Parenting Trends: Are You a Bedroom or Living Room Parent?

TikTok is once again getting the conversation started when it comes to parenting styles. The latest question posed by users—Are you a bedroom or a living room parent?

Marissa Kile, the face behind the self-proclaimed chaotic MomTok maroo927, recently got users thinking when she shared her story of having bedroom parents. “I grew up where my parents hung out in their bedroom,” she explains. “like 24/7, they were never in the living room, okay? So, like, going into my parents’ bedroom was like a sacred thing. Like, you stood at the door, and you waited for permission to go in, okay,” Kile said.

The crux of her theory centers around the fact that people are either bedroom parents—parents who spend the majority of their time at home in their bedroom, a space oftentimes designated as a sanctuary away from their kids—or living room parents, who spend the majority of their time hanging out in the living room with their kids.

Kile explains that when she was younger, her parents often retreated to their room, leaving her wishing they would’ve spent more time with her in the living room or other shared living spaces. Now a mom herself Kile is staunchly a living room parent.

Since sharing her story, Kile has garnered thousands of comments and likes from those who grew up with bedroom or living room parents. Several commenters added that the bedroom parents of today aren’t all that bad, noting that bedroom parents have made strides in being more present and that sometimes it’s necessary to be a bedroom parent for your sanity in high-stress times.

So, whether you’re all about the bedroom, all about the living room, or hanging somewhere in between, the real superstar in this show is the parent who’s doing what’s right for them and their family.