Inequality is widening even in middle class children

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We live in a nice, mc road. Kids all go to the nice state schools nearby & most of the kids went to activities in the evening. Since September those kids have been out playing since 9 even after dark some as old as 4... I asked dd why her friends were no longer coming to karate & soccer, she said their parents can't afford it.. I met one of our neighbours this evening who said they had to cut right back on extras for the kids due to the cost of living.. Feel so sorry for the kids.. The inequality used be between the working class & middle class now many of the middle class can no longer afford what they used be able to.. Aibu to think this or is it just my perception?

My kids were in private prep - taxi driver mum, disabled mum,plumber, electrician, bookkeeper, corner shop owner .. dad who ran a cleaning business, retired parent & mum did odd jobs at the school, rich farmers, not rich farmers. And this was the posh school..
State schools so bad, parents doing what they can for their kids.

Everyone making a lot of uninformed assumptions.

I find it laughable (because otherwise I’d cry) how everyone is suddenly in uproar about the ‘cost of living crisis’ because it is now affecting the ‘people who matter’.
No one gave a stuff about poor people who have always been poor and by poor I mean cannot afford to eat, in freezing cold houses, have to put a pound coin in the little boxes attached to their appliances to make them work!
Noone was in uproar about that and some even disagree with CHILDREN receiving free school meals.
Not saying this is your view op but really, some kids with parents on high salaries in their nice ‘middle class’ area having to give up their activities isn’t what should shock you, it’s the fact that in 2024 people cannot afford to eat!

The same people who thought that still think that. Just more people are being affected.

Posters seem to think PP is complaining about her own situ; whilst really it’s an observation about MORE children being engulfed in poverty.

yep

Not at all, poverty is not OK for anyone.. But do you understand that the poorer the middle class get the knock on effect will be felt by all.. The middle class will have less or no money to donate to charities, less disposable income to support local businesses, the knock on effects will be terrible for society & will make it so much worse for the poorest in society

Sadly what the OP describes is no surprise. Some of the decisions might not be the ones I would make (how many of the families concerned drive an SUV or other large car for example) but the reduced discretionary income is not a surprise.

Higher mortgage rates than previously (or at least the point when previously fixed) I expect have an impact on many families.

Yes that & their parent who used to give money to charity no longer do that.. Their parents now sell their clothes & toys on marketplace for a bit of cash instead of donating the toys.. It will have a detrimental effect on the poorest make no bones about it.

Yes, reading your updates I can understand you were highlighting that more people were being dragged into financial hardship. It was just the way your OP read differently.

The other issue is if people who were previously comfortable are now hard up - that makes social mobility much harder. How does anyone get themselves out of poverty if work and education can’t?

I think there’s quite a change in professions though. There’s quite a lot of builders for example at my kids school. Wife is a part time wfh accountant or a teacher or something with a trade partner. Or they run their own business. Also lots of dentists and doctor/pharmacist couples who work f/t and then do what I assume are well paid bank shifts at weekend nights.

School fees were relatively more affordable, but the vastly increased cost of housing nowadays surely has a good deal to do with it.

Agree. Everyone but the very rich would be getting equally poor. ( A wet dream for some out of spite) Think about where your salary goes and what you get in return from paying taxes. Yes, the cost of living is very high and the things that have always been overpriced are now impossible to pay. I do not see prices coming down or salaries raising to fill the gap.

This is not what the OP was saying. I can acknowledge my concerns about poverty and also be concerned about the inequality affecting more people. However, let’s say that some people have also left with much less now to give to charities for homeless and kids in poverty and food banks. After all that is what you do to help others.

We live in one of the poorest areas of the UK and our nursery has asked for food, toiletteries, any donations as they are running an in house food and baby bank for families in need. So not affording karate isn't even on their radar.

And?

So now consider that the parents who can’t afford karate can’t afford to donate to the food bank your nursery are operating. That’s a consequence.

And the Scout group can no longer subsidise the fees or trips for families with low income as their reserves are too low from rising costs and resisting putting fees up for years to not price their members out.

It's not about misery top trumps, it's recognising that these things have negative knock on effects for all.

Yes but the families who now are cutting back on karate may just be the families who can no longer afford to contribute food & essentials to your nurseries group as they need to spend that money on their own families now. Can you not see where this is going?

I think its such a shame kids are missing out now, yes everything has become so commercialised.

Equally I understand why people want the best for their kids and if they can afford it they pay to help their kids improve. Though expensive kits are just silly.

Yup definitely. If well off people aren't well off anymore there isn't the capacity to donate much to charity or help with the school trip instead of working.

The people who go waaah, small violin aren’t the brightest and to be frank, they are part of the reason the country is in decline.

Lower and middle earners pay low taxes in comparison to other countries at the expense of higher earners. The tax system has become so complex and punitive that people are dropping working hours. It’s not the headline 45% people see. Less tax take and less in society.

HMRC are now even jumping into say (along with multiple fiscal bodies) the process of tax, tax, tax is going to result in a net loss of tax take soon.

We have too many people reliant on the state in low earning jobs. When education and doing well isn’t a ticket out of that - we are in real shit. It’s all the bed wetting over VAT on school fees. All that will do is make private schools for the really elite. It’s like through spite, people would be happy just to have an elite class ruling over, so no-one earns more than them. Great. Who is paying for it all? We already can’t afford our welfare state and are in debt.

Highish earners cutting back is a disaster. Less tax, less spending, less volunteering, less donations. The person who runs the karate club now has a business which will have to close. The nice eatery down the road slowly lets staff go and then finally closes. Those jobs, that tax. Reduced spending = less VAT. Schools who rely on donations, get less and less. The consequences are far reaching and a ripple effect.

not sure what the point of this thread is?

People are different and have different priorities.

Get this in Thatcher’s Britain we often had no food or basics in the house (council flat) but our ballet classes, karate, football club etc was always paid for (mum was able to pay weekly and travel on foot or bus -no car).

Horses for courses.

Exactly it's the whole bigger picture & knock on effect on local businesses & society. Some people are so short sighted with their "I'm alright mate" attitude..

Except your post said none of this. It was about middle-class children being on the streets after dark because their parents can’t afford karate lessons, and have communicated this to their children, who then helpfully told yours. Which I’m not buying.

Why not help, if you can? DS plays with a football team where there wouldn’t be much spare money in most of the other families. They train at 5 pm in a public park with no lighting, so it’s impossible when nights draw in. For the last two winters DH and I and one other parent (secretly) paid for them to train on a floodlit astro pitch in the vicinity all winter. We can’t afford it this year as the other parent has left, but we helped while we could. The other kids and their families aren’t middle-class, though.

@PaperLampshade that is ridiculous. Yes children talk, my neighbours kids are in the same classes as mine.. The neighbours have told me themselves they are knocking activities on the head as the prices have become unmanageable . It's very hard on people. How can I help? I can just about afford my own children's activities as it is. I can help through life sharing which is what we used do in the past..
As I explained throughout the post the soccer (football for the folk with limited vocabulary!) team no longer has a sponsor so we have had to buy out own kit, matches are further away & there are two overnight trips this season, also membership has gone up due to overheads. Also karate has significantly increased since September due to a change of venue & increased overheads.
That's all well & good that your club operates like they but ours don't. Our membership fees & subs (which have also increased) go towards lighting & other overheads.