{"id":27925,"date":"2025-04-16T10:49:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T02:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/?post_type=oasis-news&p=27925"},"modified":"2025-04-15T14:43:36","modified_gmt":"2025-04-15T06:43:36","slug":"the-importance-of-setting-boundaries-with-friends-roommates-and-family","status":"publish","type":"oasis-news","link":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/oasis-news\/the-importance-of-setting-boundaries-with-friends-roommates-and-family\/","title":{"rendered":"The importance of setting boundaries with friends, house mates and family"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Reading time: 3 minutes<\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

University life is full of new experiences\u2014living away from home, meeting new people, managing your own schedule. But with that freedom comes the challenge of managing your relationships in a way that protects your time, energy and mental health. That\u2019s where boundaries come in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Setting boundaries isn\u2019t about being cold or distant. It\u2019s about being clear on what you need to function well\u2014and respecting that others have their own limits too. Here\u2019s how that plays out with the people you\u2019re most likely to deal with every day: friends, house mates and your family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With friends: Knowing when to say ‘no’<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

University friendships can feel intense. You live close by, hang out between classes and often rely on each other for support. But constant availability isn\u2019t healthy. You\u2019re allowed to say ‘no’ to a night out if you\u2019re drained or have a heap of deadlines to meet. You can pass on a group hang if you need to study or just want quiet. The people who respect you won\u2019t take it personally\u2014and if someone does, that\u2019s worth noticing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good friends should understand that you\u2019re juggling classes, jobs, family and everything else. Being honest about your capacity doesn\u2019t make you a bad friend. It shows you\u2019re self-aware and responsible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With house mates: Clear expectations matter<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Living with other people is one of the biggest adjustments. Everyone has different routines, hygiene standards and ideas about what shared space means. That\u2019s why boundaries need to be set early. Talk about noise, guests, cleaning and shared items before they become a problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You don\u2019t have to be confrontational. A simple, \u201cHey, I need the kitchen free around 7pm for cooking\u2014can we work that out?\u201d goes a long way. The goal isn\u2019t to control the space; it\u2019s to make sure everyone feels comfortable living there. Boundaries avoid resentment, which builds fast if things go unspoken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With family: Balancing connection and independence<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moving away from home doesn\u2019t mean cutting ties with family, but it does mean re-defining how that relationship works. Maybe your parents expect constant updates. Maybe a sibling keeps calling during your busiest times. It\u2019s okay to let them know when you\u2019re not available\u2014or when you need space to focus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can still stay close while asking for privacy or more independence. A message like, \u201cI love talking with you, but I can\u2019t always reply during the week. Can we check in on Sundays?\u201d is respectful and clear. Most families want to support you; they might just need help understanding what that looks like now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boundaries are a form of self-respect<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learning to set boundaries doesn\u2019t happen overnight. It takes practice. You might feel guilty at first. You might over-explain. But the more you do it, the easier it gets\u2014and the better your relationships will be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being clear about your limits helps others know where they stand with you. It reduces stress, avoids misunderstandings and gives you more space to focus on what matters. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Setting boundaries isn\u2019t about being cold or distant. It\u2019s about being clear on what you need to function well\u2014and respecting that others have their own limits too. | Reading time: 3 mins<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4418,"featured_media":27926,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"6293,7213,5644,7238,6740,4705","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","wds_primary_oasis-categories":0,"footnotes":""},"oasis-categories":[146,149],"class_list":["post-27925","oasis-news","type-oasis-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","oasis-categories-student-life","oasis-categories-wellbeing"],"acf":{"post_options":{"":null,"banner":{"image":false}}},"featured_image":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/AdobeStock_423899456-1000x500.jpg","author_meta":{"first_name":"Rachelle","last_name":"Erzay","display_name":"Rachelle Erzay"},"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-13 05:22:34","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"oasis-categories","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oasis-news\/27925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oasis-news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/oasis-news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oasis-news\/27925\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"oasis-categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oasis-categories?post=27925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}