Letting children chalk public pavement

What’s disrespectful about drawing with chalk on a pavement?

I cannot imagine how uptight and miserable you have to be to object to kids playing outside and chalking on pavements. And how black your soul is to go an hose it off. A teeny amount of chalk might get on the soles of your shoes but I assume most people also wipe their feet when they go inside and also take their shoes off. It's real misery guts behaviour.

Perhaps they are my old childhood neighbours who used to complain about children riding bikes on the road and would say we were "whizzing about all over". We weren't screamy kids, it was a residential cul de sac with 3 and 4 bed houses and we didn't ride on pavements, we were 8 year olds on Raleigh bikes with shopping baskets. We didn't dash in front of cars but the very fact we were outside seemed to annoy the neighbours
Some people seem to only find joy in disapproving of other people's fun. I almost feel sorry for them.

One of the few joys during covid involved the children up our road who chalked a weekly 'obstacle' course on the pavement.

Jump 4 times.
Hop over circle etc.....

Hilarious and many adults followed the instructions when going past their house.

Thankfully no one got grumpy about the chalk.

Miserable bugger. It’s the sort of thing my DDad would do, but even he would wait till the kids had gone before hosing it off.

I suppose it’s a life lesson for the kids in how people are different and not everyone is friendly. Tell them not to take it to heart.

No help to you OP but I let my kids chalk on the pavements when they were maybe 6 and 8, with an older girl let's say she was 10. Came out to find many yards of penises (sp.?) she'd drawn alongside my kids' hearts and flowers. Took DH 2 hours with a hose and broom to remove it all, needless to say dick kid's dick parents didn't come out and help.

Anyway, yeah little flowers and rainbows etc., wouldn't bother me but I can see why it might annoy others.

It wouldn’t bother me - I love seeing kids’ drawings in chalk on the pavement. We used to to it when DS was younger in our garden.

I would advise anyone though -not to do it on your house - we have one on our wall and it is there about 4 years later. It’s of me too 😂

Kids used to draw hopscotches, targets, on the pavements for many many years. My late DGM did this in the 1930s - though used a stone that made a white line.

Think a late male relative used to draw with chalk or a stone a football goal on a side of an end of terrace.

Bloody over reaction from the people in the OP's post

I think chalking on a public pavement is fine - I personally like to see it - but I also think grumpy neighbours are a fact of life to learn about and no real harm done. Don't let it stop them doing it again though! Maybe a passive aggressive exclusion zone around their house.

How anyone can be upset by children’s chalk drawings is beyond me. It isn’t graffiti it’s harmless fun that will disappear within hours . There are some miserable bastards out there.

Neighbour is a misery guts. Yanbu at all op.

I was walking to work early one morning and the small street I have to walk through was completely covered in chalk drawings, from one end to the other; the pavements and the roads, you could barely see the concrete. There was also some ribbons on fences and lampposts. It was fucking fabulous! It was there for several weeks during the long summer dry spell, making my morning a bit less dreary. I was disappointed when it eventually washed away and were back to everything being grey. Personally, I would probably hand them some extra chalk, but perhaps limit their drawing space to your own surroundings if it upsets that one neighbour, eh 🙄

Get them to draw a certain flag outside their house.

Nah, she’s fine. Sure he can wash it off, doesn’t stop him being a miserable sod.

So do I. Such an innocent past time.
If it was spray paint then the neighbour would be well within their rights to be annoyed, but chalk? Get a grip FFS. And the hosing it off in front of the kids was just mean and petty.

Meh, it will all wash away. Anyone who cares has far too much time on their hands.

Your neighbour is a miserable sod, and rude to boot. If it happens again I'd ask them if they were brought up to ignore people when they speak directly to them.

The kids on my street regularly use the pavement to chalk hopscotch, cricket and other games that are unfathomable to dull old adults like me. They also draw pictures and write their names etc in many different colours. It always makes me smile.

What a total miseryguts. Ignore them (and the people on this thread who are also miseries!).

Your neighbour is probably the same type of grumpy git who moans about children spending all their time indoors on devices. I wouldn’t give it another thought

Of course kids can chalk pavements! Your neighbour is a misery

I’m genuinely surprised that people think this is an issue, and I’m struggling to understand why. I can’t see what harm it does.

If you’re someone who’s said you wouldn’t like it, what is it about it that you don’t like, and why?

There's always someone that gets butt hurt over chalk on pavements.

As long as they aren't drawing on people's homes, walls or driveways without permission (or offensive words or pics!), I cannot see the harm.

It'll be washed away in a day or two!

There was a video clip going around during covid. A little boy would ride his balance bike past a guys house each day (with his parents). The guy had a big driveway and the boy would often do little circles etc on his driveway.

The guy took it upon himself to draw ever more intricate routes each day in chalk on his drive for this little boy to follow. It was amazing seeing his parents laughing, the child exercising and having fun and no doubt the guy enjoying the fun he was giving the boy.

Contrast this with the soul sucking tossers your neighbours are. In life some people just cant help being tossers.

I think it's nice to see kids playing outside.

I would far rather see chalk on pavements than dog shit or fly tipping.

Kids always draw for street parties in our area, total non issue for anyone as far as I'm aware.

I wouldn't like 5yo touching that much pavement only because of the inevitable dog poo. Really it isn't that dusty except on the kids themselves.

If it is reasonable to draw in chalk then it is also reasonable to get a hose out and wash it off.

I also would advise them against declaring their names in a public space like that.