What are the classic components of an UMC or UC American childhood?

[Anonymous]

Been thinking about this lately. Both DH and I grew up poor/LMC but fortunately have the means to provide our future kids with better.

What would you say are the classic or traditional components of an idealic childhood?

Assume loving, attentive, supportive parents is the foundation. What are the extras or nice-to-haves?

[Anonymous]

^ Idyllic, excuse the typo

[Anonymous]

Lots and lots of activities - lacrosse, ice skating lessons, musical instrument lessons, swim team, acting classes, specialized camps, tutoring, test prep, etc

Welcome to DCUM!!

[Anonymous]

Vacations
Lots of activities
Toys bought outside the context of a birthday or holiday
Assumed they will go to college

[Anonymous]

European travel, a little or a lot, but at least a sampling of a few cities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lots and lots of activities - lacrosse, ice skating lessons, musical instrument lessons, swim team, acting classes, specialized camps, tutoring, test prep, etc

Welcome to DCUM!!

Seconding. As a middle class, but not upper middle class, kid with you working class raised parents, this is that I didn't get. I'm UMC now and most of the people I know who grew up like this did a lot of activities especially music and sports that you can do outside of school.

Also long sleepaway camps. I went to overnight camp a couple times for a week. My spouse, who grew up much richer, did an 8 week camp in Maine every summer for years.

[Anonymous]

Fancy sleep away camps with other very wealthy girls.
International trips at every break.
Summer house with the family.

[Anonymous]

I grew up UMC, and for me and my friends it was:
- Expensive sports (think horseback riding)
- Private school (K-12), followed by mostly private college with some top state schools thrown in
- Vacation houses
- Travel, lots of it, including internationally (no weeks in the Outer Banks every summer)
- Sleepaway camps all over the country and world
- Lots of parties, like pretty fabulous birthday parties and sleepovers with really cool activities
- Tons of toys (we didn't have gadgets like Apple watched back then but I'd think something like that is probably in now)
- Great clothes (I'm a girl so maybe I cared about this more than boys would)
- Cars at 16

[Anonymous]

Also pool membership in the summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grew up UMC, and for me and my friends it was:
- Expensive sports (think horseback riding)
- Private school (K-12), followed by mostly private college with some top state schools thrown in
- Vacation houses
- Travel, lots of it, including internationally (no weeks in the Outer Banks every summer)
- Sleepaway camps all over the country and world
- Lots of parties, like pretty fabulous birthday parties and sleepovers with really cool activities
- Tons of toys (we didn't have gadgets like Apple watched back then but I'd think something like that is probably in now)
- Great clothes (I'm a girl so maybe I cared about this more than boys would)
- Cars at 16

These describe my cousins children. She’s a single mom who is an admin assistant at a shipping company.

[Anonymous]

Watching tv and playing video games

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up UMC, and for me and my friends it was:
- Expensive sports (think horseback riding)
- Private school (K-12), followed by mostly private college with some top state schools thrown in
- Vacation houses
- Travel, lots of it, including internationally (no weeks in the Outer Banks every summer)
- Sleepaway camps all over the country and world
- Lots of parties, like pretty fabulous birthday parties and sleepovers with really cool activities
- Tons of toys (we didn't have gadgets like Apple watched back then but I'd think something like that is probably in now)
- Great clothes (I'm a girl so maybe I cared about this more than boys would)
- Cars at 16

These describe my cousins children. She’s a single mom who is an admin assistant at a shipping company.

Well, someone is subsidizing that.

[Anonymous]

Nice house on a quiet, leafy street with other children their age to play with. I’m picturing something from a Nancy Meyer movie - a big old colonial or Victorian that has a ton of old school charm but updated kitchens and bathrooms with modern finishes.

Lots of books for every member of the household.

A piano or other musical instruments.

Parents who are home early enough every night for family dinner at 6 or 6:30.

Bonus points for at least one parent being able to get home early enough to greet kids off the school bus, give them a snack, hear about their day, host play dates, take them to activities, etc. In our house, it’s my husband (doctor with a flex schedule) who does this!

If parents are unable to be home early like this, a typical UNC/UC family will hire a housekeeper to perform the role plus cook, clean, and run errands.

Parents who value education which means a top private or public school. Parents should volunteer in the schools regularly and help with homework and projects. Parents should save for college so they are able to pay 100% of their kids’ schools of choice so they have no student debt.

Private music and sports lessons. Typical UMC/UC families belong to a country club, where their children learn to swim, play tennis and golf (at least the boys anyway, the girls might choose something like horseback riding or dance), and ski.

Vacations: the typical schedule seems to me to be an annual ski trip out West, a trip to the Caribbean to escape winter weather, 10 days to 2 weeks in Europe, PLUS 1-2 weeks at a nice East Coast beach. Richer folk will have their own beach house. At least this is what I’ve observed among the he people I know in CC, Bethesda, and Arlington.

Sleep away summer camp for tween years

New car at 16 (doesn’t have to be extravagant)

Semester abroad in college

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grew up UMC, and for me and my friends it was:
- Expensive sports (think horseback riding)
- Private school (K-12), followed by mostly private college with some top state schools thrown in
- Vacation houses
- Travel, lots of it, including internationally (no weeks in the Outer Banks every summer)
- Sleepaway camps all over the country and world
- Lots of parties, like pretty fabulous birthday parties and sleepovers with really cool activities
- Tons of toys (we didn't have gadgets like Apple watched back then but I'd think something like that is probably in now)
- Great clothes (I'm a girl so maybe I cared about this more than boys would)
- Cars at 16

What’s wrong with the outer banks? You know how many rich people have 2nd or 3rd homes there?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grew up UMC, and for me and my friends it was:
- Expensive sports (think horseback riding)
- Private school (K-12), followed by mostly private college with some top state schools thrown in
- Vacation houses
- Travel, lots of it, including internationally (no weeks in the Outer Banks every summer)
- Sleepaway camps all over the country and world
- Lots of parties, like pretty fabulous birthday parties and sleepovers with really cool activities
- Tons of toys (we didn't have gadgets like Apple watched back then but I'd think something like that is probably in now)
- Great clothes (I'm a girl so maybe I cared about this more than boys would)
- Cars at 16

I don’t think this is UMC. Maybe not Forbes top 100 in wealth, but probably top 5%