Why are middle class kids always so sporty, outdoorsy & confident?

[Greensleeves6]

Both from state & private schools. Just an observation. But why?

You let yours stay up until they were 13? Mine were down at 6. Honestly parents these days are too soft.

In answer to the OPs question, the private school I work in has 4.5 hours of sport a week. They have many more opportunities to present work in class, assemblies, recitals etc. There are shy and non-sporty kids, but most find a sport they will at least tolerate,

As I said, we live in the countryside.

Also often bug gardens with lots of space to run around.

And that was a decision we made when I was pregnant.

Moving from London to the countryside was depressing in some ways but meant the kids got the kind of childhood that I wanted them to have. They all live in cities now though!

It isn't normal for a whole class of four and five year olds to have such a narrow experience of the world, that's my point.

My DC are middle class, my eldest has dyspraxia so he’s definitely not naturally sporty! Nor confident. My youngest is a lot more capable physically. They’re both outdoorsy because we are an outdoorsy family but they likely have sensory issues so things like getting socks and shoes on after being on the beach are a nightmare. Oh and rain.

So to sum up, no.

I hate defining ourselves by class but I suppose my son is middle class - his dad's a university professor. My son is absolutely not sporty or confident. Quite the opposite.

We have 4. None of them were anything like that. In fact they rebelled against this stereotype.

Dd refused to go to prom. They were much more into music and games.

What a bizarre thread. Middle-class children absolutely aren’t all confident, sporty and outdoorsy, so the premise is false.

Not all of them are but I grew up in a very deprived area and now live in a very middle class area and I can absolutely see a difference in my son and his peers and how me and my friends were.

The main difference for me is the opportunities available to my DS. I understand that this will be very location specific but where we live there is a huge sporting event which takes place all summer and means all children living in the area have an opportunity to be involved. It's organised by local people (mainly parents but not exclusively) who give up their time to train kids in different sports all summer and then the kids compete in teams in September. It's free for the kids and relies on donations.
This means at age 9 my DS has tried a range of sports that I didn't try until secondary school or as an adult (or not at all!!)

Therefore lots of kids around here are sporty and have a level of confidence gained through team sports and competition.

This event relies on parents having the time, money and flexibility to take kids to training and on these parents have the disposable income to donate to the running of the event. Something my parents certainly didn't have.

I also think actually a lot of the “working class” kids are very very sporty. In my DC school they’re the ones picked for the school football teams.

I agree.

But l think the post is about skinning and tennis. Not football and boxing. This is why l hate tennis. It’s a middle class support supported by wealthy people. At least football is open to everyone.

My DC have been to the beach lots and gone on holiday a couple of time a year but I don’t think they would know what a lighthouse is. I haven’t seen one in many years.

Football is not the only sport though. It's traditionally a working class sport and the opportunities to get involved in it at a grassroots level for little money close to where you live are ample.

It's harder to get involved in ice skating or diving without money and transport.

Why do you think that? My kids have never been skiing and one is learning tennis now at 25.

They went running and swimming and played football. They are relentlessly middle class!

At my DC’s largely middle class school, football and rugby are The Sports for boys. Netball and hockey for the girls. A lot do also other sports outside of school of course.

Because their successful parents are confident and out-going risk-takers? I think a lot of this is genetic.

I really don't think not knowing what a lighthouse is means they have an excessively narrow view of the world!

I only know one family like this. Kids are in their teens and go to a private school.

It's because their mum quit her very high-powered job when she had them, and instead threw herself into project managing their lives (and their schools, once they got there). She's done all the PTA/governor/sport meets for 16 years, driven them to every competition and drama school, and now they're sporty, confident (quite terrifyingly so) young people.

Exactly what Collexifon said.

With respect, the pp is giving her conclusions as a (presumably fairly experienced) supply teacher who teaches in a wide range of schools and sees considerable variance in cultural capital even at a very young age, which is entirely understandable and surely not surprising. The fact that it might not be what you think is the most accurate of examples isn't really the point, is it?

My DC have been to the beach lots and gone on holiday a couple of time a year but I don’t think they would know what a lighthouse is. I haven’t seen one in many years.

It's not just seeing one (and it's not just lighthouses). It's being read to and playing games. Having conversations. That's all a part of giving children experiences and knowledge.

Ans what I'm finding is that some children just don't have very much and the gap is getting bigger.

I know loads of confident young people. In fact very few hiding behind a screen ones. Some of them went to private school but lots didn't.

It's sad that the only confidence mentioned here so far are the ones with the stereotypical mum (no criticism of dad?)

We should absolutely strive for confidence in our teens. Confidence is not the same as arrogance.

They aren't. They have more opportunities- and fewer practical hurdles to overcome. And that is a huge advantage. But they can still struggle.

They aren't all sporty.

Most will have a hobby though - whether that be music, sports, or whatever.

WC kids are less likely to have a hobby simply because it chats more money.

Football is very WC dominated.