Are cheap/ free days out only really accessible to the better off?

[womaninatightspot]

Took the kids down to the loch today for a swim/ picnic in the late afternoon sun. Whilst technically free apart from a little bit of petrol, we seemed to have a lot of stuff. UV suits, beach shoes, shorty wetsuits, bouyancy aid, lifejacket, paddleboard.

My mum was a single parent on benefits for most of our childhood. I grew up on a council estate and we hardly went anywhere on daytrips not even to "free" places like the beach. The exception being every few years when the council would fund a scheme to take deprived children out and about

Is it the stuff that holds people back? The cost of traveI? I grew up in Edinburgh so lots of free places a bus ride away. I didn't make it to lots of places like the botanical gardens or the Dean gallery until I was an adult. I totally take my kids though.

@Saltyslug

People are limited by imagination, locating an old fire pit and cooing marshmallows, paddling in steams, building shelters in woodland, making a treasure hunt, rockpooling on the beach

Where do you imagine these are found when the only woodland is 4.5 miles away and is a 24/7 dogging spot, the local police wouldn't be pleased about you setting fires on the street outside your flat, the treasure you're most likely to find is used needles and the nearest beach is over 80 miles away?

I think it is attitude of the parents. Picnics in the park cost nothing except food you would have to eat anyway. In park near me free table tennis. Lots of kids eligible for free pass to sports centre with.swimming but classroom assistant told me hardly anyone had applied for a free pass over summer holidays. This was well advertised.

I think it depends on how you determine "better off".

My family just scraped by when we were little. My parents tag teamed on looking after us because they couldn't afford childcare or life on one income, most of our clothes were free hand-me-downs. But they had enough to put petrol in the car, make a packed lunch and take us off on a day trip that didn't cost more than that. There was never equipment involved, beyond suncream and maybe a ball or some towels for the beach.

But then you can easily argue that having a car and the ability to allocate petrol money to non-essential activities makes you better off. Or having energy at the end of a working day/week. Or the mental energy to think beyond where you are going to get rent money/food money from.

I think that the definition of what a cheap or free day out even is probably changes enormously with your income.

So many factors involved.

1. Inclination - if you've worked 50 hours a week in a factory you might not want to do much with the kids at weekend.
2. Location. If you're the 10th floor in a block of flats with 3 kids it might be a challenge just to get out of the flat.
3. Internet /WiFi to research or know about free or cheap days out in the first place.
4. As mentioned, the cost of getting there, cars and gas are expensive.

We live in a nice neighbourhood, next to a park with a kids play area, tennis courts, basketball court and baseball field, and lots of green space. All totally free to use. I thank my lucky stars everyday I can just walk to somewhere with so much free entertainment and fresh air for the kids.

The free swimming for kids is good but they would usually need an adult to accompany them, which isn’t free, plus the cost of swimsuits which could still be beyond some families. Also, many families won’t be able to swim because they haven’t been able to afford lessons so therefore won’t be inclined to go.

@ChessieFL

The free swimming for kids is good but they would usually need an adult to accompany them, which isn’t free, plus the cost of swimsuits which could still be beyond some families. Also, many families won’t be able to swim because they haven’t been able to afford lessons so therefore won’t be inclined to go.

This was us. Neither of my parents can swim — my father because he is from a poor inner-city background where swimming lessons would have been a mad rich person’s frill, my mother from a very poor background in a fishing community where the sea was a workplace, the fishermen couldn’t swim, and the idea of leisure swimming was ‘just for tourists’, like ‘going for a walk’.

So we never learned.

To take the children swimming at the nearest pool... £18.
£11 slightly further away.

@FakeFruitShoot

Loads of factors.

Time - shift work etc

Resources (including kit or equipment as you said)

Health of parent and kids - we know poor health and disability intersect with poverty

Knowledge - so many times I've found out about free events at other free events!

Transport

Inclination / confidence / energy levels

Kid:adult ratio

This is so true.

It really isn't just a financial issue.

I live in London, don't drive, have 3 youngish children (so am dependent on DP being available - he often works weekends). Often it is easier just to take them to the local places. We are pretty central so we are walking distance to several parks, massive splash park, canal, the river. All free.

Don't get me wrong we go on holiday, we have days out, we visit the bigger London attractions. We are just lucky with our location, I guess.

@Aroundtheworldin80moves

A lot of the cheap/free stuff we have planned for this summer we can do because we've previously paid for the start up costs.

We can go camping because we have all the equipment... which is hundreds of pounds bought in one go (we've built it up over the years). Plus having the car, trailer and roof box.

We can go canoeing because we have the canoe, safety equipment and licence.

We can go to the zoo because we have season tickets.

Bike rides because we have bikes.

Spend hours in the pool... which we bought. And had the garden space to put it in.

The car to get us places.

I know what you mean, I've invested quite a lot into stuff that means we can have have cheap/ free days out. If I was better financially organised I'd probably be able to work out a cost per use of items and the actual cost of a day out.