Letting children chalk public pavement

I personally don't see anything wrong with this but I probably would limit it to outside my own house just in case and if it wasn't due to rain I would wash away once they were in bed. But that's just me. Our neighbour two doors down let's their grand kids do it but only in front of theirs and then washes away after they go home.

😀hardly - as I mentioned (not that I expect people to read accurately!) I have no personal objection...

but living with others means courtesy and thoughtfulness are positives in building neighbourly relationships... so it doesn't harm to be sensitive...

the OP mentions covering the space in front of 5-6 houses... there comes a point when it is not just a child drawing outside their house but taking over the neighbourhood - so, if you have grumpy neighbours they might object - not really rocket science!

and unlikely to be me as we have no pavement outside our house!

God, I'd forgotten about this but so did we!

I’d love that! They should be encouraged and thanked! After all it’s incredibly temporary

Most people won't have an issue and I wouldn't either. Some people don't like it right outside their house/gate which is their opinion and right not to have it there. Tell the kids they're grumpy in that house and don't like nice pictures so don't draw near that house. It's what I would say to mine. If you look on some house deeds it does extend to the road, our does anyway, even though it's a public path. We used to draw directions in chalk all over the paths 😂. We would avoid outside some people's gates cos they're old and grumpy 😂😂😂 that was back in the 90s. Things never change

FFS let’s keep them chalking the pavements for as long as possible. Seriously if you have an issue with this temporary marking of a moment of innocent play and joy take a minute to reflect on the meaning of life.

Could always accelerate them to be really antisocial in behaviour…prefer that?

behave! are you the grumpy neighbour?

I let the kids do it outside in our garden but not near other peoples houses as it does get on shoes etc and causes a mess! They did it on our house bricks and it got everywhere all the dust. Totally coated the ring doorbell. I can imagine if it got on shoes etc and got in to their carpets or whatever it would be annoying but they did go about it the wrong way they could have acknowledged them and washed it off later. Just in future make sure it’s only outside your own house maybe?

If I got home to find some children had drawn a hopscotch outside my house, I’d hopscotch my way onto my driveway! YANBU op. Your neighbour is miserable and mean.

Nice you had a driveway

At least it’s only chalk. When I was young, we used stones to draw hopscotch squares with! Those would’ve taken weeks to wash away 😀 Never got told off for it!

I can’t imagine being so miserable you don’t like children’s drawings on the street!
My little neighbours chalked their drive and ran out of space- so I let them chalk my drive and the gable end of my house. So lovely to hear them play and be happy in a world of so much sadness.

I'm just really really struggling with figuring out what is so very disrespectful about a bit of coloured-chalk scribble on the pavement.

It’s called having respect for other people. By all means, chalk your own driveway and outside your house, but the street isn’t your child’s personal canvas.

I was allowed to chalk on our driveway as a child. My mum would not have allowed me to chalk the road, because it’s a shared public space and not mine to scrawl over.

Anyway, I’m happy to be considered a misery arse. Frankly, I call it having respect for people other than yourself.

Not quite sure what you mean. 🤷‍♀️

Look, I get you feel unfairly labelled as ‘joyless’ because someone IRL called you that about what you did. Like I said, in that situation your actions sounded reasonable and if I were you, I’d file that comment in my mental waste bin as a load of rubbish I don’t need to pay attention to. This thread isn’t about you, so there’s no need to be sensitive about what the majority of posters are saying.

Unless, of course, you’re saying you would have acted like the neighbours did over a bit of chalk drawn on the pavement?

i agree with you, and I said upthread that as OP now knows they’re going to be miserable about it, she should advise the kids to avoid the pavement in front of their house. Not that they own it, but to avoid any further unpleasantness.

My question was more general as to how it’s deemed to be disrespectful in general to chalk on the pavement. I’m not seeing it, so interested in the reasoning.

Miserable. Same type of people that complain kids aren’t kids anymore and they’re all glued to screens.

I'd have said something there and then. From what the OP said, they were ignored.

I wouldn’t like chalk pictures all over the pavements BUT I wouldn’t say anything to small children creating these drawings and I certainly wouldn’t wash it off. I work in a school so know how much little children like to chalk draw 😂. All I would say is, make sure they don’t draw on walls as it doesn’t wash off in the rain for ages.

I think it's great to see kids using their imagination and creativity and, as you say, the rain would wash it away fairly promptly. However, I can understand not everyone wants chalk on the bottom of their shoes or to look at a 5year old's 'art' in front of their house. I'd tell the kids to stick to the garden or take them to the park and let them draw with chalk there.

I don't have kids and didn't want them, so I'm neither an adoring parent nor a wistful 'wish they were mine' type.
I'm also not a miserable fucker, so I like seeing it. I like the fact that kids play outside on my street, instead of being cooped up indoors. I like that kids still play games like hopscotch that have been around for decades (centuries? scuse my ignorance!) I like that the bigger ones look after (and boss about) the little ones. And that they make up imaginative and new things to chalk.

I love this too!

My cat came home covered in chalk once after rolling around in a neighbour's kids' creations. What did I do? Laughed a lot and took pictures of her, before I wiped her down with a damp cloth so she didn't transfer it all to our furniture.

Some people are miseries!

Making a point about territory? Oh yes, he definitely got one over on a group of five year olds. He's winning at life...🙄

Your neighbour is an arsehole

Rain dances are also pretty cool, tbf. I'm all for a world with both chalk art and raindances.