Letting children chalk public pavement

Kids chalk on the pavement by our house which is fine I think it's sweet.
They did start chalking across their own fence aswell.
If they'd of chalked my newly painted fence I wouldn't be happy but paving I don't think is a big deal at all.
We all.did this as kids didn't we.

You shouldn’t do it outside other people’s properties, no, it’s an eye sore you have inflicted on them until it’s washed away.

It’s self absorbed and entitled, do it on your own property or at least away from other people’s residences.

I’d be tempted, as a 40 year old adult, to go out there now and chalk “JOYLESS BASTARD” on the path in front of their house and draw an arrow

Don't be obtuse. People are obviously referring to not liking chalk drawings. No one thinks you're unreasonable to ask kids not to damage trees or cars.

I'm impressed that children still do this! We oldies did it all the time, if our grandparents lived in the old terraced houses where the doorstep would be cleaned and chalked there would be a very handy supply of big chunks of chalk rather that the little sticks.
One of my dearest memories is of my late mother and aunt, her sister, chalking a hopscotch grid using the flags on the drive and teaching my children how to play hopscotch, two 60 year olds leaping around for the first time in years.

So different people called you joyless for doing something different to the OP’s miserable neighbours.

Chalk on a pavement is very patently not vandalism and it’s absurd to suggest it is.

I actually think your own concerns and actions as you set out in your post were entirely reasonable, and I would have done similar.

The events in the OP, however, are very different. The neighbours may well be annoyed by the chalk, but frankly that makes them petty and anally retentive. And to wash them away in sight of the children, while being so ill-mannered as to ignore their reasonable questions, is neither neighbourly nor a good example of social intercourse or manners.

You’re right, I wouldn’t. I’d have rolled my eyes because you are one of THOSE parents. But I wouldn’t have said anything, or washed it away.
Though I am entitled to have an opinion about it.

Let them do it. It's chalk not permanent marker.

I was in Paris recently and it was all over the pavements in the residential area I stayed in. Such a lovely thing to see.

I think this is completely harmless - in fact lovely - and I'd much rather a 5 year old was doing this than what some of the kids in our area get up to which in the last few months has included destroying a playground and repeatedly setting sports equipment on fire. There are also some lovely children in my street who play outside together - they regularly walk along my front garden wall, chalk on it, "steal" stones from my garden to build little sculptures with, occasionally pick the odd flower as part of their games - they're just playing and learning about the world, no harm at all. I think we're just a bit conditioned these days to be overly protective of our space or to assume the worst. Feel a bit sorry for kids these days to be honest - we want them to get off screens, but when they do something like this (which in essence is a great activity - it's outdoors, creative, collaborative) they get moaned at.

A spray can is not comparable to chalk! the chalk just washes off when it rains, so this is hardly an act of vandalism. I bet you'd be singing a different tune if you woke up one morning to discover that Banksy had graffitied the pavement outside your house.

I have only ever let my kids chalk on our property - not on public places.

I think it’s a lovely wholesome activity, but they have their reasons. Whether it is they are miserable, or have OCD and don’t want it on their shoes in the house or have lost a child/grandchild who used to do the same thing and they can’t bare it etc. especially if they have to cross it to get to their house.

Personally I find this joyful and fun. We always had pavement chalk for Ds and friends when he was younger. They’d chalk all over the patio and garden stepping stones. If we had a pavement outside I’m sure they would have chalked there too.

Ds has outgrown this now but each summer I donate packs of pavement chalk along with suncream to our local foodbank hoping it encourages children outdoors to enjoy some innocent fun. I would love to see chalk art when out and about.

Hopefully their joy will rub off on the grumpy neighbours eventually. If it doesn’t rain then at least they’ll have one fresh space each day to decorate… 😆

Yep! Not even remotely.

Your neighbour is a bit of an arsehole I’m afraid. Why on earth would anyone be upset by this? What a shame they’re not more community-minded!

And yet, I’ve already been called joyless for them.

It’s also relative. My red line is vandalism of trees and cars, someone else’s might be vandalism of pavements. It doesn’t make them joyless, they are allowed not to want scribbling on the pavement outside their house. It doesn’t matter whether that’s done by a child with chalk or an adult with a spray can.

Quite!

These people must have not enough real world problems to worry about - and a lack of social connection/empathy.

I think if I’d got to a place as low as looking to stamp out things like this, I’d feel like my soul had died.

I used to love chalking on the pavements when I was little! I agree with pps, the neighbour sounds joyless. As you said OP, the rain washes chalk art away soon enough.

Some people are just plain miserable.

Our car was at the garage for a few days. The children up the road had run out of pavement for their chalk art so as our driveway was free we let them decorate that too.

Happy creative kids away from screens. I can't see a problem with it at all.

Strange isn’t it. It’s like accusing someone of not being a dog lover when they complain about their neighbour’s dog barking 10 hours a day. Children can be a real nuisance. A toddler blowing a recorder all day is just playing. I don’t know a mother in the land who would happily smile and indulge that, but if they did it in the garden and the neighbours complain, they are joyless. 🤷‍♀️

We can't pander to your children, we much prefer pandering to sour-faced adults.

You wouldn’t have liked my DC’s - I encouraged them to chalk on the pavements, in the park, on the way to the Tube.

This post is pure projection. What happened with OP’s kids is separate to your experiences and they are not comparable.

Your joyful children are allowed to chalk public pavements and miserable gits are allowed to wash them. Not how I’d choose to present myself in the world (as a miserable git I mean), but I’d take a pretty c’est la vie attitude to this.

There are no weeds outside my house. I moved in about 2 months ago, but if there were I would get rid of them.