Letting children chalk public pavement

Maybe you live next to the grinch.

Your neighbour is miserable, but you never know what's going on in someone else's life so I'd let it go and rest assured you did nothing wrong.

I would not mind at all. I like seeing kids playing outside and being creative. It might be different if they were writing swear words but rainbows and flowers are colourful and pretty.

My dad was like your horrid neighbour. I once wrote my name in chalk (a piece of chalk from the cliff) on the pavement and was sent outside with a bucket to scrub it off myself. Miserable bastard. I've gone the other way and when we had barbecues when the kids were really little I'd get out the pavement chalks and encourage them to draw pictures on the garden walls (brick) and patio slabs. It kept them amused and within eyesight. As another poster said, all gone again as soon as it rained!

I wouldn't mind, but would prefer it if they stuck to outside their own house, because it would transfer onto my shoes and I'd get it inside the house. Speaking from experience with my own kids doing it and pink chalk ended up on my carpet, from footwear!

We live in a pit village, long terraces with a back yard. Our back street has back gates onto a rarely used lane, no footpaths eith ramshackle allotments and garages opposite
The kids and friends were chalking on the road as yours, rainbows cats dogs hopscotch etc.
The woman down the street came up to complain on how awful it looked and brought the area down! And they'd 'graffitied' on tge wall (ours).
I politely told her it was chalk, it will disappear when it rains, its not graffiti and I will ask them to steer clear of 'her area ' but I would not tell them off or ban them from doing it!
As a kid our back street would be covered in chalk from a selection if games or just art!

How does this kind of thing bother people?! My kids love chalk. My neighbour actively encourages them to use her drive (she doesn't use it as it's difficult to get in and out due to narrow street). Like you say, it rains. Not one person in my street would bother about chalk on the ground done by children. Your neighbour sounds extremely uptight.

Children out playing. Is there anything more heart-warming and life affirming?
Sounds (sadly) like a lesson for the kids in that some people are just numpties...

I shouldn't imagine they care what other people's children are doing so long as it doesn't impact them. Why should they?

It's fine to not like it, but it is public space. They should have spoken to the children, been gracious, saying that while the drawings are cute, they don't want chalk trailed into their house etc and waited until later to wash it off.
I'd be chalking every day outside their house, until they actually spoke up about it. I don't do passive aggressive. I'd start with autumnal patterns and wildlife, go to Halloween, throughly look forward to mischief night, then it would be Winter festival going into Christmas.

It wouldn't bother me personally but i wouldn't have let my own kids do it except in the garden, because kids need ti be taught not to mess with things that aren't theirs. I tbink its a wee bit disrespectful, and entitled to think because you find it sweet that other people will.

Of all the things they could be doing 🙄

Your neighbour's a right baby humbug

awful - would they prefer the kids were sitting quietly locked away staring at a screen?

Oh for goodness sake. Some people suck the joy out of life. I have many happy memories of hopscotch as a child. It would be different if permanent or offensive. But chalk drawings from a five year old? Worry about real problems!

For god’s sake, it’s chalk.. your neighbours are miserable buggers. Stick to outside your house if the kids want to draw. I think it’s lovely 🩷

Graffitti is permanent. Chalk isn't.

The neighbour could have hosed it down at the end of the day. This was a nasty cruel act aimed at children children. They don't play out on the streets like we used to anymore and then when they do this happens. Do they prefer kids play on phones all day long?

If grown men are allowed to paint public roundabouts now, then children should be left alone to do some much less divisive street art on the pavement .

Knowing there are friendly neighbours and grumpy neighbours is part of a normal childhood. Just tell them to avoid that bit of pavement. Don't expect everyone to enjoy your children . It's great for them play out but don't be too sensitive if they get told off. Teach them to apologise and be respectful. It takes all sorts.

No problem at all. What a miserable neighbor.

Well the effect is the same isn't it? If they don't like it they could directly mention it instead of passive aggressively hosing it off in front of the artist. I think drawing a very decorative border around the front of their house which has to be excluded would be about the same level or less pass agg.

God you have to be a tight, joyless arsehole to think a child's (very temporary) chalk drawing on a bit of pavement is a problem.

What a couple of miseries. They remind me of that woman who reported an 'illegal business' to the council and got it shut down - it was a little child selling lemonade from a table outside their house, to make a bit of extra pocket money.

Apart from being a mean, joyless arsehole to even think to do that in the first place, some people don't even stop and think of themselves longer term.

If they're still living there when they're elderly, they may well find that they really value friendly younger adults who can help them to put their heavy bins out, take stuff to the tip for them, change a high up lightbulb, mow their lawns, help with tech queries, keep an eye out and 'appear' at the right time when suspicious people turn up at their door with nefarious intent.

Right now, those 'younger adults' are still only 5 years old, and are giggling with delight as they chalk hopscotch grids, their own names and animal outlines on the pavements; but in two or three decades' time, they (and their parents) will remember which of the members of older generations on the street smiled and treated them kindly when they were little, and which of them glared at them sourly and seemed determined to spoil their innocent fun for no reason or benefit whatsoever.

Sad sods - were they never children?

You know when your a kid and there are certain people who you can never imagine them to be younger and less grumpy 😠 than they currently are.
Like the primary school head was never a young man or child - he was only ever a 50yo man in a gray suit - he was born that way?

We also had a grumpy neighbour liked the primary school head, I still cannot imagine her as a child playing with anything!

My mother was very snooty about this and we weren’t allowed to but I honestly don’t see them problem.

My kids did massive chalk drawings up and down the road in lockdown (those challenge ones with hopscotch and spinning and whatnot) and 99% of the people either liked or didn't care about it - one specific neighbour had very strong feelings about having it outside of his house. He told us to stop and we did - the end. My kids wrote 'jump over the empty space' in that part of the challenge and moved on.

I couldn't mind at all now that my kids are older but people do definitely have strong feelings!

Why passive aggressive why not realise someone doesn't have to like it outside their house?