Letting children chalk public pavement

[RainbowRanger29]

Hi,

So wondering AITA for allowing my young child (age 5) to draw with chalk on the public pavement?

My child was happy out drawing pictures and writing her name with chalk in the front garden with her little friends from the street. They ran out of space in the garden and continued there colourful chalk drawings along the public pavement outside the house.

No one owns the public footpath (its not anyone's actual property) and they drew along outside around 5/6 houses. They drew rainbows and houses and wrote their names and a hopscotch. Nothing offensive but not exactly amazing art (they are only 5!)

One of the neighbours arrived home and appeared visibly annoyed with the chalk, the kids asked if they like their art and they ignored them, went inside, got their hose and washed the chalk away from the public footpath outside of their house only.

The children were still out drawing and got upset that they had washed it away (mummy didn't they like our pictures? Why are they washing it away? Etc)

We live in the UK and it rains an awful lot! It would have washed away anyway later that evening when it rained ... I think it was mean of them to hose it away in front of the kids (surely they could of waited until the kids had stopped playing?)

Or is it me ... should I have not allowed them to chalk the public footpath?

Is it kids being kids enjoying chalking public areas? I used to do this as a kid and it never seemed to upset anyone? Or is it disrespectful to allow children to chalk on public footpaths outside of other people's home?

Interested on everyone's opinions

So do I. Such an innocent past time.
If it was spray paint then the neighbour would be well within their rights to be annoyed, but chalk? Get a grip FFS. And the hosing it off in front of the kids was just mean and petty.

Nah, she’s fine. Sure he can wash it off, doesn’t stop him being a miserable sod.

Get them to draw a certain flag outside their house.

I was walking to work early one morning and the small street I have to walk through was completely covered in chalk drawings, from one end to the other; the pavements and the roads, you could barely see the concrete. There was also some ribbons on fences and lampposts. It was fucking fabulous! It was there for several weeks during the long summer dry spell, making my morning a bit less dreary. I was disappointed when it eventually washed away and were back to everything being grey. Personally, I would probably hand them some extra chalk, but perhaps limit their drawing space to your own surroundings if it upsets that one neighbour, eh 🙄

Neighbour is a misery guts. Yanbu at all op.

How anyone can be upset by children’s chalk drawings is beyond me. It isn’t graffiti it’s harmless fun that will disappear within hours . There are some miserable bastards out there.

I think chalking on a public pavement is fine - I personally like to see it - but I also think grumpy neighbours are a fact of life to learn about and no real harm done. Don't let it stop them doing it again though! Maybe a passive aggressive exclusion zone around their house.

Kids used to draw hopscotches, targets, on the pavements for many many years. My late DGM did this in the 1930s - though used a stone that made a white line.

Think a late male relative used to draw with chalk or a stone a football goal on a side of an end of terrace.

Bloody over reaction from the people in the OP's post

It wouldn’t bother me - I love seeing kids’ drawings in chalk on the pavement. We used to to it when DS was younger in our garden.

I would advise anyone though -not to do it on your house - we have one on our wall and it is there about 4 years later. It’s of me too 😂

No help to you OP but I let my kids chalk on the pavements when they were maybe 6 and 8, with an older girl let's say she was 10. Came out to find many yards of penises (sp.?) she'd drawn alongside my kids' hearts and flowers. Took DH 2 hours with a hose and broom to remove it all, needless to say dick kid's dick parents didn't come out and help.

Anyway, yeah little flowers and rainbows etc., wouldn't bother me but I can see why it might annoy others.

Miserable bugger. It’s the sort of thing my DDad would do, but even he would wait till the kids had gone before hosing it off.

I suppose it’s a life lesson for the kids in how people are different and not everyone is friendly. Tell them not to take it to heart.

One of the few joys during covid involved the children up our road who chalked a weekly 'obstacle' course on the pavement.

Jump 4 times.
Hop over circle etc.....

Hilarious and many adults followed the instructions when going past their house.

Thankfully no one got grumpy about the chalk.

I cannot imagine how uptight and miserable you have to be to object to kids playing outside and chalking on pavements. And how black your soul is to go an hose it off. A teeny amount of chalk might get on the soles of your shoes but I assume most people also wipe their feet when they go inside and also take their shoes off. It's real misery guts behaviour.

Perhaps they are my old childhood neighbours who used to complain about children riding bikes on the road and would say we were "whizzing about all over". We weren't screamy kids, it was a residential cul de sac with 3 and 4 bed houses and we didn't ride on pavements, we were 8 year olds on Raleigh bikes with shopping baskets. We didn't dash in front of cars but the very fact we were outside seemed to annoy the neighbours
Some people seem to only find joy in disapproving of other people's fun. I almost feel sorry for them.

What’s disrespectful about drawing with chalk on a pavement?

Why passive aggressive why not realise someone doesn't have to like it outside their house?

My kids did massive chalk drawings up and down the road in lockdown (those challenge ones with hopscotch and spinning and whatnot) and 99% of the people either liked or didn't care about it - one specific neighbour had very strong feelings about having it outside of his house. He told us to stop and we did - the end. My kids wrote 'jump over the empty space' in that part of the challenge and moved on.

I couldn't mind at all now that my kids are older but people do definitely have strong feelings!

My mother was very snooty about this and we weren’t allowed to but I honestly don’t see them problem.

Sad sods - were they never children?

You know when your a kid and there are certain people who you can never imagine them to be younger and less grumpy 😠 than they currently are.
Like the primary school head was never a young man or child - he was only ever a 50yo man in a gray suit - he was born that way?

We also had a grumpy neighbour liked the primary school head, I still cannot imagine her as a child playing with anything!

What a couple of miseries. They remind me of that woman who reported an 'illegal business' to the council and got it shut down - it was a little child selling lemonade from a table outside their house, to make a bit of extra pocket money.

Apart from being a mean, joyless arsehole to even think to do that in the first place, some people don't even stop and think of themselves longer term.

If they're still living there when they're elderly, they may well find that they really value friendly younger adults who can help them to put their heavy bins out, take stuff to the tip for them, change a high up lightbulb, mow their lawns, help with tech queries, keep an eye out and 'appear' at the right time when suspicious people turn up at their door with nefarious intent.

Right now, those 'younger adults' are still only 5 years old, and are giggling with delight as they chalk hopscotch grids, their own names and animal outlines on the pavements; but in two or three decades' time, they (and their parents) will remember which of the members of older generations on the street smiled and treated them kindly when they were little, and which of them glared at them sourly and seemed determined to spoil their innocent fun for no reason or benefit whatsoever.

God you have to be a tight, joyless arsehole to think a child's (very temporary) chalk drawing on a bit of pavement is a problem.

Well the effect is the same isn't it? If they don't like it they could directly mention it instead of passive aggressively hosing it off in front of the artist. I think drawing a very decorative border around the front of their house which has to be excluded would be about the same level or less pass agg.

No problem at all. What a miserable neighbor.

Knowing there are friendly neighbours and grumpy neighbours is part of a normal childhood. Just tell them to avoid that bit of pavement. Don't expect everyone to enjoy your children . It's great for them play out but don't be too sensitive if they get told off. Teach them to apologise and be respectful. It takes all sorts.

If grown men are allowed to paint public roundabouts now, then children should be left alone to do some much less divisive street art on the pavement .

Graffitti is permanent. Chalk isn't.

The neighbour could have hosed it down at the end of the day. This was a nasty cruel act aimed at children children. They don't play out on the streets like we used to anymore and then when they do this happens. Do they prefer kids play on phones all day long?