To find pavement chalking by neighbour unreasonable?

[Hanji83]

We are in a row of houses which have a footpath running in front of the road with a grassed area either side. One of the neighbours has two kids, who for the past week have been drawing on the pavement using chalk. It looks an utter mess. Would it be wrong of me to say something to the parents?

Wow. What's it like to be so miserable?

One of my loveliest memories is of my mother and aunt, her sister, both in their late 60s, chalking a hop-scotch grid on the flagged drive and playing hop-scotch, leaping around like I'd never seen before, teaching my amazed children how to play. If it's not rained already it will soon and all will be washed away.

Now I wouldn’t have an issue with it but I also wouldn’t allow my kids to do it. Outside my house only? Possibly. On our driveway? Yes. In the back garden? Yes.

but all over the road and outside people’s homes? No - wouldn’t allow it

so I can see where you might be coming from OP

If it bothers you that much get a brush & a bucket of hot water and wash it away.
Dont worry about your reputation as a miserable $?* amongst your neighbours.

Not a battle worth picking. The rain will wash it away.

My DC love doing chalk drawings with our neighbour's daughter, and it's becoming a little ritual where they go out and play with her doing drawings then football. I love joining in, having fun and creating little pictures with them. It's totally harmless fun, and gets them outside the house, in the sunshine and enjoying their summer holidays

Our lovely neighbour conscientiously cleaned it all away with a broom and soapy water last time, but I felt a little sad seeing the cute innocent drawings disappearing. Kids have so much fun doing innocent things like this. Let's live and let live. 🥰

It could also be considered rude to be wasting water when the country is facing drought conditions

Did you never play hopscotch?

Rain is forecast, it'll be gone this time tomorrow.

I’m with you OP, it’s like graffiti

I was once told off as a child for chalking on the pavement and I’ll always remember it because it felt really mean spirited. As an adult I still don’t understand why someone would be bothered about chalk..

It's chalk. Very temporary.

There was this time me and my friends went and did the same. We didn't have chalk though we did have crayons. No-one was happy.

Chucking it down here in the NW

you’re giving new money vibes op 😂

Yes, how miserable. Better than sat infront of screens or belting a ball at your fence.
itll rain soon enough so you can look at that instead

Get a grip ffs

Chalk it up to experience. At least it’s not graffiti paint spray! Then you really would have something to crumble about.

An iPad wouldn’t help.

Getting kids to stare at a screen instead of scribbling all over the public footpath isn’t much better.

It makes the place look a mess but at least it’s only temporary. Encouraging them to glue themselves to a screen is more harmful by a long way.

Good job the OP doesn't live near the white cliffs of Dover.

You need to get a grip

I love it when neighbours' children play outside, noisily, happily, with abandon. I would love if they were to use chalk and draw all sorts of things, but they don't. Actually, you gave me an idea - I shall buy some chalk for them!!! Thank you!

I don’t need to add to the responses about putting up with it, but just wanted to say that you’re justified feeling how you do. Yes it is messy and I wouldn’t like it. But I would grin and bear it because it’s the right thing to do.

Bit late to this, but oh dear! How silly

I have been thoroughly enjoying overhearing the kids on my street playing fun, creative games this summer.

My absolute favourite was driving back from work one afternoon to our residential car park, and 3 of them had installed a "rock exchange sale" on a make shift table hahaha, like a lemonade stall. As in - they were exchanging pebbles from our car park for... other pebbles or trinkets hahaha.
And they were excellent entrepreneurs and peddlers! "Excuse me miss, would you like to sample our finest rocks?" Etc etc haha

I did advise them they should probably move out of the car park near vehicles, dad was currently marching out to get them moving along, but it was bloody brilliant. Highlight of my day. And yes, I managed to exchange a rock which i put on my mantlepiece 🪨 😂 I laughed all evening

Much better than sitting behind an iPad all summer. Good life skills being learnt also

@bdg I think you missed that one ….

Get a grip. Honestly. You'd hate my kids btw, if this upsets you