Is Cubs middle class??

My parents are working class and they sent 2 children to those clubs! Never heard if it being a middle class thing?! Your friend must be mistaken.

Easy to say if you’re middle class/have lots of social capital/have have not spent a life time inagining yourself or actually being put down by the “poshos”. It’s much more complicated than you think.

I was a Cub leader for over 10 years, based in a village with a mixed demographic. I would say we skewed towards mostly WC kids. I loved the fact that we were giving opportunities to kids who would never have the chance to try things like kayaking, climbing, shooting, archery, etc. Our more affluent parents were very generous, offering to subsidise those who could not afford camps/activities - we didn't need to take them up on their offers as we already had a slush fund for this.

How extremely sad for your friend's son that his mother is restricting his life experience to those things she thinks are working class enough. Why would anyone do that to their child? Talk about inverted snobbery.
Maybe in time she'll stop him from doing A levels or going to university in case he " gets ideas above his station". Poor child.
So many efforts by organisations to promote social mobility, must be like banging your head against a brick wall with people like your friend.

So, is your friend is not wanting her son to join cubs because she thinks it's middle class??

My DD actually went to cubs and not Brownies. Other clubs my children have attended are tennis, horse riding, ballet, youth concert band and creative writing, so I'd possibly get her point on those ones - not that is should matter one bit (although that's mostly to do with how expensive they there!) Also karate, boxing and football.

Cubs is sooo good for kids and inexpensive. I've no idea what her problem is but it would be a shame if she didn't let her son try this because of her skewed views on something so daft.

Middle class means good.

Your mum friend is suffering from Pathological Inverted Snobbery. One of the eternal structuring forces of UK society!

My child has done it all, beavers, cubs, scouts and is now a young leader. My other child has been horse riding for the last 10 years.
I couldn't be more stereotypically working class if I tried so I think if you have middle class ambitions scouting won't be enough (perhaps throw in badminton and a few ski trips a year?)🤣

That is completely bonkers. How is cubs middle class, and who actually cares. She is insane.

I think it is a bit of a myth that working class parents are not engaged. Yes you are going to get some that are not bothered but ime of .being a WC parent we gave our kids opportunities and engaged with them.

All the clubs my kids have attended and the demographics of the all the other children there:

Toddler groups: Mixed. Depends on the area.
Street Dance: WC
Ballet: MC
MMA: WC
Youth Club: WC
Gymnastics: WC
Scottish Opera children's choir (allow me this stealth boast!): Soooo MC!
Into University (academic support for disadvantaged kids): WC but quite a specific section of the WC. Mostly black and Asian kids with super ambitious 1st generation immigrant parents.
Cubs and Brownies: Both MC

HtH

No I think cubs/scouts and brownies/guides are some of the cheapest after school activities so are accessible to far more people than many other things like music or dance.

Sadly, like most things it’s populated by people who have the confidence, time, resources and awareness to take advantage of it. So yes, it does tend to be more middle class. Despite being open to all and as cheap as it can possibly be.

As a whole organisation... its fir everyone
Locally... different groups will attract different people. Some groups are a lot "posher" than others.

All of it is run by volunteers.

No I don’t think so! I would say we are middle class now but as a kid growing up I was more working class and did brownies and guides, I’d say a mix of people go. My DS also 9 loves cubs, 3-4 camps a year, lots of different activities and I think it’s a great thing for them to do.

Probably depends where you live. I found that of all the activities my kids did, Cubs and Scouts had the most mixed demographic, in part due to where it was held and also because it was low cost and didn't need expensive kit like lots of sports etc. We lived almost equidistant between 2 groups. The one we went to was in a Church hall in a bit of a run down town whereas about the same distance in the other direction there's a group with it's own HQ in a much more upmarket area. The second group had a far more middle class membership, had more equipment, went on more expensive trips etc and I can see that if your only experience of Scouting was a group like that or seeing pictures of the Princess of Wales at events then it might come across as "posh". But our group had a real mix of people ranging from kids from low income families in the town where it was held to some from fairly wealthy families in surrounding villages. Most of the activities were quite simple and low cost. Camp was local, the Christmas outing would be to the nearby amateur panto rather than a coach trip to a professional one and so on. My boys loved it and made some lifelong friends. I'm sure the other group was great too but I preferred the feel of ours. Some of it was nostalgia - it reminded me of my own childhood and even the Church hall had the same musty smell as the one I went to Guides in - but I thought it was great how much fun the kids had without needing to throw lots of money at it and I think that was a good life lesson for them

I’m on the fence about this. Mines are a bit older so scouts / guides in a way it’s the most accessible activity they do subs are £2 a week. The leaders are really engaged/ proactive.

Ours runs with a lot of community support but there is lots of so and so works for forestry commission, university, council, local big estate. there lots of opportunities for the kids. I think there’s something a bit middle class about it or possibly it’s Possibly it’s the constant fundraising so we can keep subs artificially low / accessible. Possibly it’s just the kids who go tend to be a bit mc and have supportive parents?

She's doing her child a disservice, if she'll only let them do things she deems "working class".

Maybe it was years ago but really don’t think so these days, must depend on area though.
My DD went to brownies and the kids there were from a mixture of backgrounds.
Anyway does it matter if the kids enjoy it?

It's a steal at that price, let's face it

Horse riding and fencing, she might have a point. Cubs at the local scout hall or whatever it’s called? She’s a prat 😂