Rome, at its peak, had a population of almost 1 million, such that most of the city is crowded, and many crises like poverty, fire, diseases, came to be. Unless you are part of an upper class family.
Boys usually get home-schooled for education, while boys from wealthier families were able to go to private schools and study there. A Roman boy usually comes of age at 15, a crucial milestone for the Romans, as half the children die before they get to 15. At this point, the teenager officially become a grown man. If patrician, they can choose to be military tribunes at the edge of the empire, or take over their family's business, etc.
Life for a patrician boy is similar to the average boy nowadays: we get formal education and have other hobbies and interests, including sporty ones. We also have the freedom to choose what we want to be...