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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to get pissed off when parents let their kids pick flowers?

146 replies

fuzzypicklehead · 12/04/2013 19:11

A mum I know posted a photo of her DC (aged 6) clutching a big bunch of daffodils, captioned "look what DC picked for me at the park! Isn't that sweet?" Sure it's great that he wanted to give his mum flowers, but pulling them out of a public flower bed?

Similar situation with another child when leaving the school grounds just before Easter--she asked her mum if she could pick a daffodil and was told yes. Cue my kids in a sulk the whole way home because I wouldn't let them pluck flowers too.

AIBU to think that flowers in public places are for everyone to enjoy and not for a few selfish people to nab for themselves? Perhaps your child is only picking a few, but if every child who walks by grabs a couple of flowers then they'll be finished by the end of the day. If you want fresh flowers , go and buy them. If your kids want to pull them up, then grow your own bastard flowers so your kids can pull their bloody heads off. Or maybe just tell your PFB "no, you can't pick those flowers because they don't belong to you."

It's been a long day. Need Brew

OP posts:
AmIthatSpringy · 12/04/2013 22:19

Nope, not unreasonable,

and not too harsh in the description

Selfish and setting a bad example.

As for the poster who says it's only a couple of flowers Hmm

Rightio then

MidniteScribbler · 12/04/2013 22:40

Do you ever notice you can just tell who has written a post, by the absolute 'I don't give a fuck about anyone other than myself' air of twatiness about it?

SirChenjin · 12/04/2013 22:43

Oh yes - sometimes you just will them to write something other than the usual twattery, if only to prove that they are not as ignorant in RL as they come across on here. They never do, sadly.

MsBella · 12/04/2013 22:45

Hmm I wouldn't call a mother selfish for their dc picking some flowers, you know some people may not know the difference between wild flowers and flowers which have been planted
Maybe a few signs up could help I reckon

peeriebear · 12/04/2013 22:54

If you pick the flower you rob the plant of its ability to reproduce. As well as being a greedy twat who spoils things for others.

MsBella · 12/04/2013 22:58

Actually that's not true and also I think that's definitely too harsh and judgemental. Someones whole self can't be based upon if their kids pick flowers or not.
Or are you calling children greedy twats..? They're just trying to do something nice you know what I mean

MidniteScribbler · 12/04/2013 22:59

Oh yes let's make more signs for the socially ignorant and selfish. We can add them to the "Contents may be hot" signs on cups of coffee for the chronically stupid.

MsBella · 12/04/2013 23:02

Come on if they don't know then they're not selfish you can't judge a person on if their dcs pick flowers, very judgmental comments
Its not their fault if they don't see a difference between flowers in nature and flowers in a park
There are daffodils that grow in wild areas too

DeepRedBetty · 12/04/2013 23:03

We planted a bag of wild narcissus bulbs to mark the place where we scattered some family ashes, very deep in woodland. I was gutted when I went to visit the next spring and found some fucker had picked them all.

MsBella · 12/04/2013 23:06

Ah I can see how that can be sad but I suppose whoever picked it had no way of knowing the reason they were there deepredbetty

AndFanjoWasHisNameO · 12/04/2013 23:13

It's the fact that these parents don't consider the fact that most kids would enjoy picking a load of flowers - it's just that the vast majority of parents realise that it's a little bit twatty and selfish and therefore encourage our kids not to. Angry My 3 year old was broken hearted when I (gently ) reprimanded him for acquiring me a snapped off rose head from our park but it needed doing.
The Marie Curie charity plant 'field of hope' daffs here, grown specifically to be sold for funds, clearly signposted too but doesn't stop some dickhead parents allowing their kids to pick them. Grr

MidniteScribbler · 12/04/2013 23:17

So Bella, now that you do know, will you be stopping your children from picking them?

MsBella · 12/04/2013 23:19

Are you being serious? I literally don't understand! Please tell me when I said I did! Midnite just read up or something I think you're confused

SucksToBeMe · 12/04/2013 23:39

YANBU.

Can I add another pet hate? Children running a pigeons, makes me sad. Hmm

Original poster
fuzzypicklehead · 13/04/2013 08:55

Somebody else saved me the trouble of commenting by linking to this article. Now they can take the beat-down for me!

OP posts:
peeriebear · 13/04/2013 09:00

Obviously I don't mean little kids picking flowers are greedy twats.
Parents who do nothing to stop them, and even encourage them, ARE.

peeriebear · 13/04/2013 09:01

Sucks, my 11yo DD raised a whole flock of pigeons in the air yesterday in a very quiet part of town. It scared the SHIT out of me. The pigeons didn't care a bit though :) She didn't run at them, just walked up to them.

Original poster
fuzzypicklehead · 13/04/2013 09:02

Yes, pigeon chasing does annoy me too. I know it's "just a bird" and pigeons are considered "vermin", but is there really any need for that behaviour? convinced the beady eyed buggers are plotting our eventual downfall and don't want to incur their wrath

OP posts:
Original poster
fuzzypicklehead · 13/04/2013 09:08

Well, accidentally startling a flock by just walking by isn't something you can avoid. But when you see them all hit the air at once, it is really unnerving. Also, don't homing pigeons have great memory for locations? If you piss them off, they might make a mental note of your address for revenge.

Screw the zombies. The pigeon apocalypse is what we really need to be concerned about. One day some poor pigeon will have been chased too many times and just snap, unleashing a feathery fury the likes of which the world has never known.

OP posts:
peeriebear · 13/04/2013 09:12

Oh she intended to do it :) We went further on and saw a whole gang of them bathing in a shallow part of the river, with this big slick of oily dust emanating from them. Dorty creatures.

tazzle · 13/04/2013 09:30

I think that ALL flowers should be left where they are for everyone to enjoy unless picking from own garden.

YANBU !

jamdonut · 13/04/2013 09:32

We have some tubs ,planted by children, in the school playground.

The minute they start to bloom, someone ALWAYS lets their child (usually a pre-schooler) go and pick them!!

I actually asked a child not to do it, once, and she went crying back to her mum!! The looks I got!!

Also, not far from my house their is a bank, alongside a busy road, that blooms with hundreds of daffodils every year. It would be lovely, but they are soon picked. Last year, I saw a women with 4 children picking them in armfulls. At first she put them in the tray under her pushchair, but when there was too many, they started to leave a trail of them down the footpath, or throw them about!! Angry As they reached a well-known pet store, she proceeded to let the children untie the balloons that were part of a display outside the store!! Hmm Shock

And ,no, I didn't say anything, but I was so angry!

MiaowTheCat · 13/04/2013 09:36

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

lecce · 13/04/2013 09:45

Very selfish behaviour. It really doesn't take a lot of thought to work that if everyone took one or two, there soon wouldn't be any left.

I really hate the pigeon scaring that goes on mentioned above too. Almost every time I go to the city in fine weather some child will run at a pigeon causing the ghastly thing to flap at me. I have no idea why so many people fail to teach their children respect for living things and the environment they live in.

DS2 has a desire to run at pigoens and I don't let him. Then he is surrounded by others doing just that Angry.

McPie · 13/04/2013 09:46

My kids have never picked public flowers but what they have done is picked up the ones some little shits have tried to destroy as they knew they would die quicker otherwise, my 3 know to never pick a growing flower.
I hate the way some people think that as they are flowers a swift boot is ok, the path down to tesco here is normally littered with them and its sad as they look so nice where they are planted.
I had a rose bush that had just been planted last year and had only two buds one of which flowered and was so beautiful, I was looking forward to seeing the other one but some numpty spoiled it by pulling it off and littering the path with the petals. With so many people converting their gardens to drives I love my little garden and am quite protective of it.

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