Middle class kids don't play out as much as working class children

[Photoinaframe]

We have moved to a lovely, quiet estate in a very middle class area. I was very excited for my kids as they have friends in the estate & there is lots of safe, green areas with a large park at the foot of the estate.. However the children don't play out! Our previous working class area was always buzzing with kids playing out.
Aibu to say middle class kids don't play out as much as working class kids?

Middle class parents tend to work full time, so the kids are in wrap around care or activities. I made an effort to be at home for my DD after school, until I realised there were no other kids to play outside with because all the mums work. My DD actually asked to go to the child minder after school because there are other kids there to play with and none at home.

Working class mums are more likely to be at home and not work, or not work full time. I still see kids playing out in rough areas when I drive past, but not in posh areas.

Have you ever met a WC person in your life? 🙄

Mine doesn't play out, she's either got activities or we are doing things together. The activities are the main reason though

I grew up in a middle class area and we were out morning to night. I'd say where I live mow is all.young(ish) professional families and the street never empties ! Depends on the area I think

Yes this. I grew up on a council estate but I was the middle class kid. I wasn’t allowed to play out. And I didn’t expect to. That’s what the other kids did! (1980s)

I grew up on a WC estate and we were out playing all day. Get called in for tea, wolf it down, back out to play.
Its so incredibly good for children to have unsupervised free play with their peers when they’re old enough.

Given the fighting, swearing and antisocial behaviour (think egging a bus shelter) from the local (Y5-Y6) kids who are allowed to play out in going to hard disagree with you on it being ‘incredibly good’. Local opinion is that the children in question are ‘feral’.

We were very middle class and we did. But we didn’t live in a city, we lived on a private development next to a golf course and next to a farm. Very little traffic and lots of open space.

If we have lived on a street we wouldn’t have I’m sure.

Yes we live up the road from a council estate and I love walking my dog or driving past there. There’s also kids out playing football or on their bikes.

I'd say we are a relatively middle class family...my ds used to walk round the corner to kick a ball about as there is a social housing estate around the corner and usually some kids hanging out. Our middle class neighbours kids don't play out.

Working class kids barely play out any more. They've likely got all the same tech as middle class kids so theyve got the same temptation not to leave the house.

KIds only properly played out when it was more exciting to do so, on bikes, football, getting up to mischief in the woods. Parents were less precious than nowadays.

It really isnt a class issue.

We live on a private lane of just a few cottages now. The children inc DD play out but only in front of the cottages. It’s a teeny village, super quiet.
When they are about 9/10 they go further away in to the fields, but DD and next door aren’t old enough yet.

I had a very middle class 70s/80s upbringing and, although we did quite a lot of organised activities, we played out a huge amount of the time, including most of the day in the holidays. Equally middle class DCs have never played out, although I would have been fine with it. There is way more traffic now and I think parents would be called negligent these days for leaving any pre-teens unsupervised.

I live sort of half way between a wc area and a mc one (I don’t usually use those terms though, I’m in Ireland so it’s a bit different) and there are very few children playing out unsupervised in either area. I notice it particularly in summer time.
Most people are working and the kids are with childminders/ in wraparound care.

Really? I thought all WC DC were stuck indoors eating junk and watching enormous TVs, while MC kids ran through the woods, making dens and being 'so feral its embarrassing'?
Seriously, is there nothing on here that doesn't get turned into a class stereotype? Children play out largely if they are in spaces where its safe to do so and there are other children to play with. So estates of all types from the 5 bed new builds to the social housing will typically be teeming. High traffic areas or places where there are not many other families, less so.

I've never heard of this! Most of my friends were middle class when I was growing up. We loved playing outside.

In my personal experience this seems to be true OP.

I grew up on a HA estate in south London and from age 4 I was outside playing with the other kids (there was a little gang of us and I've fond memories).

But when I went to UoB so many of my middle class (and upper class) peers had basically never done this.

It may well be true overall but certainly not for my children. We don't live on a housing estate though so maybe rural vs urban settings have a big part to play too?. We have our own land as do their local friends so they spent their time outdoors when younger. Climbing trees, zip lining, making dens, general pottering, riding bikes and ponies, trampolining. I would say they definitely spent more time outside than working class counterparts

They play out but usually with an adult

Was just thinking how great it is where I live to see all the kids out and about.

Hmm this makes me wonder if I grew up working class and my DD is experiencing a middle class childhood. I thought all children from this generation didn’t play out much. I didn’t put it down to class. But it could be!

I do find that these days the children that play out are known for being trouble and so many parents don’t really want their children playing out because of how easy it is to get mixed up in dodgy things. Then again I live in London where it’s cute for children to play out and once they become teens you just see them doing wheelies on bikes and walking around. Nobody trusts teens so going to the local corner shop isn’t a pleasent experience.

YANBU. I live in a Northern working class area and all the kids play out. We moved to our area for that reason! I grew up playing out and I want the same for our kids.

My very middle class London based colleagues came up recently for a work visit and were amazed to see children playing out. It was one of the main things they commented on, lots of comments about how they couldn’t believe junior aged kids crossed the road unsupervised (quiet residential side roads, not a busy dual carriageway), how they must surely not play out when it’s cold or raining (we have access to coats), etc. Their kids are all at clubs/classes and get ferried there and back.

I agree my children grew up in the 90s and they didn't play in the street and neither did their friends.

What age are your children? living in nice estate - kids are out playing but with parental supervision.

You need to read some of the school threads on here talking about behaviour in classrooms, partly influenced by parental attitude. That may also explain why some children don’t play out to keep away from the ‘feral’ children. Not saying that will always be a class divide