To think that a child who has never been camping is not necessarily from a ‘deprived’ background

[Urbandweller]

DD’s school organised a camping trip for Y5. DD is younger and didn’t attend but her class teacher went to chaperone. I was chatting with her about it today and she said she was so glad the school was able to organise the trip as so many of the Y5 kids had never been camping and would never otherwise get the chance to go. It was clear that she felt sorry for the children who hadn’t been before and was shaking her head sorrowfully, saying many of them are the same poor kids who have never been to the beach and this is one of the saddest aspects of deprivation...

AIBU to not see the link between camping and deprivation? We’ve never taken DD because it’s my idea of hell, nothing to do with lack of funds!

I’ve never been camping as a child (or an adult) and I grew up far from deprivation or poverty 🙈

@SleepingStandingUp

Parents were resistant because their children were returning home soaked to the skin and ill after spending 8 hours in the rain. But shes right in that with proper waterproofs theyd have been fine and obv assumed that if the kids go weekly and still don't have them, it must be cost rather than poor parenting

Who would be ‘fine’ after spending 8 hours in the rain, with or without waterproofs? Parents were voicing perfectly valid concerns. I volunteered on several of the trips and it was horrid when it rained, the kids had to eat their packed lunch on a sodden freezing ground. But Ms Outdoors Lover decided that any parents who objected were culturally deficient

She is UR - many dc in my school whose family have little money or in receipt of FSM go camping because it is affordable.

She is UR - many dc in my school whose family have little money or in receipt of FSM go camping because it is affordable.
Fgs of course there are interested parents on low income however some families don't because instead of saving £10 a week they eat drink or smoke it or owe it to the loan man after Christmas.
Point being many DC never have the opportunity to visit a beach or go camping.
Some don't leave the estate.

OP the parents at this school sound like a nightmare.

Camping fucking sucks. Why would I leave my comfortable warm bed to sleep in a cold, muddy field? I loathe it. I just about tolerate glamping because they have proper beds! We're going glamping this summer because my kids love it, but I absolutely draw the line at camping.

And as for deprivation and camping. Ha. My good friend has been to so many different countries and been on some of the most luxurious cruises I've ever heard of, but she's never been camping.

I taught in inner London, in a school with over 60% FSM and yes I would estimate nearly all of those kids had never been camping, most of them had never left the borough they lived in.

So no it's not weird at all. I took my form to the seaside for the day and many of the kids told me themselves that they had never been to the beach before, I ended up spending over £100 on ice creams, rides and fish and chips. Worth every penny.

I'm 46, not from a deprived background and would rather stick pins in my own eyeballs than go camping!

I taught in inner London, in a school with over 60% FSM and yes I would estimate nearly all of those kids had never been camping, most of them had never left the borough they lived in.
I've no doubt I live in the inner city, reading this thread is eye opening. I have been a mn along time I'm shocked that pps couldn't see the teachers comment is a reality for lots of DC.

Who would be ‘fine’ after spending 8 hours in the rain, with or without waterproofs? Parents were voicing perfectly valid concerns. I volunteered on several of the trips and it was horrid when it rained, the kids had to eat their packed lunch on a sodden freezing ground. But Ms Outdoors Lover decided that any parents who objected were culturally deficien

Of course they'd be fine in proper waterproofs. There are dc who attend forest schools full time all day 5 days a week. The more you update the more I sympathise with this teacher who it sounds like it's trying to offer great opportunities for all dc

So basically you just don’t like this teacher so you interpret everything she says in the most negative light possible so you can slag her off on forums?

In all honesty OP I'm getting more of a patronising/judgemental vibe from your posts than anything that you say the teacher has said or done. You don't like camping or getting wet, that's fine, however children will not get sick or ill from being in the rain if they have the correct clothing so she's doing nothing wrong in trying to arrange fundraisers to raise money to ensure children have them available for outdoor activities (which are hugely beneficial to children btw, for a number of reasons, and there are plenty of studies that show this to be true).

I’m all for Forest School come rain or shine it educational, they have waterproofs and parents send kids in warm clothing and wellies. We donate outgrown wellies so always spares. It’s also better than been stuck in stuffy classroom with central heating blaring breading ground coughing and sneezing, my kid always ends up with chest infection. Gutted they stopped forest school days after year 1

I taught in a very deprived area a few years ago. Hardly any of the kids had been camping, they did go to Butlins, Pontins, Center parks etc, so money didn't seem to be the problem.
Also taught in a much 'posher ' school, where camping every summer was the norm for many.

@Devonchills

I taught in a very deprived area a few years ago. Hardly any of the kids had been camping, they did go to Butlins, Pontins, Center parks etc, so money didn't seem to be the problem. Also taught in a much 'posher ' school, where camping every summer was the norm for many.

Deprived kids don't go on holiday. Deprived kids' parents starve themselves so their kids can eat. I think you need to appreciate the difference between kids from low income families and kids who are truly deprived. You're describing the former.

@EmeraldShamrock

And you think I don't? Quit your virtue signalling and stop being so bloody patronising. You have absolutely no idea what I do or don't know about. I'm not being patronising. If that is what you want to take from it, fine.

Shmithecat2
My son is as far from deprived as you can get he doesn't know he's bloody born, and he's not been camping. Because I don't like it.

Your point being? I was taking about my experience of deprivation, not my sons.

@rantymcrantface66

Who would be ‘fine’ after spending 8 hours in the rain, with or without waterproofs? Parents were voicing perfectly valid concerns. I volunteered on several of the trips and it was horrid when it rained, the kids had to eat their packed lunch on a sodden freezing ground. But Ms Outdoors Lover decided that any parents who objected were culturally deficien

Of course they'd be fine in proper waterproofs. There are dc who attend forest schools full time all day 5 days a week. The more you update the more I sympathise with this teacher who it sounds like it's trying to offer great opportunities for all dc

Don’t be absurd. As said, I’ve volunteered several times as a parent and have seen what it’s like when it pelts down with rain (I’m not talking about a light drizzle). I personally love forest school as do both DC. However there are no structured activities (by design) so when it rains the children are wandering around the wet and muddy forest for hours. No toilets so they pee and poo in the rain in small portable potties. I have seen children fall to the ground sobbing in discomfort and spent hours consoling and trying to cajole them into ‘enjoying’ themselves when I volunteered. DS was ill on two occasions after such episodes. And before you ask, he was adequately dressed. There are forest schools where children are outdoors 5 days a week but the DC’s school is not one of them so expecting all children to enjoy it in all weathers is ridiculous. Some children love the mud and rain, others don’t.

The teacher was dismissive of the parents complaints because of their background. There was no need for her to reference their ‘culture’
I can guarantee if the complaint had been raised by one of the middle class parents she would have listened and taken on board the comments. Instead her response was “oh let’s get the PTA to raise money for waterproofs as the poor children of these complaining parents obviously do not get taken outdoors.

One of the mums who complained is from a wealthy family in the Middle East and has a PHD. Her concerns were nothing to do with her socio-economic background!

Surely this is what Scouts and Guides are for, so no parent has to suffer!

I would see a link, but in a different way, ie. a camping holiday might be the only type of holiday that some families might be able to afford. I would hate to go camping and I never took my kids camping. They have however been all over the world, staying in nice hotels or hired holiday homes.

@Honeybeebloom

In all honesty OP I'm getting more of a patronising/judgemental vibe from your posts than anything that you say the teacher has said or done. You don't like camping or getting wet, that's fine, however children will not get sick or ill from being in the rain if they have the correct clothing so she's doing nothing wrong in trying to arrange fundraisers to raise money to ensure children have them available for outdoor activities (which are hugely beneficial to children btw, for a number of reasons, and there are plenty of studies that show this to be true).

Please show me where on this thread I have said I dislike getting wet? We holiday in Pembrokeshire every year and the first items packed are our raincoats, waterproofs and wellies. The DC love our holidays there, rain or shine, and we all have fond memories of walking through the lovely coastal national park in the rain.

We also visit friends who live on a farm there. My DC have very little understanding of what life on a farm entails and our friends similarly aged DC enjoy showing them the animals, explaining things to them. On the flip slide when our friends visited us, DD took great delight in showing off her knowledge of the “magic train with no driver” (Docklands Light Railway) and other London specific highlights. Neither set of children are lacking because they have little day to day experience of how the other set live.

And of course outdoor activities are beneficial to children. Again, where have I said otherwise?

@topcat2014

Surely this is what Scouts and Guides are for, so no parent has to suffer!

Yes and some school trips. Mine did that, later on one went camping with friends a couple of times and enjoyed it but tends to look back on those experiences as things you do when you are young.

I know I would have been too nervous to camp and found the whole thing a bit much. I feel the same way about glamping which I have seen on TV - mainly misgivings about toilet and bathroom issues in that case.

However my husband camped from school days, not with parents but with scouts and school, and into young adulthood, here and abroad, up until and including the age of 23. He liked it well enough at the time.

What this thread illustrates is we are all different, so are our chldren. There is no right or wrong about camping, you either like it or you don't.

@SarahBellam

We once camped at a camp site about 10 miles from home. I hated it. It was cold and uncomfortable. In the middle of the night I got up, went home, slept in my bed, had a shower and a nice proper coffee and then went back.

Heh - I managed similar - DS1 and DH camped about 15 minutes up the road, with extended family (in another tent, not the same one). I had DS2, who was still a baby and breastfed at the time. I chose not to stay at all, but drove home with DS2 for a nice quiet night in comfort, leaving DS1 and DH to stay in their tent. Apparently a possum tried to break in, so there was that - I was quite happy to have slept at home and gone back the following day!

Campings shit we went glamping once I hated it. Much prefer a 4 or 5 star hotel. My poor deprived kids.

I’d have interpreted the teacher’s comments to be about the limited experiences that are often associated with poverty. It’s irrelevant whether kids not in poverty go camping every holiday/occasionally/rarely/never - they’re presumed to have experienced a range of enriching activities to broaden their world view.

I live 6/7 minutes on the train from Tower Bridge, and under 30 minutes on the bus from Greenwich. There are kids locally who have never seen the tower, or the Thames. There are kids living in the rougher bit of our postcode who have never been to the nicer park “up the hill” 5 minutes away. If I’d have been in earshot of that teacher OP, that’s how I’d have interpreted her comments.

(DD is nearly four and has never been camping - though I've been without her! But she has been to different museums and galleries, to the theatre and cinema, holiday activities in DH's language, tried unusual food, seen farm animals etc etc - so not camping is neither here nor there.)