New breed of pushy parent created by the pandemic?

[Homeontherangeuk]

I have noticed in our circle of friends that previously relaxed parents have totally up the ante & previous "morals" regarding private school & tutors have gone completely out the window... I'm gathering the pandemic has created insecurity in parents who were previously happy with their kids education. The parents in question have also signed the kids up for loads of extracurriculars whereas pre covid they liked the kids to relax & play after school... So aibu to think the pandemic has created a new breed of pushy parents?

@InnaBun

Why does it matter? They've changed their opinion, people can do that.

It matters to me as they were so smug & condesending prior to the pandemic... Also without giving too much away, their dc are in one of the the UKs very top state school which many feel (on mumsnet) is akin to a top fee paying school anyway... They boasted about going "state all the way" never mentioning they paid over a million for their house so they could be within the tiny catchment area. So essentially they had paid for the privilege of going to the school but concealed this by bragging about how their kids would thrive in state blah blah...

Why are they in your circle of friends?
They aren't bringing you joy!

I was going to say.

You quite obviously don’t like them, so just cut them loose rather than bitching about them on the internet.

We're not are close as we were pre kids but still meet up with the dc now covid restrictions have relaxed. The dc get on very well... It's not that we dislike like them, they are very opinionated about their parenting style & how they can afford to be "unfrazzled", "l"don't agree with ferrying the dc around to pointless activities etc".. Now they have totally backtracked on their strong opinions.

It's not that we dislike like them

That’s ... not what’s coming across on here.

You obviously didn’t like them before and like them even less now.
Not a big deal.
School parents often have literally nothing in common except the fact their kids attend the same maths class.

We were friends for a long time pre kids... Our dc go to different schools

Then it's unlikely you'll stay 'friends'. Honestly, grow up!

They do sound annoying judgemntal and IME this doesn't tend to restrict itself to one area so perhaps it's just the schools comments felt like an attack on your values and choices.

I wonder if they need bigger house if they are wfh more or they've done well out of the pandemic and think they can now afford private - it dosen't really mater something in their lives has shifted.

It should be fewer pointed comments about your schooling choices but I expect you''ll find it shifts to something else - or having been on receiving end of it you'll notice it more generally.

No they're staying put but dc's moving to a very well know private about 20 mins from their house... I didn't ask their reasons & they gave no explanations which is absolutely reasonable, it is none of our businesses....
This is why I started the thread... I was curious to know if parents are less confident in their parenting abilities due to the pandemic?
As mentioned this family was vocally anti private, sneered at extracurriculars & valued unstructured playtime much more like many families. However now their dc are signed up to loads of activities & moving to the fee paying sector... It's a big turn around.

Loads of people do this - most of the kids at my dds fee paying secondary did state primary for a few years (or all the way through as my dd did).

The reality is that state schools didn’t do great at remote education, particularly if the parents were in full time jobs and unable to step in and play full time teacher/supervise their children’s work. Private schools did much better, because they had more resources at their disposal. It stands to reason that, if your friends were affected by the limitations of the state remote provision, and are in a position to pay for private, that their views might change.

My son started school just before the pandemic. He is now year 1 and hasn’t done a full year of school. He hasn’t struggled, and we have been in a position to support his home schooling, so I am not considering moving him. If the circumstances were different, of course I would consider it. I don’t want his education to suffer.

Similarly, he is 7 in September, and he hasn’t yet learnt to swim. So yes, I am focusing on that as an extra curricular. I also was very keen for him to start Beavers, because he’s currently intimidated by large groups of children, not having exposure to any since the pandemic started. I want to support him to have those experiences, of course I do.