SOME parenting habits speak volumes about our lifestyles, even when we don’t notice it ourselves.
And it turns out that there are some giveaway signs that you may actually be lower middle class, according to parenting experts.
Giving your kids a tablet in public can have negative effects on their development[/caption]
It can be tempting when you have kids to give them a tablet in a restaurant or on a day out in order to keep them entertained.
However, according to parenting experts – although it can seem like a “life hack” at the time, it can actually be an indicator that you aren’t as posh as you think.
Sarah Jeffries, a specialist in Paediatric First Aid, said that iPads and devices are often used by lower middle class families, who have “busy work schedules and limited resources.”
She told Fabulous that this often means kids can be left in front of screens or by themselves.
This comes as half of all children under eight own a tablet device and spend an average of about 2.25 hours a day on screens, according to Common Sense Media.
Sarah Oliver, of Cradle & Tonic, backed this up saying: “If you’re juggling work and bills, you’re going to value convenience.
“That might mean the tablet becomes a babysitter or dinner comes from the freezer more often than not.
“It’s not neglect but survival.”
It’s not the only giveaway sign that you are “lower middle class”…
EATING FAST FOOD IN CARS
When cash is tight, you have to get creative to make fun for the family.
According to Janee Young, a Clinical Director of Wellness Detox of LA, a trip to McDonald’s can be the main activity of the day.
She explained: “I’ve seen families create ‘drive-through nights’ by eating fast food in the car parked in the driveway because ‘it feels like going out.
“It’s silly, smart, and full of joy.”
SUPERMARKET DAYS OUT
Life can get busy, but one thing that “lower middle class” families sometimes do is turn supermarket shops into a fun day out, according to a family court lawyer.
Joanna Smykowski, a Senior Contributor at Custody X Change, said: “Another small but telling example is how family time often happens around errands.
“I’ve seen parents turn grocery runs into mini outings, letting kids pick a treat or help with shopping as a way to connect in the middle of a busy day.
“It might not look picture-perfect, but it’s real—finding moments of togetherness in the chaos is its own kind of love language.”
TURNING CHORES INTO GAMES
Janee said another way families create free fun and keep kids entertained can be turning “laundry day into a game show”.
She said this can be anything from who folds towels fastest, or pairs the most socks.
WEALTHIER PARENTING STYLE
Sarah Oliver explained the noticeable difference between the parenting styles of lower middle class families and those with slightly more wealth.
She shared: “Middle-class ideals around parenting now lean towards ‘enrichment.’
“You see families booking extracurriculars, reading groups, and sensory play classes – all designed to signal involvement and investment.
“But that’s a privilege built on flexible work hours and disposable income.
“If your job doesn’t give you that, you simply can’t replicate it.
“Even discipline styles show this divide.
“Parents with less bandwidth often default to rules and routine because structure feels safe and manageable.
“Those with more resources can afford to experiment with ‘gentle parenting,’ therapy talk, and choices, because they’ve got the time to negotiate tantrums instead of rushing to work.”
Do tablets soothe kids or make them worse?
GIVING children phones or iPads to calm a tantrum — like using a “digital dummy” — makes their behaviour worse, scientists warned.
They say the common tactic prevents kids from learning how to manage their emotions, leading to more anger and other “severe emotion regulation problems”.
Out of 265 under-fives monitored in a study, those who were calmed with digital devices had worse emotional control a year later.
They were more prone to anger outbursts and struggled to regulate their feelings, researchers claimed.
Ofcom figures show nearly 90 per cent of UK three to four-year-olds use the internet regularly, mostly to watch videos.
A quarter of toddlers even have their own smartphone.
Study author Dr Veronika Konok, from Eotvos Lorand University, Hungary, said: “Tantrums cannot be cured by digital devices.
“Children have to learn how to manage their negative emotions for themselves.
“We show that if parents regularly offer a digital device to their child to calm them or to stop a tantrum, the child won’t learn.
“This leads to more severe emotion regulation problems, specifically anger management problems, later in life.”
