Family Values Quotes Revealing 5 Insights for Parents

I find quotes about family values inspirational, but reading one after another can get a bit much… What’s the big picture here? What can we learn from all this wisdom captured in quotes? 

We collected the most inspirational family values quotes and sayings and looked for patterns we could learn from. In this article, we share five insights into family values in the modern world and how you can strengthen the values in your family life.

Jump to section:

• Insight 1 – Values Have to Be Taught
• Insight 2 – Put Family First
• Insight 3 – Shared Values Strengthen Family Bonds
• Insight 4 – Values Are a Priceless Legacy
• Insight 5 – Modern Life Challenges Family Values
• How Simirity App Can Strengthen Family Values
• Summary of Family Values Quotes

Insight 1 – Values Have to Be Taught

It’s hard to fully appreciate the impact of healthy values on our lives. 

Many great things are built on a solid foundation of values. Many formidable obstacles are overcome by the values we want to uphold. Yet when we were born, none of these values that shape our daily thoughts and decisions were present.  

What’s right and wrong needs is taught, and the best way to lead by example.

"There is no doubt that it is around the family and the home that all the greatest virtues, the most dominating virtues of human, are created, strengthened and maintained."

— Winston Churchill

• “Our best chance of leaving behind a legacy is to teach those who want to learn, our kids, by standing firm. You can go with the flow when it comes to some things. But in matters of conscience, you need to stand firm.”

  — Kevin Costner

• “Our legacy will be defined by the victories and boldness by which our daughters and sons take on the challenges the world faces. I also wonder if perhaps the most important and long-lasting demonstration of one’s humility lies in our ability to teach and mentor our children.”

  — Naveen Jain

• “I was raised by a single mother who made a way for me. She used to scrub floors as a domestic worker, put a cleaning rag in her pocketbook and ride the subways in Brooklyn so I would have food on the table. But she taught me as I walked her to the subway that life is about not where you start, but where you're going. That's family values.”

  —  Al Sharpton

• “Children learn to smile from their parents.”

  — Shinichi Suzuki

Insight 2 – Put Family First

Our love of family and family friends makes it natural to want to put them first. 

The people we love are in our thoughts daily, yet often they get overlooked. It’s all too easy to be seduced by career or personal opportunities, but when push becomes shove, family and the people we love matter more than anything.

Whoever these people are in your life, could you make sure you put them first?

"I come from that society and there is a common thread, specifically family values – the idea that you do anything for your family, and the unconditional love for one's children."

— Ednita Nazario

• “Work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. The other four balls—family, health, friends, and integrity—are made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably scuffed, nicked, perhaps even shattered.”

  — Gary Keller

• “You can’t truly be considered successful in your business life if your home life is in shambles.”

  — Zig Ziglar

• “The strength of a family, like the strength of an army, lies in its loyalty to each other.”

  — Mario Puzo

•  “When all the dust is settled and all the crowds are gone, the things that matter are faith, family, and friends.”

  — Barbara Bush

• “Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family.”

  — Anthony Brandt

Insight 3 – Shared Values Strengthen Family Bonds

Families have a unique set of values that tie them together. 

It’s a connection that’s not one of blood, but in how we view the world. Strong families, armed with uplifting and empowering values, are aligned in their views and respect each other. And families lacking a unifying set of values are more likely to disagree and disconnect.

“The bond that keeps the family together is not made of blood but out of love and respect.”

— Unknown

• “We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.”

  — J.K. Rowling

Insight 4 – Values Are a Priceless Legacy

In truth, the values we inherit from our family are much more important than wealth and physical things. They are often passed on, connecting generations that never shall meet. 

As a parent, it’s clear to see my values within my children. I learned to value those things from my mother and father. It gets me thinking – how far back do our family values go? I see them in my grandparents, but I expect they go back many generations prior. And they will be inherited by many future generations. 

It’s fair to say it’s worth getting your values and beliefs in order, as they may be your greatest legacy. 

"I come from a large family, but I was not raised with a fortune. Something more was left me, and that was family values."

— Dikembe Mutombo

• “I believe in the value of life. I believe we must prepare our children for tomorrow with the family values of my grandparents.”

  — Ryan Zinke

• “Thank God I had all these family values or who knows where I'd be now.”

  — Patricia Velasquez

• “The greatest inheritance you can pass on to your children and grandchildren is more than the money or material possessions you get. It’s a legacy of both character and faith.”

  — Billy Graham

• “We are a continuum. In the same way that we reach back to our ancestors for our core values, so we, as guardians of our legacy, must reach ahead to future generations that come after us. And we do so with an awareness of sacredness in that reaching.”

  — Paul Tsongas

Insight 5 – Modern Life Challenges Family Values

Being in a family means you are a part of something very wonderful, but it’s not without its challenges, especially in the modern world.

Talking to the elder members of our society makes it clear that life used to be so very different. 

People had more time with fewer distractions. They still had jobs to do and more housework than we have today, but the focus of life was more on human connections. It’s still like that in many parts of the world, but most of the Western world is increasingly busy in search of more, more, and more.

Time has become the most precious commodity, and family time is being reduced. As families spend less time together, they become increasingly influenced by non-family members. Research shows that children increasingly decide what’s right and wrong based on their classmates, YouTubers, or what they read online. Hence the apparent decline in traditional family values.

And this comes at a time when religion, which traditionally was a key source of values, is playing less of a role in the West. Gallup surveys show that church membership in the US has dropped 20% since 1999 and is only accelerating as time passes.

From climate change to poverty and regional conflicts, the world faces a seemingly increasing array of challenges where strong values could unite people behind solutions. But at the same time, the values held by society are diversifying as people spend less time around family and religious institutions.

But all is not lost.

The family is the first essential cell of human society.

Pope John XXIII 

As families truly are the building blocks of society, strengthening family values could be an important step towards overcoming modern challenges and living better lives.

"In modern life, we tend to forget family values because of the hectic schedule."

— Mahesh Babu

• “Real family values have gone down the drain in modern families.”

  —  Wes Borland

• “The decline of the Sunday meal is a major concern because it means that family values are being forgotten. Once that creeps into mealtimes, it will begin creeping into other areas.”

  — Ainsley Harriott

• “I wish I had not been in a hurry to get on to the next things: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less.”

  — Anna Quindlen

• “In family relationships, ‘love’ is really spelled ‘t-i-m-e,’ time. Taking time for each other is the key for harmony at home.”

  — Dieter F. Uchtdorf

• “The dilemma for society is how to preserve personal and family values in a nation of diverse tastes.”

  — Tipper Gore

How Simirity App Can Strengthen Family Values

Simirity is a family business, and despite our children’s grandparents, aunts and cousins living aboard, we believe they can still be great role models. 

Social media and messaging apps are revolutionary, but they could be better at sharing life stories that demonstrate our values.

They offer snippets of something bigger, not a complete story that we can share with our children about what is happening in extended family’s lives. Demonstrating people’s courage, commitment to working hard, and perseverance to keep going when the chips are down. 

We built the Simirity App to help families stay meaningfully connected. 

Simirity App is a private storytelling app that unites your extended family in stories, even if you live apart.

Over time, your entire family can build an archive of digital stories filled with memorable photos, videos and audio. These shared experiences connect all family generations and demonstrate your family values without preaching.

By living according to our values, stories from our lives demonstrate our values firsthand. Moreover, these stories become synonymous with our values, and parents can refer their children back to loved ones stories when they are trying to make a point about values:

You remember your cousin Michael’s story about how hard he worked to succeed at Judo? We don’t give up in this family because things get hard. Learn from Michael, and you’ll get your reward in good time.

Sharing stories that younger generations can learn from is not a task you face alone. Stories from your parents, grandparents and siblings become inspiration for your children, entertaining and educating them simultaneously. And as they explore the stories of their family’s past, they become ever more connected to the grandparents, aunts and cousins they don’t usually get to see. 

You can kick-start story creation using the Story Requests feature, where you or your children ask extended family members to share stories on topics that interest you. Why Granddad John spent two years living abroad in his youth. What Aunt Jane enjoyed most about growing up in the 70s. Or how Grandma Jen coped with being sent to boarding school as a child.

These stories are woven into daily life with notifications of story anniversaries so that even when people are gone, their memory is never forgotten. Stories and precious memories of the people in your life will be preserved forever, welcoming future family with stories that will amaze, delight and educate them. 

Learn more about Simirity App and how to strengthen family values through stories. 

Summary of Family Values Quotes

We hope these inspirational family values quotes have reminded you of the importance of strong family values.

We should feel blessed to have so many healthy family values passed onto us by those who came before us. And now it’s our turn to share the right’s and wrong’s with our children and grandchildren. Do it all, and it may well be our greatest legacy.  

If you would like to explore 100 different core family values and ideas for adding them to your family life, view this article about family values.