Middle class kids don't play out as much as working class children

I grew up in a council estate, and we were out for morning to night. Both my parents worked full time but there was never sort of a need for a nanny or a child minder 😂 there was always someone on the estate who would take you in make sure you were feb and could run and knock on if needed anything. Everyone knew everyone and looked out for each other. We weren’t a feral bunch though like my friends - we had the occasional bad egg but mainly we were good kids. Shared paddling pools, playing tag, riding our bikes etc
we recently moved from a very middle / upper class London area which is known for being very middle class and famous for it 😂 but there is also a huge proportion of council estates and the gap there is huge in terms of wealth. We actually lived on an estate that was a council/ HA but they had knocked some blocks down and rebuilt private apartments / houses and you would of had to be middle class wealth wise to ever have afforded one. In reality it seemed bonkers one apartment worth over a mil in the same estate where the other flats were being rented out in London for 500.00 ( council ) we went back and fourth on the idea and went for it and honestly it was the best thing we did, the estate kids were ace and our children loved them. My older Dc played out with friends a mixture of the 2 and the younger DC would either have play dates or we would take him out.

My son plays out but he's the only one! Other parents seem to worried to let their kids play out.

It was one of those urban myths as a kid. The kiddy catchers have been to (insert neighbouring village) in a such and such colour car and they'll be coming for us next! Cue lots of running around and staying away from the main road. Not difficult when you live in a rural location with a childhood like a poor womans famous five. Alas they never did catch any of us, but it all added to the mystery and intrigue of playing out.

@Seed90

There is no greater risk for children to be snatched from the streets than there was years ago. It is such a rare occurrence that it tends to make headlines when it does happen.

This is a great point. Nowadays there's so many options - after school clubs at school and a huge range of other options, a kid can have a more scheduled social life than an adult and thats madness! Maybe we were poor in the 80s/90s but i largely remember limited options of karate/taekwondo for the boys and gymnastics for the girls but many went to neither. That left a few hours after your tea practically every night for some good old playing out. Fresh air, lots of mischief and exploring and no screens or any sort of mobile device and we all survived!

It's a shame that so many kids have such limited time for free play with friends (whether at a playground or elsewhere), given all its benefits. Especially because many of these children have parents who want the absolute best for their kids and think they're providing this by giving them access to so many different activities and experiences. But no gymnastics class, swimming lesson, computing club or sports club can replicate the benefits of playground play for children.

I was a child of the 80s and played out and had a lot of freedom, very middle/upper middle class area.

My children play out as do lots of children on our road, it’s a middle class area, but definitely more at the weekend where they may be out playing all Saturday and Sunday, far less in the week due to work and clubs etc.

I think it very much depends on where you live and your neighbours etc, other parts of the same area to us have a lot of kids but never see any of them playing out whcih is sad - and that goes against what others here have posted as that is a more working class area / housing development

i dont think i’m classified as middle class as i’m not originally from britain. But yes we are high income household and my kids not playing outside eventhough there is park only 3 mins walk from my house.

my boys are busy with activities almost everyday of the week. Monday swimming, tuesday horse riding, wednesday coding class, thursday off (the rest at home) and friday gymnastic. After all that activity they still need to do homework or just general study with me before bed. On the weekend we do family thing together. We usually going out and we often bring them to softplay or any other parks if the want to have fun. But rarely to go to the park outside my house.

my boys often goes on playdate with friends from his school but even the playdate we never meet on the park. Usually softlay, farm or any other paid activities.

My son plays out with his friends at the weekend, but I always go to the park with him. School evenings he usually just wants to play with his sister around the house. We don’t do any after school activities.

Obviously it’s ok playing out now, but a lot of the year parks are miserable in cold, wet weather with soaked play equipment.

We were middle class-ish kids in the 70s. Always played out. Kids did then regardless of income etc. Different world

I played out all the time as a child late 90s-early 2000s. I grew up in a nice suburban area with lots of play parks and green spaces. Lots of nice kids and families but definitely nowhere near as posh as to attend private school or anything like that. I have really fond memories of summers playing out.

What’s your definition of a ‘safe’ enough area for children to play unsupervised? In my opinion there are no safe places for children (until a certain age) to be without an adult. All it takes is someone with bad intentions to seize an opportunity.

I don't know about playing out, but where we live there is a real playground culture. We are lucky to have multiple playgrounds within walking distance and a lot of kids stop in at the playground on the way back from school for a run around. It helps that most kids round here walk to school, rather than being driven. A lot of families live in flats or have small gardens, so many stop in at the playground with their kids almost every day. That said, kids are usually supervised, albeit from a distance for older ones.

I have a friend whose child is at the local private school, and the kids there don't seem to play out so much, although her DC joins us to play sometimes. We've actually discussed this and think it's probably due to a number of factors - greater use of wraparound care, more extracurricular activities and homework, more children are driven to school and there isn't a playground near the school for kids to meet up at. They have playdates and parties though, although these can be hard to organise as it sounds like everyone has quite busy lives.

@BiscuityBoyle what is a middle class estate?

Am I being completely ignorant in thinking estates are just council homes?

I grew up on a quiet street with plenty of kids tho. We were definitely middle class and some on my street were even upper middle class (one went to Harrow!!). We all played out on the street. Some more than others but I never noticed it. I’m not sure if some of whether kids played out when I was young in 90s was where they lived. If you lived on a cul de sac or quiet road in my village you would much more likely play out than if you were on a busy road

My daughter is at football practice and athletics 4 times a week after school and weekends, she never wants to “play out”

🤣 memories 🤭

My grandparents lived on a row of council houses and I used to love visiting them and playing out and knocking for other children to play with. I had magical summers there. Didn't get it at all in my middle class city growing up

I was a child well before the 80s and we only ever played in the garden. I do appreciate that we were lucky to have one, though.

🤣

Children used to play out in the 70s and earlier mainly because mum was too busy doing household chores without the labour saving white goods we have now. Supermarkets weren’t everywhere so shopping was done more frequently and very households had a second car, many didn’t have any car. So basically kids were shooed outside to get out from under her feet. So the primary purpose was not for the child’s benefit

If your child is at after school club until 5pm to enable you to have a full time job, or maybe even 6pm, hypothetically, they are never going to be able to "play out" on a week night. They'll most likely be able to play outside with kids at school tho.

Yep children are out from 4 (nursery age, not reception) where I live "supervised" by elder siblings, who are realistically just tearing off on their bikes leaving the siblings behind. They kick balls with little regard to people's property and leave litter everywhere.

We live in a typical Welsh valley and I don't think class exists in quite the same way as in England. There are a few more "middle class" families and they keep their children in gardens or take them to/from activities. They're allowed out to play but for much less time and usually with a shorter distance to reign.