AIBU to not let a random child walk on my garden wall?

[CockysGirl]

Just got in from work and was parking on my drive and a grandparent with a small child (2-3 years old) is lifting them up so that they can walk along my garden wall. They see me standing watching and say "DGC wants to walk on your wall, you don't mind do you?" So I replied, "I'd rather they didn't, it is a tall wall with lots of rose bushes next to it so they may get hurt and anyway, it is my private property" So the grandparent glared at me and huffed loudly and said "the nasty lady won't let you walk on her wall" and proceeded to make a big fuss about lifting DGC off the wall again! AIBU to not want kids walking on my garden wall?

I put Yanbu, because as a parent I’d never encourage my child to walk on someone’s wall. That being said it really wouldn’t bother me if a child walked on mine

Enthusiasm "Another thing people on MN only seemed to get wound up about".

Maybe - gasp!- MN is more representative of the general public than just you, unless you've recently done a poll on the exact same topic on a group of the same size

YANBU at all OP.

I'd wager that most of the YABU-ers are people who smile indulgently as their little darlings wreck coffee shops and make nuisances of themselves.

Your wall isn't public property and the DGM was the only person who was rude and miserable tbh.

I'd wager that most of the YABU-ers are people who smile indulgently as their little darlings wreck coffee shops and make nuisances of themselves

Don’t be so ridiculous - Comparing apples and pears. Mind you it’s mumsnet so of course walking on someone’s wall would be considered a gateway activity to anti-social behaviour. The OP can comfort herself in the knowledge she’s probably saved the tot from a lifetime of delinquency 🙄

Can you say 'private property' without putting on a silly voice, though?

Aw I used to love doing this with my kids when they were small. Tbf would only be on public walls (town, outside swimming etc) not on someone’s garden wall. I didn’t like them running in and out of peoples gardens on walks either as I thought it was rude.

It really bugs me here though as our house is built into a hill, and there’s a stone staircase at the side with a long railing and loads of kids like to climb on the outside of it, but there’s about a 10ft drop, makes my heart skip a beat! I just tell them not to and they mainly listen. Opposite neighbour has the same set up and has put signs up but that seems to attract them more. He was talking about putting anti-burglar paint on his railings until dh asked him what he would do if a child fell because of that.. madness.

Are you one of those people who complain that kids these days don’t get out enough and don’t play out like you used to do?? While complaining about kids being kids and walking on wall or playing in the street every chance you get??

YANBU - it's your property. If you don't want other peoples kids walking on your wall, then that's up to you.
Just like I don't want the local school kids pulling handfuls of leaves off my plants as they walk past and shredding them all over the floor!

@jellycatspyjamas please do point out where I said that walking on someone’s wall would be considered a gateway activity to anti-social behaviour? Maybe unclench a bit.

Wow, misery guts

YANBU.

I have 3 and 7 year old boys who love to climb up and walk on walls - 3yo with hand held. Luckily they a have a 100ft one that runs along side the school field on the way home - all the kids get their wall-walking fixes on that every day, even though there's brambles behind it .

I always say no when it's outside someone's house . Doesn't feel right to have my kids climbing all over someones property.

Are you one of those people who complain that kids these days don’t get out enough and don’t play out like you used to do?? While complaining about kids being kids and walking on wall or playing in the street every chance you get??

Of course it is well known the only two options for children are walking on walls or being completely sedentary.

What harm would it be? She's hardly going to wear away your wall

The Grandparent lifted the child up FOUR FOOT onto your wall so it could walk along it? Is there a slight exaggeration going on, OP?

A front garden round the corner had a low wall - about 1 foot high by 1 foot across. My dc would all walk on it up to the age of about 5 - why not? The woman who owned it would shout at them (and me) so we stopped, but I have to say I thought she was a nasty woman too.

I used to have kids walking on my wall, holding on by the wooden fence atop of it. I did object to that, because the fence was bog rotten, and it would have got very ugly if it gave way with a child clinging atop of it! Once we'd rebuilt that, I didn't have a problem, so long as they weren't loitering, or making a pest of themselves.

I used to let my kids walk on walls. Sometimes it was the only way to keep them walking! Spotting the next wall... But if the owner came out I'd ask, and if they said no it wasn't a problem. I always felt a bit guilty about it...

I suppose I think that the sort of person who refers to someone as a 'nasty lady' when said lady has done nothing wrong is exactly the sort of person to complain when the darling child falls into the rose bush. The woman must have known that letting the child go on the wall wasn't absolutely fine otherwise why would she ask permission?

Unless there are plants overhanging the wall which would be damaged or it was an old, delicate wall that could be damaged you'd have to be a massive stick in the mud to object to this! Everyone does it down our road (kids that is not adults) and it has never occured tome to be annoyed!

🍪

YABU

Sad the world has come to this when a wee tot can't walk in a wall.

I walked along walls, my kids walked along walls - where is the harm?

I think it’s cheeky to lift your child up on someone else’s wall. Doesn’t really matter why you don’t like it, they shouldn’t be doing it.

Maybe unclench a bit

I’ve nothing that needs unclenching, thanks. My response was to your “bet these kids run amok in coffee shops” and was no more hyperbolic than yours. Maybe you should unclench first.

😂

This is a funny one. I only ever let my kids walk on ‘public’ walls and never ones belonging to people’s homes. I agree it is a bit killjoy to say no in some circumstances. However I also agree that it’s the right if anyone who owns a piece of property not to let any random use it. I also think the old man was totally out of order for name calling.