Kids chalking on pavement

[Ritascornershop]

My best friend lives in a little estate of row houses with a grassed area in the centre and pavement around the edge with paths off to each of their houses.

Her idiot ex-partner lives with her (for the most part never paying rent or contributing to food and bills). They are just past 50 and never had kids.

The neighbours’ kids are aged around 5-6 and have taken to drawing pictures in chalk on the pavement; animals, houses, and hopscotch squares. They do this in front of a number of houses. My friend’s idiot ex partner has been hosing it off and telling the kids not to do it (& given how often she tells me he shouts about other things I suspect he’s not telling them nicely).

I told her I thought he was mean to hose away their harmless drawings, that she used to chalk draw when she was little, that he fancies himself an artist, and that I think he’s being awful. AIBU?

It's harmless fun, not running a crack den. I would rather kids be outside playing & running around than sat inside playing on screens. Tell your OH he is a miserable git for spoiling their fun, the rain will wash away the chalk.

I put my children in a cupboard when potential buyers want to look around. They're noisy and untidy and, frankly, not the most attractive kids in the world. No pets, of course and I make sure hubby has mowed the lawn and hoovered up any leaves. I always wear a new pinny. Who wouldn't want to move to Stepford? We love it here.

@longwayoff

I put my children in a cupboard when potential buyers want to look around. They're noisy and untidy and, frankly, not the most attractive kids in the world. No pets, of course and I make sure hubby has mowed the lawn and hoovered up any leaves. I always wear a new pinny. Who wouldn't want to move to Stepford? We love it here.

🤣🤣

I wish all the Victor Meldrews Hyacinth Bucket's would fuck to the far side of off & then fuck off again. Chalking on the pavements is innocent fun, kids want to be outside during the school holidays, it's cheap & keeps them active.

Saw this thread and went out to get some chalk. Can't believe anyone would be bothered by kids drawing on the pavement.

People complain kids are indoors too much then mom they're making noise and mess. Let's just ban kids altogether

I'm a miserable old cow, and most everything annoys me; but children chalking on the pavement doesn't bother me in the least.
Well, unless they're writing Fuck You or something.

Wow some of the responses on this thread are astonishing! They're spray painting dick pictures on the sides of people's houses, they're drawing pictures and playing hopscotch.

Let children be children, let them play and let their imaginations run free.

@longwayoff

I put my children in a cupboard when potential buyers want to look around. They're noisy and untidy and, frankly, not the most attractive kids in the world. No pets, of course and I make sure hubby has mowed the lawn and hoovered up any leaves. I always wear a new pinny. Who wouldn't want to move to Stepford? We love it here.

That's brilliant :-).

Talking about Stepford wives and Hyacinths is rather extreme and snobbish. It is a fact that many people do not want to see kids playing in the street, even if they have children. It doesn't mean they don't like children or think they shouldn't have fresh air but if there are back gardens, there's no reason for them to congregate at the front of houses.

It is a fact that many people do not want to see kids playing in the street

Tough. Their views don’t get priority over other people’s.

@BertieBotts

I find this so weird. We live in Germany and the pavements/paths especially near parks, but also car parks / garages / steps in residential areas are absolutely covered in chalk art throughout the whole summer. Big, massive pieces, scribbles, writing (never anything offensive that I've seen) it's just normal and completely commonplace to see kids doing chalk art. They bring big buckets of chalk and share it with strangers. We did the same yesterday.

I would not let my DC crayon on somebody's private property but public spaces absolutely.

It washes off as soon as it next rains.

This is absolutely gorgeous - I do wish the UK had this sentiment.

playingout.net/what-can-i-do/on-your-doorstep/pavement-play/

For people who feel that children should be allowed to play out the front of their houses, and chalk the pavement! The Playing Out campaign has lots of great ideas, from simple ideas for pavement play, to organising Play Streets where traffic is temporarily blocked so that kids can play out.

@Plumtree391 you are kidding aren't you? Or are there people really like you out there?

My kids play out the front. All the time. We have a back garden too and if they want to go out on their ezyrollers or chalk or whatever. I let them. And I wouldn't give an actual toss if it put someone off buying a house on my street. Because I would never want to live near someone like that

Some people are miserable gits, chalks or not.

I put my children in a cupboard when potential buyers want to look around. They're noisy and untidy and, frankly, not the most attractive kids in the world. No pets, of course and I make sure hubby has mowed the lawn and hoovered up any leaves. I always wear a new pinny. Who wouldn't want to move to Stepford? We love it here.

🤣🤣🤣

How on earth does a temporary chalk drawing make an area undesirable? It's not like burnt out cars, needles in the gutter and drunks sprawled across the pavement is it? I suspect there is a microcosm of people who have had extremely sheltered lives.

@lannistunut

lower the tone lowering the tone is not a crime, and is also completely subjective.

I am all in favour of lowering the tone, I am both naturally gifted and practiced at doing this, I hope my neighbours appreciate how hard I work to lower the tone.

Hyacinth Bucket can lump it.

hahahaha me too

@DrCoconut

How on earth does a temporary chalk drawing make an area undesirable? It's not like burnt out cars, needles in the gutter and drunks sprawled across the pavement is it? I suspect there is a microcosm of people who have had extremely sheltered lives.

It doesn’t. miserable sods who think it brings an area down are quite mistaken. When we bought our first place, we specifically looked for areas where children played outside without any safety worries and, if I see chalking on pavements, I would actually consider that area quite family friendly and safe for kids. Some people have to whinge about everything. If they don’t find anything specific, they will whine about not being able to whinge about anything. 🙄

Children like to play with other children. Who knew? Be very careful people, you may find out your children are learning social interaction without your direct supervision. And as for expressing themselves through drawing? Shocking. Awful to think of children out there being just like real, small people having a nice time. Ban the little buggers.

And while we're at it, how about a campaign to put pants on the Cerne Abbas giant? Start it OP, it'll take a while to clear it up.

I think evidence of children playing outside would suggest to me it was a safe area where children could play together instead of being indoors looking at a screen or going on 'play dates' (no such thing when either I or my daughter were children). I am so old even my grandchildren are too old to do this but I would definitely buy a house in an area like that. There were plenty of chalk drawings outside houses in my road last summer and I loved it. There have been some changes and now there are more boys on bikes than artists but, as long as they respect people's property (which they do), I think it is a good thing.

He sounds delightful! £100 says he's the type that reminisces about his own childhood running feral and free while complaining that kids nowadays do nowt but sit on screens...

@longwayoff

I put my children in a cupboard when potential buyers want to look around. They're noisy and untidy and, frankly, not the most attractive kids in the world. No pets, of course and I make sure hubby has mowed the lawn and hoovered up any leaves. I always wear a new pinny. Who wouldn't want to move to Stepford? We love it here.

Love it

If only there was a way to identify the chalk-hating miserable buggers who are house hunting - that way we could send out our noisy ugly children out to chalk willies and boobs on the street before they arrived to put them off buying houses in the neighbourhood. Everyone would be much happier as a result.

TBH he sounds like the villain in a kids cartoon...

if there are back gardens, there's no reason for them to congregate at the front of houses

There is if children from different households play together. Anyone who objects to seeing children play together really needs to raise their offence taking threshold.

@sailmeaway

TBH he sounds like the villain in a kids cartoon...