in letting my children draw with chalk on the pavement outside our house?

[elegangle]

I've just had a mouthful of abuse form a couple of neighbours regarding our 2 children (7 & 5) drawing pictures with lumps of chalk found in the garden. We've let them draw on the driveway which leads up to the house but is not technically part of our property and a lady accross the road has asked them to come over and draw on the pavement that runs alongside her fence. Personally I don't understand the 'upset' that this is causing, they are pictures of animals, cars, planes etc. They have not written FUCK OFF or anything offensive but seemingly we are causing offense by allowing this. We live in a cul-de-sac of mixed council and ex-council houses.
So, AIBU in letting our kids have a bit of fun drawing pictures that'll be washed away in the next rainfall or should I stop them?

reeling

I wonder, could someone develop permanent chalk ?

Or would white paint suffice ?

Fimbo, I suspect DH has a touch or the Hyacinth Bucket about him. I just don't see the problem. It rains and, ta dah!, no more chalk.

OI ! Chickens

Are you taking the pee ?

Neena someone round here draws round every pavement poo with chalk like some turdy little crime scene.

Here we go, look for posts by
SpottyLotty (depends on area and if any property is for sale),
GetOrfMoiLand (just doesn't like it)
oldandgreynow (teaches your children to disrespect other people's property, and encourages the attitude that "i can cause, albeit temporary, defacement to something that doesn't belong")
Aeschylus (might get your kids arrested).

Those are mostly positive responses, but some folk do feel very strongly anti the cranky old gits .

ps: I have the memory of a FRiggin' elephant, don't I?

FFS it's only chalk and they'll only do it for one or two summers then they''ll grow up and out of it.

People are miserable buggers.

Tbh Ragged I think it is a bit unfair to single posters out like that. Linking to the thread would have been enough. Just my thoughts though.

Wow, I'm about as un-child-friendly as they come and I wouldn't object to chalk drawings on a public pavement.

YANBU.

My DS drew a single line on the pavement in my mums street. Wanted to see how long the line got before the chalk ran out. My mum went ballistic and referred to it as vandalism.
He was 8 at the time.
It is only due to DH restraining me that she didn't open her curtains to see a giant willy chalked onto the ground.
Miserable bugger and anyone who can't take pleasure in children amusing themselves (as opposed to sitting on the xbox say) is a miserable old bugger too.

People are miserable. I love seeing chalk drawings on pavements always brings a smile to my face and memories of doing it when I was little.

When I was a child I wrote my name from one end of the street to our house in different coloured chalks it took me ages and therefore amused and out of my mums hair and when she saw it she went totally mad.

I remember it so well to this day, but even now I can't really see what the problem was. It is chalk, it washes off, as for cute little pictures by little children???

I let my children draw with chalk in our garden and my DH goes mad???

How miserable, We used to play hop scotch and all that stuff back in primary school. At least they are having fun outdoors and have a bit of imagination. You can't win sometimes!

Someone who hates chalk needs to explain it's vileness

I don't think there is enough chalk drawings unless of course its <a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=penis+in+chalk&hl=en&biw=1639&bih=783&tbm=isch&tbnid=FcOMosSGVaEJRM:&imgrefurl=www.collegehumor.com/picture/6205001&docid=A9KUz-PzR_MyHM&w=720&h=540&ei=vhFhTuJBwpjxA-fnkQM&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=203&vpy=476&dur=297&hovh=156&hovw=216&tx=168&ty=198&page=1&tbnh=154&tbnw=214&start=0&ndsp=28&ved=1t:429,r:21,s:0" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">this

you can always stick the hose on it this pm.

YABU.

Its terrible to encourage a child to draw on the pavement with chalk. I got mine permanent markers and spray paint and encouraged them to draw on statues/peoples doors. Its the only way forward in broken Britain you see, if they dont get an ASBO by the age they are 10 what can you blame the government for then?

Just goes to show the world we are now living in and our DC's have to grow up in eh.. sounds like your neighbours have little else to worry them if they feel the need to grumble.. YANBU at all!!!!
Its self expression for ur dc's.. do you all remember when you were little and a pavement was a huge blackboard/easel that was just begging to be decorated?? i sure do, and my dc's do..
sod the lot of em!!!

It doesn't fit into their ordered and uniformed lives Chickens

There, but only temporary.

No laws to cover it.

It encourages rioting.

Sleepless nights all round

Er, ragged, that's bad form really

Anyway, my dc found chalking on the WALL didn't come out when it rained! Just about on the pavement. But it was cheap chalk, not the proper pavement chalk. Don't see the problem with a few pictures though

"One of the neighbours who has taken issue lets her own children do it"

Why if her own dc do it? Is it because it is a driveway used by more than one house and they don't want dc bent down playing where they need to drive their cars up and down, something like that? Or the driveway leads up to their home so they don't like the look of it?

How mean can some people be? You should sneak over to theirs under cover of darkness and draw a big smiley face or sunshine and rainbows on their front step. They might know it was you though.

you say you had a mouthful of abuse about it. What did they actually say?

At least they don't draw <a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=chalk+artist&hl=en&sa=X&biw=1146&bih=718&tbm=isch&prmd=ivns&tbnid=P2ZNtKar4Do1QM:&imgrefurl=www.impactlab.net/2006/03/09/amazing-3d-sidewalk-art-photos/&docid=sKoxrK4g8SrfDM&w=455&h=300&ei=WxRhTsbTNYrC8QPO2O3lDw&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=409&page=1&tbnh=87&tbnw=132&start=0&ndsp=23&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0&tx=57&ty=53" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">this, it should be some kind of sugar free fruit drink to set a good example

I don't think it's a big deal but I would be minded to take out a bucket of water and a hard broom at the end of the day and brush it away. That way there would be no cause for complaint. Any particular reason why they can't chalk in their own garden though?