to ask the Ice Cream Man not to stop outside our house?!

[WheresMeBrew]

Picture the scene. It's Monday, late afternoon, and you've two hungry kids sat at the table waiting impatiently. You waltz in a la Luminere and present them with their dinner. Slight disappointment etched on their faces as they realise there's broccoli to be eaten but they crack on.

And then it starts. Feint at first, but getting closer. The Match of the Day theme usually. Eyes light up, knives and forks are flung aside, and they both scramble to the window to look at this god amongst men: The Ice
Cream Man. A chorus of "Please, please, please!" and "It's not fair!" fill the air. The eldest one sulks, the youngest downright refuses to return to the table. I am officially the meanest mum in the whole wide world ever.

Can I tell the Ice Cream man to not stop right outside our house? I can't afford it daily, I don't want them to have it daily, and I can't face a summer of this outburst at tea time every bleedin' day ...

We used to get really nice ice cream from a van. As a kid it was virtually the only ice cream I liked. It was smooth and came out of a machine rather than scoop stuff iykwim. We were only ever allowed 99 though unless we bought them ourselves. Mum would buy a variety of Ice creams when on offer though and so we either had a 99 from the van or once from the freezer. It became a Friday night tradition.

Having a cheap supermarket ice-crean from the freezer doesn't have the same excitement as the ice-cream van- watching it swirl out of the whipping machine, and choosing bits and sauce, and if you're lucky a flake, I loved it as a kid and so does my dd, we don't have one every time it comes, not even every week or every month, but once in a while is a real treat. And our van does small cones for 80p, don't where you live that costs a tenner! The best ones are the lemon topped ones from the seaside mmmmm

YABU, a little. The ice cream van used to go to the roads either side of ours and never to our road, the DCs love an ice cream from the van but all they see is him driving past on the way to the other roads. Being rural they are too far away to run to. I've now asked him to come - he only comes once a week so it's not every day and the DCs know not to buy one if they've already had chocolate/sweets recently.

Yes sizzle but Tesco don't sell black market cigs or a range of illegal drugs.

YABU - the van owner is making a living.

Your DCs need to learn that no means no and suck it up. Ignore any bad behaviour that ensues and they'll stop eventually. Mine did.

Van comes round my street 2/3 times a day!

We have never, ever bought ice cream from the van that comes round. Vans are for fairgrounds, festivals, parks etc. Ice cream at home is from the freezer.

They don't even blink when the van comes round. If you do it once they will expect that you can be worn down. The van has stopped coming as no one was buying.

My mum never let me have an ice cream from the ice cream van. Scarred me for life.

As a kid, when the ice cream man came round ny nan ( and a lot of others as well) used to take a large bowl to him to fill up. It used to be our desert on Sundays.

My lot only get excited if they really fancy an ice cream, eg if it's a really hot day or we're in the garden or they're put the front with their friends anyway. Is it bad they are sometimes found running down the street with just socks on to make it before he leaves?? I think a one off isn't too bad, they're only a Quid for a huge one so I normally get the littlest to give me at least half of hers. Ice cream vans are a fun part of childhood! Not as an everyday Thing but once in a while surely!!??

The van that comes down our street usually comes at about 10pm. In winter too. There are seemingly a lot of adults in my area who love ice cream just before they tuck up in bed.

I had to explain the phenomenon when my DM commented upon it. She was very shocked, but subsequently has spotted similar vans in her area as she looks out for dodgy vans now, bless her.

I don't get this 'tell them the ice cream has run out if they are playing the tune' thing.

In this house it's 'no' and that's the end of it.

Um, telling them the ice cream has run out is what's known as tongue in cheek.

"Ice cream at home is from the freezer" - you see that's where we differ. If I bought ice cream from the supermarket the kids WOULD keep going on and on about it cos they know it's there so I never have any I'm the house. Given that a big cone is £1 or £1.20 they can have one every couple of weeks

Airhorn, link it up to the sub woofers and Doof Doof doof Speakers, as soon as he stops outside your home, blast him with an equally anoying sound

My kids knew no meant no meant Hell NO.

wish one would come round here would love a 99 right now

Me too - a Mr Whippy 99 with raspberry sauce...mmm...

Um, telling them the ice cream has run out is what's known as tongue in cheek.

Um..yeah, I get that. Not stupid.

But people are using it as an easy way to say no, which is what I don't get.

I remember a notorious ice cream man who patrolled the streets of my home town when I was a kid. He used to make comments to all the girls hitting puberty that their jumpers must have bumps in them when they took then off at night, and he did a roaring trade in video nasties and mucky films (deliberate '80s terminology ).

Nothing to do with the OP's children wanting ice cream of course.

But people are using it as an easy way to say no, which is what I don't get.
Well, some people say a firm no to their kids about things and others find an "easier" way to do it so they don't always have to say no, I guess. And I'm pretty sure the people on here suggesting it were mostly being facetious

My youngest came up to me at about the age of 3 and demanded 'one of dose ice keems with a choclut stick in'. I imagine that may have meant a 99. They learn fast.

Blimey, are there really that many dodgy vans around? What do the 10pm customers buy? I'm clearly too innocent!