Did you grow up in a “living room family” or a “bedroom family?” It’s a question that’s been gaining steam on social media since the concept gained widespread attention online around 2024.

People in “bedroom families” spend their time behind closed doors, mostly alone in their bedrooms. The kids play, hang out, and amuse themselves in their own space, and are usually forbidden from entering their parents’ bedroom sanctuary. “Living room families” are more open—everyone’s out and about in the house most of the time, and bedrooms are rarely used for anything but sleeping.

Every family is different, but there’s certainly been a cultural shift in recent decades. Many Millennials and Gen Xers grew up in childhood households with ornately decorated living rooms, couches draped in plastic, and “no-shoes-allowed” carpets. And many of them are now trying to raise their own kids in a more open and connected way.

Modern parents weigh in on the culture shock of having “living room kids”

A simple observation on Threads recently sparked hundreds of comments. One user wrote, “Bedroom child raising living room children is absolutely wild.”

The thread was off and running from there, with throngs of Millennial and Gen X........

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