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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Ice Cream Van being parked almost opposite school - AIBU?

146 replies

CleverCatty · 24/03/2021 15:16

I've noticed that over Lockdown an Ice Cream Van has been parked almost opposite the school gates and most days from 2pm onwards (so when the nursery finishes for the day it's there and then when school ends).

The van used to be parked further down the road on which I live but has obviously moved further, nearer to the school?

AIBU that it shouldn't be every day or am I just being a Moaning Minnie?

OP posts:

PattyPan · 24/03/2021 17:27

@FiveNightsAtMummys oh god, you’ve just reminded me that I used to have an ice cream man as a neighbour, I’d blocked it from my memory. Teddy bears picnic used to haunt my dreams as it would still be playing when he parked at home at the end of the day!

Autumn101 · 24/03/2021 17:32

I can’t wait for the ice cream van to come back to outside DS2s school!

He’s in year 6 and my youngest so this is my last few months of school runs, our Friday afternoon whippys walking home in the sunshine have been one of my loveliest memories of this last year

KaptainKaveman · 24/03/2021 17:32

Blimey. Not content with accusing the ice cream man of 'preying on children and parents' you also object to his name Uncle Jerry because it's a bit 'matey' ?

of course it's 'matey'. Would it be better if he called himself Mr Miserable old bastard?

Nandocushion · 24/03/2021 18:07

Takes me back to my childhood, when my mother would never, ever, ever even once let us get an ice cream from the ice cream van, just because it was more expensive than just having some from the off-brand tub of Neopolitan in the freezer. We had no money troubles, she was just a fun sponge.

You sound like you'd get along with my mum, OP.

mummysherlock · 24/03/2021 18:11

There is an ice cream van outside my DC’s school every summer and mine are normally allowed an ice cream on a Friday pm as a treat, they don’t get it every day. Nobody is holding a gun to the parents heads forcing them to buy their kids ice cream in the same way that nobody forces me to go into Greggs if I walk past it. A good opportunity to teach kids about treats in moderation

FatAnneTheDealer · 24/03/2021 18:20

One very good reason for not allowing this is that ice cream vans need to run continuously to keep their engines going. They are almost always Diesel engines which produce dangerous particles and probably make the air outside the school of poor quality. I live opposite a school and the Council recently tested the quality and discovered that my road had the worst in the entire town - and that was just with (ignorant or selfish) parents running their engines while they waited for pick up.

The situation is bad enough without an ice cream van adding to nearby school pollution. Small children have particularly sensitive lungs. This is a health hazard that has nothing to do with sweets!

MadeOfStarStuff · 24/03/2021 18:23

YABU

If parents don’t want their children eating ice cream then they can choose not to buy ice cream.

Newgirls · 24/03/2021 18:25

You have a point OP.

Chip shops are banned from opening too close to schools and this is similar.

If it was say just Fridays it would be better I think

queenMab99 · 24/03/2021 18:27

Ice cream van was always parked outside my children's primary school in the eighties, it never bothered me, I just told my children that the man picked his nose and scratched his bum, and had nowhere to wash his hands. They never asked for ice cream from the van.

andweallsingalong · 24/03/2021 19:02

Takes me back. Our secondary school was another one where the ice cream van came into school and parked on the playground. We weren't allowed out of school grounds so he got all the sweetie trade as well.

Until school did an audit of the dinner hall and realised how many kids were skipping lunch and spending their dinner money at the ice cream van and banished him!

Original poster

CleverCatty · 25/03/2021 15:28

@BriarsHollow

Did this thread go differently to how the OP expected?

I don't care either way - was a bit bored but thought some parents (like on here) who like to control their DCs eating might be a bit concerned by this.

Obvs not, I'm a fun sponge etc.

I think with the year we've had last year yes kids need more fun (ice cream) and yes ice cream seller does need to make money! so prepared to be put right on that score.

OP posts:

PhatPhanny · 25/03/2021 16:07

He is a shop on wheels, ita down to the parents to police their kids, hes just running his business.

WinoLino · 25/03/2021 16:27

No issue in my opinion, parents can say no to kids and after how crap this has all been for them I'd be taking him up on his ice creams once a week or so as a treat

AngeloMysterioso · 25/03/2021 19:30

When I was at school there were 2 ice cream vans that parked outside every day at lunchtime. It was great!

MorganKitten · 25/03/2021 20:30

I don't really mind... I just think he's preying a bit on kids and parents though I suppose if they can't go shops as easily as before it must be ok

Parent - no dear you can’t have an ice cream today

Easy. How is he preying on kids?

Original poster

CleverCatty · 28/04/2021 16:44

Got an update here...

NDN's are moving to Canada soon (not to escape me but probably joke... anyway they've had to sell their car and I think it failed it's MOT so she told me and had 5K of possible work to do on it.

So we were speaking outside our houses the other day about this and along comes 'Uncle Mickey' to speak to us. We all said hi and then I had to come in to do some work and he was speaking to her about the car.

FFW to last weekend and I met her at the local swing park with my family and her DC - who were on the look out for 'Uncle Mickey' so they could buy ice creams. Turned 6pm and he still wasn't around - unusually for him so we all sloped off home after waiting approx 1 hour and on playground equipment.

NDN mum then confided in me that it was a pain seeing him because he'd got so friendly with her and she with him and with 3 DC under 10 she felt she couldn't refuse them ice creams when she saw him or say no... That's obviously down to her parenting but her choice.

With her moving (her DH has a 2 year contract) this scenario will obviously cease but she did say she felt guilt tripped especially as he was so friendly to her!

So lesson learned but obviously to her - ok to be nice to ice cream van man and buy lots of ice cream (he does do some nice 'naice' ones as well as Mr Whippy ones but if you want to draw boundaries and say no best do it quick/soon.

OP posts:

lanthanum · 28/04/2021 17:53

We had one doing this for a while, and I felt they'd have done better if they'd parked outside a different school each day of the week. If it had just been there on Tuesdays, I suspect some of us would have decided that okay, Tuesday was treat day. Because it was there every day, many of us never once bought from it, because if we did, the kids would have started pleading every day.

Ribrabrob · 28/04/2021 17:59

Another lesson learned: it’s ok to say no to children. Who knew?

lanthanum · 28/04/2021 17:59

@AngeloMysterioso

When I was at school there were 2 ice cream vans that parked outside every day at lunchtime. It was great!

The secondary I attended had one that parked next to the carpark at lunchtimes. The school tolerated us leaving the premises as far as the pavement. I had free school meals, so I would buy my friend something on my ticket in return for her buying me an ice-cream.

The first school I taught in had one that came into the playground - it was in the days when schools were less fenced in, and I think the school had decided it was easier than having to deal with pupils leaving the premises. The interesting thing was that the day it didn't turn up, we had to extend lunchtime to get everyone through the cafeteria - I think we hadn't realised how many kids were getting their entire lunch from the ice-cream van.

Original poster

CleverCatty · 29/04/2021 09:47

@Ribrabrob

Another lesson learned: it’s ok to say no to children. Who knew?

My own DM when we were kids rarely bought as ice creams as they were so expensive - especially in central London when we went there on day trips, so it was mostly a no from her to us! We did have them sometimes though...

OP posts:

lanthanum · 29/04/2021 12:58

We were allowed ice creams once during any camping holiday, twice if we could spot them for 10p instead of the more usual 20p.

(Has anyone else noticed the changes in relative prices? Back in the 80s, cornettos were 30p. Now a cornetto is usually rather cheaper than a cone.)

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