Neighbour’s kid picked my daffodils

[Lucylooloo2]

Just that really, had lots of notifications of movement on the doorbell camera and lo and behold a kid (8ish years old) from a few houses down with a bunch of daffodils in her hand.

Checked mine in my front garden when I got home and Every. Single. One. has been taken.

I’m just really sad tbh. Know there are much bigger problems in the world but they were a little spark of joy for me 😕

I think this is the most batshit thing I've read on Mumsnet, ever. And Mumsnet is a very batshitty place.

Completely unacceptable, kids need to know boundaries and respect other people’s possessions. I have had three kids and they never picked daffodils in parks etc.

It's not even just about stealing - a lot of people are very emotionally attached to their gardens and the plants they grow in them, they aren't just 'property', they nuture these little plants from seed, care for them, get joy from watching them grow and flourish - then some random stranger goes and ruins them? That is really hurtful, painful. Taking someone else's flowers from their garden is a spur of the moment act of total thoughtlessness and selfishness that might bring the taker a few minutes of pleasure but totally at the expense of the gardener who is then left really sad that they've been deprived of enjoying the flowers they loved and cared for. Honestly, I'd be less upset if someone keyed my car than I would if they picked my flowers, it's a cruel thing to do - even if that's not the intention. People's front gardens are not fair game, they are a part of someone's world that means a lot to them. Flowers are not just property, they mean so much more than that to a lot of people.

The state of this thread. Some of the answers, no wonder children (and increasingly adults, who presumably grew up surrounded by similar attitudes) think they can do what the fuck they like.

A lot of people are missing the point.
1.They are OPS daffodils, not the neighbours. Neighbours kid is perfectly fine to pick their own.

1. They are in OPs garden. Neighbours child should not be there.
2. OP planted them for her enjoyment.

4.They won't flower again until next year.

An 8 year old shouldn't be on someone else's property uninvited. They shouldn't be taking something that isn't theirs.
Also, daffodils might be inexpensive but nor everyone has disposable income. If there is any replacement, neighbour should be offering it.

What age were you when you picked the flowers @Crazybaby123 ?

Gosh talk about negating OP’s valid feelings.

OP I once had all the plants ripped from my front garden. It’s was so upsetting.

Can you go and speak to the neighbour to explain how wrong this is?

Snorting at that nutter who would take a gardening kit round to the thieving kid! Hilarious!

Virtue signalling used to be more prevalent on here. Was very funny. An op would post about something outrageous a stranger had done and these loons would pop up saying how they would have taken the angry stranger out for lunch / given them their car / taken them on holiday and op was a real meanie for not doing so.

Totally! Shocking.

if they are old enough to be out without an adult, they are old enough to know not to go into other people's gardens or pick anything.

Exactly this.

In my part of North London, if you have a front garden, you can't plant anything in it unless you accept the risk of it being stolen. Flowers, small shrubs, even a tree was removed from a front garden a few years ago.

I know right. Imagine rewarding a thief with the item they were stealing as a gift.

This is why I plant flowers only in my back garden & never put a wreath on my door. In my area, wreaths don't last long unless it'd wired to the electrics.

The kids nick the flowers and their mums nick the Xmas wreaths and shamelessly stick it on their front door!

You stole as a kid, and therefore feel entitled to tell OP what she should and shouldn’t get upset about?!

Wow.

Unbelievable.

Perhaps it was a tiny child wanting to sweetly gift their dear mum a tree bouquet for Mother's Day who just didn't understand about not trespassing and stealing, because what can you say, eh? The garden owner should have purchased a small woodland and gone round with a dumper bag of topsoil and a shovel, to kindly gift it to the child's family.

oh they are still around....mainly I see them around garden subjects
let your neighbour put scaffolding all over your drive
let next doors kids retrieve footballs ad lib
don't put up high fences to preserve garden privacy
let your neighbour use your EV charging point

I'd be livid. My kids (age 4 and 7) have always been told that they can pick daisies (the common type that grow in the grass, not fancy ones in a pot) but nothing else. We have been clear and consistent with this and apart from a few errors when very small (e.g. age 2) they have stuck to the rules. Parents need to educate their kids properly. It's not difficult, just tell them that picking flowers will make the bees sad or something and then we won't have much honey.

Are you kidding?

If you see it as the chids intent was a good one, trying to make her mum happy, then it's sweet.

If you look for my second post I do agree Op should speak with the Mum. So Mum knows and can stop it happening again. Because I wouldn't be so forgiving if it happens again either.

Is it still sweet if the child was in a Shop and saw a chocolate her mum might like so she just took it or is that different.

@abracadabra1980
ate you off your bloody tree . The lid nicked her daffy and you want to go round with bulbs to grow her own ffs
the mother should be apologising not being fucking rewarded

Can someone come plant some for you? I would, if I was close enough. Love seeing my bulbs pop. Daffs do really well in nice pots if you can't have them in the ground too.

Children will pick flowers they come across when out and about. However, what I would be very annoyed if a child beyond toddler age just walked into my garden to pick flowers. A child of the age you describe should know that you do not go into other peoples gardens - not just because you need to respect others property, but because it could be a safeguarding issue for the child herself.

So that makes it ok then? You can't have flowers in a front garden cos someone will nick them, so no one else can be upset about them being nicked from theirs?

It's wrong in all the areas and you shouldn't be accepting it as par for the course.