Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To speculate on the Typical Mumsnet poster ?

137 replies

Baptoste · 28/03/2023 17:45

I've been thinking about the typical Mumsnet poster and I'm thinking it would typically be the mum in the 'Outnumbered' family -

Middle class

Living in London

Living in traditional house as opposed to on an estate

OP posts:
Kanaloa · 28/03/2023 18:02

The mum from Outnumbered actually is a mumsnet poster. Well, on fictional mumsnet! It’s a bit of a running joke, she will mention oh I saw x on mumsnet and her husband rolls his eyes. So she was on here going ‘AIBU to send my kids to school with nits? She caught them at school in the first place!’

Realistically I think it’s unlikely that there are enough posters fitting her description to make her the ‘typical’ poster.

Zola1 · 28/03/2023 18:03

I don't think I am those things.
Working class, live in the North West, live in a normal house on a road in a bang average sort of area, between a nice part and a very not nice part.
I do think that there are a lot of MN users who pretend to be something they're not. You know, my husband earns 500000000000 a year and I'm just not sure that my nanny is doing a good enough job so I'm going to post on MN to humble brag.
Or... I can't believe you allow your beloved little darlings to eat SUGAR, mine only eat oat cakes as a treat.

Very very limited users on here who appear to just be normal people living normal lives

TokyoStories · 28/03/2023 18:03

Mainly because I like R3 and R4 and 19th century literature I think

The very definition of middle class Grin

Justcallmebebes · 28/03/2023 18:04

I live in a house but apart from that, nope. Way off

BoxOfCats · 28/03/2023 18:04

No kids and live in New Zealand Smile

stayathomer · 28/03/2023 18:04

It’s a difficult one, I think those on higher wages etc keep their heads down because they get such crap for it and the ones that are freer with details are those that have a semi d or detached house, very few people talk about living in apartments although I know loads of people who have lived/are living in them

Whoiscomingtosaveyou · 28/03/2023 18:05

1/3

EarringsandLipstick · 28/03/2023 18:06

Nonsense & so reductive

Lots of MN posters - including me - live outside the UK, but of course many many more live well outside suburban London.

Crikeyalmighty · 28/03/2023 18:09

2 out of 3 - if you define middle class as household income above 60k and likes shopping at M&S and Waitrose. 'Middle class' isa funny term though as I've still got my northern accent and am originally from a mining town and we shop well , but rent!

ClassicLib · 28/03/2023 18:09

Well, I don’t live in London, I’m certainly not middle class and last time I checked I wasn’t a mum (fortunately), so I’m not exactly typical.

Deathbyfluffy · 28/03/2023 18:11

0/3. Generalisation is never good, and this thread shows why

OldTinHat · 28/03/2023 18:11

No, no and no!!

Tietheapron · 28/03/2023 18:14

The perfect MNetter falls into one of two categories.

Your first MNetter followed the typical trajectory. Went to a RG university, partied hard but also studied hard, went on to a graduate position in London and spent her twenties partying and travelling. Met her future husband at some point between university and 27. Married in late twenties. Had children at the acceptable age (between 32-34. Any younger and you did not make the most of travelling; any older and you are selfish and your child will be embarrassed.) Now lives somewhere in the Home Counties. This type was more prominent in the sites early days.

MNetter no2 is the overcoming adversity type so has things in common with no1, but had a traumatic childhood and/or adolescence.

freetheunicorn1 · 28/03/2023 18:15

Middle class - meh possibly but do people really still think about class

London - definitely not

House - neither or your options

What is typical 🤷🏼‍♀️

MissLucyLiu · 28/03/2023 18:16

What is middle class?

And yes I do live in London! But To be honest I don't think from my experience majority of the people are from London! There are a lot of threads on recommendations for people coming into London for a dinner or for weekend!

FelicityFlops · 28/03/2023 18:17

Fat, tatoos, multiple children, with some kind of disability, toxic or non-existent relationship.
Low standard of education.
We are talking about the average here.

IhearyouClemFandango · 28/03/2023 18:18

2/3

IglesiasPiggl · 28/03/2023 18:18

I think that's probably the demographic that started MN, but it's expanded and diversified considerably since the early days.

Tittyfilarious81 · 28/03/2023 18:19

Zola1 ·
I don't think I am those things.
Working class, live in the North West, live in a normal house on a road in a bang average sort of area, between a nice part and a very not nice part.

same as me , this is how I'd describe myself.

Ludo19 · 28/03/2023 18:19

FelicityFlops · 28/03/2023 18:17

Fat, tatoos, multiple children, with some kind of disability, toxic or non-existent relationship.
Low standard of education.
We are talking about the average here.

That made me 🤣

lucylantern · 28/03/2023 18:24

Tietheapron · 28/03/2023 18:14

The perfect MNetter falls into one of two categories.

Your first MNetter followed the typical trajectory. Went to a RG university, partied hard but also studied hard, went on to a graduate position in London and spent her twenties partying and travelling. Met her future husband at some point between university and 27. Married in late twenties. Had children at the acceptable age (between 32-34. Any younger and you did not make the most of travelling; any older and you are selfish and your child will be embarrassed.) Now lives somewhere in the Home Counties. This type was more prominent in the sites early days.

MNetter no2 is the overcoming adversity type so has things in common with no1, but had a traumatic childhood and/or adolescence.

This!

Sometimes old threads pop up from 2002-2008ish and they all seem to fit into category one. Although in those days they used to live in North London in houses they bought for about 250k. These days this type have mostly all moved out of London by the time their kids are in primary school.

maddiemookins16mum · 28/03/2023 18:33

Nope.
I’m going with 3 bed semi in Faversham. 2 kids aged 3 and 10. Married.
Joint income of 70K.

Tietheapron · 28/03/2023 18:41

I love a pre 2010 MN thread. Grumbling about badly paid nannies from Eastern Europe who are lazy, lots of very earnest discussions about au pairs and cleaners and husbands working abroad. It’s another world.

EatYourVegetables · 28/03/2023 18:43

There are frequent posts “I have 37p until next Friday, what do I feed my kids” and also “I can’t find a house for £ 1.1mil it’s BRUTAL” so there doesn’t seem to be anything “typical”.

Veenah · 28/03/2023 18:46

1/3