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?

I’m sure this thread will turn into a race to the bottom but yanbu

the widening wealth gap IS real and IS a problem for everyone in society.
it will impact us all especially those in the wrong side of it when the delta hits critical levels.

You don’t really know the situation. Could be job loss, credit card debt, unexpected expenses, driving lic suspension, illness .. saving for something else.

You really just don’t know full picture of someone else’s finances.

What do you think should be done for kids who live in a nice house with nice food and go to nice schools? Free violin and horse riding lessons?

I don't know. I'm not sure where I am in the matrix. I'm in an area with plenty of money but it definitely isn't an established middle class area. Make of that what you will.

I haven't noticed any change in the enthusiasm for clubs, classes or tutors. If anything it seems to step up a gear as each year goes by.

No, this is just families sensibly making choices about spending on stuff that frankly isn't essential. You may also find that actually the families have dropped a couple of activities because it was all getting too much and they couldnt be bothered but maybe they prefer to say they are 'cutting back' than just CBA.

There will always be some families who can afford more luxuries than others.

It’s not really a hardship.

Also sounds like it was ok when poorer kids couldn’t afford clubs but a travesty when mc can’t .

Do you know what - I'm sick and tired of threads on here implying that social class is based solely on how much money you have.

The gap is definitely widening, my DC's nice, relatively affluent village school posted a plea for food bank donations a couple of weeks ago as families are struggling. There are lots of parents who struggle at the school I teach in. However the area is very deprived and this is nothing new.

Three generations to move up and down the classes? Maybe round one is missing out on hobbies? 😁

... at least they had the opportunity to experience some extra curricular activities.

Awww... isn't that sad?

No.. not really.

I think I understand what you are saying OP - life used to be shit for the very poorest, now it is shit for everyone but the wealthiest. Living standards are dropping across the board and everyone seems to be reporting radically changed lifestyles from just five years ago. The question is, what can we do about it?

Are after school clubs not a working class thing?

1st world problems and half term is round the corner. The street might be filled with feral mc children playing.

Eh? Only working class kids have after school club what does the other children do?

Bring begging bowl back to Europe

@ThatRareUmberJoker nannies? Au pairs?

Middle income families make choices about how to allocate scarce resource (time and money).

I think it’s also about reduced flexibility of work - if mum or dad was previously wfh with some “flex” they probably aren’t now. eg Hard to get kids to a 4.30pm swim class if you’re at the office til 5pm.

Yet another thread about ‘class’ - why is this such a thing!!! It’s so crass.

Wow, I feel like you're getting a really hard time here OP! I'm what would probably be described as MC / a middle earner, as were my parents. Growing up we each had one paid-for extra-curricular activity (music/sport) plus swimming lessons... my DC don't have either of those, because we can't afford it.
Obviously I'm incredibly grateful to have a roof over my head and enough food that we're not going hungry. But it's still shit that, in a 2-income home where both parents are well educated professionals, our DC don't have what was, a generation ago, considered pretty basic. We're not poor. We should be ok, but we're not. And that's shit because it means that people who are less privileged than us - and we are privileged. But equally, 3 square meals and central heating shouldn't constitute privilege; they should be considered basic provision! - are really, really screwed.
It's not snobby or classist to notice that the jobs and salaries that used to protect against "going without" no longer do. It's sobering.

This isn't a race to the bottom post. I think OP makes a valid point that we are in times whereby those who used to be able to afford it and by typical social norms should be able to afford extra curricular activities, no longer can. I do agree that the middle class/aspirational middle is slowly being eradicated

It's the kids stuck in activities every day that I feel sorry for - they SHOULD be out playing OP. That's how children learn - the ones stuck in karate etc are often learning useless skills (mostly how to follow orders as per school) and missing out on vital free play which is where the learning gets put into practice and real development takes place.

But they're not feral - they're 'wildlings', aren't they? The fact that they make Lord of the Flies look like a Brownie Pow-wow is neither here nor there, they're doing it in The Avenue, not Named-After-a-WWII-General-Gardens.

I don't really understand why the ops getting a hard time on here.

It's an interesting point.... people who in previous decades would have had a decent standard of living and enough money for extra curricular activities, the odd holiday etc are now more likely to be struggling.

Howfar saved me typing a long response. I come from a very poor background, managed to get myself a degree (when it was free), and a decent income. On paper should be comforable, but reality is money doesnt go as far as it should. Eldest does one sport paid per week. Youngest nothing for now (until he asks). We just can't afford this frippery at the moment.