Do your dcs have a lower standard of living than you had as a child?

[Podrick]

If so what is your take on this?

My 3 DDs definitely have a higher standard of living than i did, i grew up in a family where it was 'normal' for my parents to go out to the pub drinking 5 nights a week straight from work - to come home and my mum be there was quite a novelty so it was quite frequently myself and my 3 sisters were left to our own devices, babysitting younger sisters and cooking tea etc. We never had holidays, lived in a shabby council house and any 'nice' foods cakes etc were always bought for my dad and we had to ask permission before eating them.

I dont ever remember getting help with homework from my parents, or them taking an interest in my education - i was never encouraged to put the effort in. Also i was very much the unfashionable outcast teenager (girls can be cruel about appearances) as after rent bills food etc we had very little and that was spent to fund my parents nights out - all this together created a very uncomfortable childhood.

My daughters grow up in an environment where myself and my husband are there each night to cook their tea, bath them and tuck them safely into bed each night.They have a daily routine that they seem very secure in - something i never experienced as a child.

Treats are for everyone in the house although i do insist they ask before they take (not because i will say no but purely for manners sake).

Me and my DH believe strongly in family time and spend as much quality time as possible with our children, whether it be having fun playing games or painting, or purely cuddles and a biscuit together in front of cbeebies or the like.

We also care deeply about their education, both as a scholar and their religious upbringing - currently only the eldest is at school but we made sure she attends the best possible school we could get her into, and carry on her education at home, encouraging her and praising her achievements.

We are not 'well off' but we are comfortable and we live in a warm comfortable house with a nice garden, and our children always have food on the table, and are tidy and well turned out in appearance, and i try wherever possible to make sure that the eldest especially looks 'up to date' purely because i remember how cruel other girls were to me over my appearance and i do not wish her to experience the same isolation.

I want my girls views of their childhoods to be a far cry from mine!

my ds has a lower standard in terms of money.

i grew up in a fairly big house with a swimming pool. went to swimming, ballet, tap, jazz, piano, clarinet, drama lessons throughout the years. as well as rainbows, brownies, sunday school etc.

we live in a standard 3 bed semi in a slightly lesser area. ds goes to swimming lessons so far but he is only 3 so i hope to take him to other activities when he gets older.

we went to america every year.

ds has been twice but only because we went with my parents who paid the bulk of it for us.

my parents worked to start with so i went to a childminders. they retired not long after i started primary school though so were around a lot.

dh works and i am a sahm.

in terms of love i would say equal. i think i have them beat slightly being a lot younger parent than they were. as they were the same age as a lot of my friends grandparents when i was growing up and were not very fit so werent able to do as much in tthat sense which is obviously not there fault but it is something ds will benefit from that i didnt iyswim

Much, much higher but, frankly, they could hardly have a lower standard of living considering the god-awful childhood I had!!!

Much, much higher. We grew up in a succession of crappy rented houses, most without heating, some without bathrooms or indoor toilets, one without a floor(!), the product of divorce, unemployment and ideological attachment to ideas of the Good Life, until my folks got their act together and got jobs and mortgage when I was 11. But we were still pretty poor compared to my peers.

My kids have two parents, two salaries, a car, central heating, enough time and money to do the things they like doing.

LavenderKate, are our mothers related????