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?

Are you being deliberately obtuse? There is only so much taxpayer money to go around. I don't think swimming lessons (over and above what the Government already provides) should take priority over pensioners dying of exposure because they've had their winter fuel payments reduced or removed. Particularly because the statistics show that a significant proportion of the children in England who die from drowning are doing so in the bloody bath - fuck all to do with your "we are island" argument!

Wow, every time? I am in Spain and take my daughter to swimming lessons and it is 27 euros every two months. I remember my uncle, in the 90s used to talk about rip-off Britain, but even so...

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/mar/04/middle-class-workers-mortgages-bills-tax

Article is 7 months old.. See how the media also use the words "Middle Class" to convey the message re the social group they are writing about! It's not a mumsnet "obsession"... The article makes very good points & I can imagine many middle class families can relate 7 months on..

Using classes is just a helpful label to socio economic status which was what your post was about. We can deny they exist but it doesn’t mean they don’t.

Are you talking about your children or did you go up to random children playing out on the street and canvas their views. 😂

I wish that were so, but class is still the dominant factor in virtually every UK person's life, like it or not.

Random children? These our my neighbours kids, they play with my children & are in their classes at school. Get a grip, folk are actually still friends with their neighbours you know & children do talk amongst themselves.. Or are you of the opinion that children should be seen & not heard? That they can't tell their friends their sad as they miss football?

Not here. Can't say I have ever given 'class' much thought in my day to day life. Its only really useful for comparison. A lot of people think of themselves as middle class when they are working class, which is part of the problem. I prefer it when people use metrics such as income, wealth, profession, postcode, rather than some obscure outdated concept that means different things to different people.

"I'm sorry, you have less savings than someone who is "working class", you earn approximately the same salary as the plumber down the road, but you are middle class because of what exactly, your attitude? Your grandparents went to university? Or is it just because you think you are better than someone else? If you have to work for a living, you are working class.

I agree with you here & I'm the op who used the term middle class.. Tradesmen around here have a great lifestyle, they are in short supply so literally can charge what they want.

This is such a horrible post. Why you have to ridicule the use of certain names is beyond me. I'm never sure if it's jealousy or just inverted snobbery. You see it on private school threads all the time. It wouldn't be OK to ridicule names that might be perceived as working class and it's not ok to ridicule names you perceive as middle or upper class.

I always say I'm working class and I get shot down for it. I earn I high 6 figure salary but if I stopped work tomorrow then my savings wouldn't last forever so I do have to work ultimately.

This is most unscientific opinion based cost of living, social class “examination” on state of the economy.

Similar to the man on the street saying rise in shoplifting due to cost of living. As if, stealing booze from Sainsburys is from “COL poverty”

Individuals make decisions daily for all kinds of reasons that impact buying power - some people salaries going up, others unexpected expenses & tightening the belt … kids not swimming could be a million reasons. Kids misunderstand parents all the time. Maybe child hated it & saying can’t afford it to “save face”

One “MC street” and a curtain twitcher making assumptions ….

I'm not so sure it's that they are not interested, it's the cost.

The cheapest swimming lessons near us are £53 per month per child. The local council pool charges around £7 per adult and £5 per child for a leisure swim, for our family of 4 that's £24, so if we went once a week that would be £100 per month. It's just not doable with rising costs.

Luckily my girls get school swimming lessons in years 2, 3 and 4, but I know not everywhere is so fortunate

Exactly. When I was a child in the 60's we had brownies and a girls brigade youth club and that was it. My mum didn't transport me to either. I walked there and back even in the dark. I feel sorry for parents today with the expectation that much of your free time will be spent ferrying children to expensive activities.

For those asking: Soccer is a contraction of Association Football. A British word.

Also a convenient stick to beat Americans (and others) with for those who can't feel good about themselves without putting down others.

@CranfordScones agree. The posters who don't understand the meaning of soccer come across as highly ignorant & uneducated.
I pity them & their very limited vocabulary.

Middle class encompasses a wide range though so obviously there will be a difference between umc & the rest.

Plus activities are very expensive so not surprising some have cut back.

The OP isn’t wrong about people getting poorer, salaries have stagnated for yrs, housing is far too costly etc

A lot of posters missing the wider issue here. Instead of sniping at each other you should be angry. Really angry.

I do find it odd that there doesn’t seem to be much anger about the increase in child poverty. So much recent anger has been about the winter fuel payment changes but I guess children don’t have a voice.

“It added that this meant “4.3 million children (30% of all UK children) were in poverty” in 2022/23, “up from 3.6 million in 2010/11”. ”

I went to private school in the 1980/90s. It was absolutely full of kids from totally average, non rich families. Often dad would be a cabbie, mum would work in admin. Dad in middle management, mum with a part time job sort of thing. Private school was still within their grasp even if it was a stretch. Nowadays people in those professions would not be able to afford private school. Standard of living is decreasing across the board.

@Comedycook definitely.
I would love to be able to send my dc to the local private, they would get so many more extracurriculars, trips & music included also but we could never afford it & I do realise that my dc are privileged as it is but the inequality is growing deeply & rapidly.
Even simple hobbies like soccer (football for those who don't quite understand what soccer is) has become highly monetised with "experts workshops" etc...

We are talking about kids and not bloody pensioners. Do you care about the kids affected by the two child or just pensioners? Your point is not relevant at all whereas I am talking about something that is getting too expensive for kids to do.

You can get a junior swim card if you go every week but not as cheap as that Spanish example plus the adult has to be a member as well.

I’m sure you didn’t intend it, but your post reads like it’s OK for lower class to be poor, but that now it’s impacting the middle classes we should somehow be more outraged.

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