If your parents work hard jobs, say it proudly. Somebody’s long shifts are behind everything you have.

Work that leaves marks on a body gets talked about quietly, as though it needed managing in front of other people. Everything you own came out of somebody’s hours: the rent, the food, the bus fare, the phone. The job that paid for all that is not a thing to lower your voice about.

Say what your mum or dad does plainly next time it comes up, without softening the title. If you can, thank them for something specific rather than in general. People hear the difference between a vague thanks and a named one.