contract, and you become the problem.”
β Wade Mullen
“You have to learn to get up from the table when love is no longer being served.”
β Nina Simone
“A child, without toxic interference, will naturally become the person they are meant to be. AndrΓ© Chevalier”
β Nikki Sex
“We forget in order to survive our childhoods when we are totally dependent on our parents’ goodwill; but to recover from such childhoods, we must begin by remembering the bad and the good.”
β Victoria Secunda
“Just because someone is your family doesn’t mean you have to keep them around if they are toxic or abusive. Don’t let people guilt you.”
β Winnie Nantongo
“One day, you will tell your story of how you overcame what you went through, and it will be someone else’s survival guide.”
β BrenΓ© Brown
“I learned a long time ago that it’s not our fault if our parents are monsters. We can’t take responsibility for that, or we’re twice damaged. All we can do is try to go forward in a different way.”
“Family is supposed to be our safest haven. Very often, it’s the place we find the deepest heartache.”
β Lyanla Vansant
“The narcissist mother refuses to acknowledge her games if she is pouting, let her. If she is using guilt in an attempt to force you to do something, do not give in.”
“I didn’t grow up having role models. I grew up having people I didn’t want to be like and seeing situations I’d never want to be in. Not all of us are dealt the right cards, but that doesn’t mean you can’t reshuffle your deck for a better outcome.”
β Irina Vujakilja
“If you push me away, I promise you, you won’t find me where you left me. My heart is big, but not big enough to deal with people who decide to love me when it’s convenient for them.”
β Keanu Reeves
Quotes about the motherhood situation you’re in (images to share)
Inside this article
Fact checked:
Board reviewed by Marianne Tomlinson, LCSW (Couples and Family Therapy). Content is rigorously reviewed by a team of qualified and experienced fact checkers. Learn more.