Abstract Combining research in developmental sociolinguistics and L1 acquisition, this study explores how caregivers may orient children towards (socio)linguistic norms through parental feedback. Based on self-recorded family interactions in the Belgian-Dutch setting, it applies a top-down quantitative perspective to examine feedback on non-conventional versus non-standard language use, alongside a bottom-up qualitative perspective highlighting factors that influence parental feedback occurrence. Findings reveal limited feedback on children’s non-standard language use, with participation frameworks and multiactivity contexts emerging as possible constraints. The combined approach also foregrounds possible tensions between researcher categorisations and participants’ perspectives. Overall, this study offers a first step in bridging research on parental feedback and sociolinguistic variation, identifying patterns that merit further investigation.