AIBU? Kid's kicking rotting apples in a field / parent had a right go

[TheZanyPanda]

Took my two boys (DS15 and DS13) out for a walk and a picnic in the Yorkshire Dales over the weekend. It was lovely—other families were around, everyone was relaxing, and we found a nice spot in a field to sit for a bit.

After eating, I wanted to read my book for half an hour while the boys let off some steam. Near the edge of the field, there were a few wild apple trees with a ton of bruised and rotting apples all over the floor.

The lads decided to have a bit of a kick-about with them. They spent about 30 minutes mucking about with the already-fallen/rotting apples, kicking them to each other like a football, and stepping / stomping on some. They were in my sight the entire time, weren't shouting or swearing, and were just genuinely having innocent fun.

Out of nowhere, another parent walked over and had an absolute kick-off at them (and then me). She was furious, claiming they shouldn't be "kicking fruit" or "making a mess."

I stood up for the boys and said they were just letting off steam, weren't being rowdy, and the apples were already on the ground rotting anyway so no harm was done. She wasn't having it at all—told me we were "ruining the area for everyone" and said we "shouldn't come back," before storming off.

It totally ruined the atmosphere and has left a really sour taste in my mouth. They're teenage boys having a bit of fun and letting off steam with mushy apples in a field, not vandalism!

Am I Being Unreasonable to think she completely overreacted and was way out of line? Or should I have stopped them?

YBU - They were making a mess and ruining the area, leave the fruit alone. YANBU - Harmless fun with rotting apples, the other parent needs to get a grip!

A field? Whose field?

It does mean that anyone walking over that area is going to get rotting apple mush stuck to their shoes. Seems very childish for lads that age.

I think they would rot down faster having been kicked around !
good idea I’d say u less she’s one of those weirdos who only eat fallen fruit ???

I think that they are a bit old for that sort of behaviour, especially in an area where there were other people trying to relax. I don't think it would have been a great thing to do even for younger children as a bit noisy and annoying for other people..

Was it private field?

If they really weren't impacting her then she sounds like a nutter. If, say, a fair few of the apples were kicked over to where she was trying to get a bit of peace and quiet but you didn't notice because you were reading a book then she may have a point.

Whose field was it ?
I wouldn’t have enjoyed being in close proximity to that sort of play to be honest .

They probably were spreading the mess a lot further than it would have been if they were kicking the apples around and stamping on them.

Cant help but be amused by this incident leaving a sour taste in your mouth while talking about rotten apples.

Anyway, I can see where people are coming from about making a beauty spot a bit of a mess, but in the grand scheme of things, it's rotten apples out in the wilderness, it's hardly the worlds biggest issue is it?

If the tree didn't belong to anyone then I don't see the problem. People can't do anything these days without someone having a go 🤣 my DC were throwing fallen apples in a park a few days ago, seeing how far they could go. They're enjoying being outdoors. 🤷🏻‍♀️

IME boys playing ball (or apple) games do take up space. People.worry they'll get hit. And in this case there were multiple families and I assume apple flying about. How annoying does rather depend on the area and the space. If someone spoke to you, I'd assume it was annoying.

It was an open, public park-style field near a pay-and-display area that’s set up for families—not private farmland or someone's garden

@FudgeFudy No, definitely not the case! I was keeping an eye on them the whole time while reading, and they were at the far edge of the field near the trees, nowhere near her or anyone else's picnic area.

Hmm. I don't think I'd have let my DC do it, although I can't exactly say why. It just feels a bit disrespectful, even though I agree with your argument that no harm was done.

Some of the comments on here are ridiculous. We walk the dog in a nature reserve near our house and there's a lot of crab apple trees, the paths are littered with tiny apples. DS and I have great fun stomping through them! It's a bit of innocent fun in the fresh air!

Interesting you defended them. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree....

Kids kicking rotten apples that are on the ground seems to me to rank pretty low in the list of heinous things that children get up to.

But presumably in this day and age it’s anti social behaviour. Get them back inside and on theirs iPads asap 🙄

I’ve given out to my kids and their friends for doing this- food isn’t a football. It just seems wrong. I can’t argue it really but I just think it’s horrible, a lack of respect for nature or maybe that I think it’ll lead to them kicking stones around/ being rowdy/ bothering people, I don’t know. Also leave them be and they feed birds too!!

Hard to say really.

If it were on private land maybe. I pick up fallen fruit on my land to dispose of. It is easier to do if they aren't all squashed and mashed up.

If it is on public land I guess it might generate a slip hazard and a horrible smell in a couple of days time.

It seems a bit wanton destruction-ish and that the kind of kids that would behave like this would maybe not always limit their activities to things so harmless.

Would I tell off kids who I saw doing it ? No because these days parents go beserk if anyone even tries to discipline their kids.

Next time I would probably take a football for them to play with.

Edit : You mention it was a nice place where everyone was relaxing. Everyone apart from two people I guess ?

I don't see any issue - unless they were actively kicking them at people or onto a path or something. I don't understand the problem, outside is, by it's very nature, messy! Much nicer seeing kids having a bit of fun outside than glued to screens (not that I have a problem with screens but you see less of the outside fun these days)

I assumed that your boys would be 5 or 6 not teenagers.

It totally ruined the atmosphere

I think that something was possibly ruining the atmosphere and it wasn't the person bringing it up.

Just a nutter then. Ignore the replies that are bending over backwards to find you in the wrong; kicking apples does not lead to a life of crime, they would almost certainly have just rotted down anyway, and virtually the whole of upland northern England is covered in shit anyway so a bit of apple oomska is not going to faze outdoorsy types.

@GasPanic & @Nat54321 They’re teenage boys having an innocent, low-tech kick-about with rotten apples in the grass away from everyone, not vandalizing property! I’d much rather see them letting off steam outside than glued to their screens. (Though fair point, we’ll pack a proper football next time!)

@GiveOverRover & @MrsTerryPratchett As I updated above, they were right by the trees at the far edge of the field, completely out of the way. No fruit was flying near anyone and nobody was in danger of getting hit. The only person disrupting the atmosphere was the adult coming over to shout at two teenagers quietly playing in a public field.

@Morepositivemum Just out of curiosity, why did you give out to them—is it something your kids / their mates do often? I can completely see stopping them if it's a constant habit or they're making a mess, or they're using good fruit for it, but as a one-off with rotten apples on the floor, it just seemed like harmless fun to me!

It would have made a mess.
Perhaps the lady was upset at what she saw as a disrespect for nature. Birds and other animals will eat fallen apples. And may rely on them too.
But probably not eat mushed up ones.
There are people who do do things with windfall apples apparently. Perhaps she thought they should be left for someone who does such cooking/foraging for free.

I can't see the issue here at all. The apples on the floor would have rotted and gone mushy anyway.

Ignore the busybody nutter and crack on with your day.

Seems a bit of an overreaction on her part. I'd ask her if she was quite well.