Neighbour’s kid picked my daffodils

and my comment was that if a child doesn't understand what they can or cannot do when they are alone and outside of their own house and garden then they should not be allowed out of their own house and garden alone....or are you suggesting that a parent allowed this?

When I was about five I picked a load of white flowers from the garden round our flats then went door to door in the flats trying to sell them. (Army Quarters) My mum was furious with me but I didn’t understand why. I’m sure she had a laugh about it with the ladies I had tried to sell to once she’d got over the embarrassment and had taken me to every flat to apologise. I didn’t make any money, by the way, but one lady did give me an apple. I hope the little girl who picked your flowers has a decent mum who will explain to her and bring her to apologise to you.

Yes, and? I mean, ok, glad your parenting was so exemplary that your children never did anything they shouldn't have done when out of your sight. Nothing I said suggests that I don't think that parents shouldn't address this if/when it happens.

because you said this
" I said that children oftentimes won't realise that daffs are purposely planted"

Yours isn’t a ‘more level headed perspective’ though. Yours is a self serving grabby perspective. Teaching children that they should leave flowers for the greater good is a precious and valuable lesson about living in community. Shame you haven’t learned it.

Why are you responding to me like this?

Children are allowed to make mistakes. And parents will correct them. That's what parenting is. 8 might be two years off the age of criminal accountability, but that's also 20% of their life still to go before they get there. That's a lot of time for maturing. And if you've never been told that daffs on the verge are specifically planted and not just flowering like buttercups and dandelions, then how would you know?

"Don't pick the daffodils they're not ours". That's what you say, that's what happens. Don't know why this kid picked out of OP's garden.

Karma doesn't exist and OP has said that the child has daffodils in their own garden, so why not pick them for their parents?

I would be just as angry if a child came into my garden without permission and picked daisies and buttercups from my lawn - it is MY private land and they should not be trespassing.

how many times? If children aren't old enough to know not to do it, they aren't old enough to be allowed out alone!

I often wonder whether the ‘worse things happening in the world’ brigade walk their talk in real life. Broken leg? Worse things happening. House burgled? Worse things happening. Made redundant? Worse things happening. If they wouldn’t utter a word of complaint about these things happening to them then crack on with the sanctimony, I guess. But I don’t believe they would suffer even minor inconvenience in silence, much less any of this stuff.

I didn't say they were. I said that children oftentimes won't realise that daffs are purposely planted and not just like buttercups. That's why they pick them. I did similar (from a verge) when I was a kid.

Yo! Pick your own flowers kid!

Just many see it as in the grand scheme of things it's pretty minor and probably done with good intentions, even if it wasn't right. There is much bigger things in this world to worry about.

There are always bigger things in the world to worry about.

I just wonder how you know it was done with good intentions? Posters on here have talked about having flowers in the front garden, just the heads picked off, trampled on etc.

It's a principle. The discussion has evolved in a philosophical discussion about theft and vandalism.

Some posters think it's OK (sweet) for a young child to help themselves to anything they fancy. At what age does it stop being sweet?

Some posters think flowers are not valuable. Leaving aside monetary value (which is not insignificant) the real value may only be appreciated by the person who bought and planted them and gets joy seeing them every day . If you, personally, don't care about the flowers in your garden and are happy to allow a free for all consider that most other people won't agree with you and the child will eventually get into trouble.

Most posters agree that it is never too young to teach your children not to trespass and to leave other people's plants (or anything else) alone. I am one of this group.

Kids will be kids, everyone knows that.
Parents and guardians are there to teach them right from wrong. When kids are 2 they are not alone, they have someone to guide them. When they are 8, as this girl was, if they are deemed sensible enough to be out alone, they should know right from wrong.
It is an over reaction to talk about reporting her to the police, but it's not an over reaction to be upset, as the OP obviously was.

What if she thought her parents would like something else of yours. Your garden ornaments? Christmas wreath? Your car? Also, RTFT.

My kids learnt very early on that it is not OK to pick flowers from someone's garden or from the park, that they were there for everyone to enjoy and the result of someone's care and hard work. I think most children would be the same.
My daffs etc are in my tiny strip of front garden so would be only too easy to vandalise...so far, so good this year.They look lovely.

This happened to my parents daffodils that they had planted on their verge. Dozens of them. Their opposite neighbour saw the child doing it and had words with their parent. Something along the lines of 'X and X' have specially planted those for the whole street to enjoy. Not for people to pick and take home.

I'd be pissed off and I would mention it but then I think I can be quite 'chippy' and don't really mind if I'm liked or not.

@Needspaceforlego Just many see it as in the grand scheme of things it's pretty minor and probably done with good intentions, even if it wasn't right. There is much bigger things in this world to worry about.

You are not wrong about that but you could apply it to anything, lost your job? Had your car nicked? Fallen down a well and broken every bone you possess? Ah well. Chin up, worse things happen at sea.

The OP is probably extremely grateful to not be living in a warzone and have such small thing to be upset about. But she's still entitled to be peeved about the loss of her property from her own garden.

More wilful exaggeration. 🙄

@NeedspaceforlegoActually the mum didn’t apologise and didn’t make her thieving child apologise either - she didn’t even have the decency to knock on the door when she came round to leave the plant pot on the doorstep.

i would never suggest that my daughter was perfect when she was a child but she had known better than to go onto private property and steal someone else’s belonging since she was two or three, let alone eight.

Nobody thinks it's a playground for kids.

Just many see it as in the grand scheme of things it's pretty minor and probably done with good intentions, even if it wasn't right. There is much bigger things in this world to worry about.

She's done it once, mums apologised.

I can't believe the over reactions on people advising to go to the police - really!!

And everyone's kids on the MN world are perfect angels 😇 never did a single thing wrong since the age of 2.

Yes, they should be used. By many people, with their eyes, for their enjoyment. That can't happen if one person takes them all away.

I'd have been understanding if they'd picked the daffodils which were growing in their own front garden and if they hadn't cleaned out every single one from the OP's garden.

God, it's depressing how many people think the world's just a playground for their children and other people are just there to curate it for them.

No wonder I now live on a street where the Easter/Christmas wreaths get nicked and hardly anyone bothers to do it anymore. The communal areas have flowers planted in them every year but they never last long, either - now I know why.

I wouldn't have been in agreement with the fines before this thread but I am now.