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

For god’s sake, it’s chalk.. your neighbours are miserable buggers. Stick to outside your house if the kids want to draw. I think it’s lovely 🩷

Oh for goodness sake. Some people suck the joy out of life. I have many happy memories of hopscotch as a child. It would be different if permanent or offensive. But chalk drawings from a five year old? Worry about real problems!

awful - would they prefer the kids were sitting quietly locked away staring at a screen?

Of all the things they could be doing 🙄

Your neighbour's a right baby humbug

It wouldn't bother me personally but i wouldn't have let my own kids do it except in the garden, because kids need ti be taught not to mess with things that aren't theirs. I tbink its a wee bit disrespectful, and entitled to think because you find it sweet that other people will.

It's fine to not like it, but it is public space. They should have spoken to the children, been gracious, saying that while the drawings are cute, they don't want chalk trailed into their house etc and waited until later to wash it off.
I'd be chalking every day outside their house, until they actually spoke up about it. I don't do passive aggressive. I'd start with autumnal patterns and wildlife, go to Halloween, throughly look forward to mischief night, then it would be Winter festival going into Christmas.

I shouldn't imagine they care what other people's children are doing so long as it doesn't impact them. Why should they?

Children out playing. Is there anything more heart-warming and life affirming?
Sounds (sadly) like a lesson for the kids in that some people are just numpties...

How does this kind of thing bother people?! My kids love chalk. My neighbour actively encourages them to use her drive (she doesn't use it as it's difficult to get in and out due to narrow street). Like you say, it rains. Not one person in my street would bother about chalk on the ground done by children. Your neighbour sounds extremely uptight.

We live in a pit village, long terraces with a back yard. Our back street has back gates onto a rarely used lane, no footpaths eith ramshackle allotments and garages opposite
The kids and friends were chalking on the road as yours, rainbows cats dogs hopscotch etc.
The woman down the street came up to complain on how awful it looked and brought the area down! And they'd 'graffitied' on tge wall (ours).
I politely told her it was chalk, it will disappear when it rains, its not graffiti and I will ask them to steer clear of 'her area ' but I would not tell them off or ban them from doing it!
As a kid our back street would be covered in chalk from a selection if games or just art!

I wouldn't mind, but would prefer it if they stuck to outside their own house, because it would transfer onto my shoes and I'd get it inside the house. Speaking from experience with my own kids doing it and pink chalk ended up on my carpet, from footwear!

I would not mind at all. I like seeing kids playing outside and being creative. It might be different if they were writing swear words but rainbows and flowers are colourful and pretty.

My dad was like your horrid neighbour. I once wrote my name in chalk (a piece of chalk from the cliff) on the pavement and was sent outside with a bucket to scrub it off myself. Miserable bastard. I've gone the other way and when we had barbecues when the kids were really little I'd get out the pavement chalks and encourage them to draw pictures on the garden walls (brick) and patio slabs. It kept them amused and within eyesight. As another poster said, all gone again as soon as it rained!

Your neighbour is miserable, but you never know what's going on in someone else's life so I'd let it go and rest assured you did nothing wrong.

Maybe you live next to the grinch.

I guess, to be fair, hearts are representative of a vulva (at least according to my art history class) so maybe she was just being egalitarian? 😂❤👀

There’s a house I pass when I walk the dog.Often on a weekend whilst the dad washes his car his 2 children are out with chalk drawing on the pavement and writing little messages.Its lovely to see.I remember my Dd using chalks on our patio such a simple activity but she would love doing it.
I don’t see the harm myself and wouldn’t be so unkind as to go out and wash it away in front of the children.

You’d have to be a certain type of person to have an issue with that imo.

Totally harmless.

It does seem rather an overreaction from your neighbour. Even if they didn’t particularly like it, it was cruel to wash off the drawings right in front of the children. Like most other people, it wouldn’t bother me as long as what was being drawn wasn’t offensive (which of course in this case it wasn’t). Just kids engaging in an innocent activity. I guess now you know how they feel you can ask the children to only draw on the pavement in front of their own houses. That way everyone is happy.

You’d have to be a certain type of person to have an issue with that imo.

Totally harmless.

You’d have to be a certain type of person to have an issue with that imo.

Totally harmless.

That's such a lovely thing you did. They must have been so happy and proud of their work, when you 'commissioned' them to do a unicorn..

You would have made my boys' week if you did that, and they'd remember it forever.

Why not just let kids be kids.
No harm in the chalk it will wash away, I remember doing that as a kid and hoping it wouldn't rain so it would last longer.
What a ridiculous overreaction from the miserable neighbour, and what a cruel nasty thing to do to a child's hard work and hurt their feelings.
I'd be telling my kids that the neighbour just doesn't know what good art is.
How miserable they must be children's art is so creative and free😊

The neighbours don't own the pavement

A lovely relative of mine grudgingly allows my dc to draw on the pavement with chalk but then gives them a bucket of hot soapy water to wash it away straight after 🙄

I really don't see the harm in doing it at all and enjoyed seeing the multi-coloured chalked bricks on a sheltered part of our house months after it'd been done!

Aww, I’d love to see that! It’s so lovely to see little ones still doing the things we did as children and not indoors in front of a screen.