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 would be fuming.
I’d go round and tell her parents, whilst pointedly looking at the flowers growing in their garden.
It isn’t acceptable.

I wonder if we live close by… There was lots of beautiful daffodils in a house a few doors down, I was cleaning the table yesterday and saw a little girl with her parent and sibling and she was holding a bunch of daffodils (not wrapped like they were bought) I wondered, are they from that lovely garden?!
Either way… I would be upset too!!!

No it's not a 'minor harm'. Why should some kid get to take the flowers when the OP wanted to enjoy them in HER garden? The parents of that kid should be ashamed that their kid has the bad manners to go into somebody else's garden and pick their flowers!

Pop over tomorrow and start picking them 🤣😉
Seriously though, I’d be annoyed too!
It may be ‘sweet’ in the girls mind to do this for her Mum (if that is the case), but it’s bloody annoying for you.
I would definitely go and speak to the parents, otherwise whats to stop her helping herself every time something flowers in your garden

8 years old and picked from someone else's garden but left the ones in her own? She knew what she was doing and needs to be taught not to take things without asking, also known as stealing.

If I was her parent I'd be sending her round with replacements, but given their child's actions I doubt they will.

I have an eight-year-old currently, and I'd be absolutely furious with her if she did this.
I don't think she would because I've spent six years making sure she knows which flowers you can pick and which flowers you can't pick, so I'd be flabbergasted as well as furious, tbh.
Definitely go and have a word with the parents. "Sweet", my arse.

8 isn't very young, it's certainly old enough to know not to go into other people gardens and pick their flowers and OP has said that this child has daffodils in their own garden.

I think it is stealing. The kid is old enough to understand it is wrong.

My kid is two and already knows just look at flowers and not pick them. It only took a few times to say this.

This is awful! She is 8 and old enough to know better! I bet if you raise it with the mother she won't apologise, make her child apologise or give the child a telling off for it, as is the nature of entitled parenting today. She will probably even defend her by saying her daughter can pick flowers wherever she wants. This is not "sweet" it is stealing and her parents should be supervising her.

They'll be dead by Mother's Day

Eight is not a very young child!

That's what kids have parents for!! to teach them things! By eight, she should know, she's not 4.

Well I think something needs to be said to the parent or the child could come back and pick these?

I saw a small child in our local park the other day with a handful of daffs. Child was with adults. The child was either not being supervised or the adults thought it ok.

So they can do what they should have done several years ago and tell their child to leave other people's gardens alone?

Oh dear! This takes me back many decades. I did this as a child. Probably 7 or 8 ish' Tulips and other Spring blooms. I thought my mum would like them so I went into the woman's garden and picked a bunch. My mum asked where I got them and I just told her. She told me I had ' stolen' and asked me to show her the garden . By then I remember feeling awful!! It got worse, I had to chap the neighbours door and give them back! The owner of course said since I had picked them I could keep them. She said by picking them they were already dying , Good botany lesson as I really didn't understand that until then. I felt awful when she ended by saying she planted them for everyone to enjoy. It had a better ending as I went after school to help her replant more and I got to feed her rabbits. Lesson learned. Don't take other folks things!! If you see that child again maybe you should have a wee chat. It might stop her in her 'wrong tracks'

You definitely need to go and have a word with the parents before your tulips get taken as well. Considering he packed yours and left theirs alone, I have a feeling she already knows it was the wrong thing to do. She needs to know you know it was her.

I can definitely see which parents have zero boundaries on this thread.

Well, you know, so the child knows that it's wrong and doesn't do it again?

Or if the child does know it's wrong ( more likely at 8) , then theyll know they've been caught?

Why am I explaining basic parenting on Mumsnet?

8 is not 'really young', it's plenty old enough to know you don't pick flowers in other peoples gardens. I have a feeling she already knows she don't pick flowers from the garden as she left her own ones alone and took them from someone else's garden.

why on earth do people think it’s sweet! She had flowers in her own garden to pick, it’s trespass and theft and at 8 she should know better. I love my daffodils and would probably be in tears if they were picked

Years ago, volunteers planted daffodils in huge numbers here and there in our local park. Someone I knew then came across a pair of adults digging some up to take away for their own garden. They didn't take well to being challenged.

It's the principle, not the outcome.
I'd be at the thieving little sods door explaining to his parents that their child is a thief. Perhaps they don't realise/care that their child is vandalising and stealing.
All those who think stealing is sweet would not be so 'awwwww, it's cute' if it was their property being stolen

Put up a sign: Do not pick my daffodils.

I completely agree. There’s absolutely no way my 8 year old would pick flowers like this. She knows it’s not allowed. She also wouldn’t walk into someone else’s garden!