We received this email from reader JXS and thought we’d share it with you. Read it, then please let us know your thoughts. Thanks!
Every once in a while you just scratch your head and say to yourself “WHY?”
Such was the case when we stayed at a very nice RV park with concrete pads and recently re-paved driveways. This was indeed a 10-star RV park with extra-clean bathrooms and laundry facility.
Enter two out-of-state RVers from hell. They were parked side by side with small children. It seems the parents saw nothing wrong with handing their kids colored chalk and letting them mark up the street and site with the game of Hopscotch and other designs. They even marked up the tree at their site!
When they left, they did nothing to clean up their kids’ mess. They just left it for the park management to clean up.
These are obviously parents that are teaching their kids to leave their mark wherever they go. Just imagine what they must mark up in national landmarks or state and federal parks?
These are the type of families that only care about themselves and what their needs may be. They couldn’t care less about those around them or the property they deface. So sad to see this behavior.
What do you think about this? Do you think chalk should be allowed in campgrounds and/or RV parks? If so, do you think the children and/or parents have a responsibility to clean it up? Please vote in the poll below then leave a comment.
##RVT1187
Oh, come on. They’re kids. It’s chalk, not spray paint — it washes off. They didn’t “deface” anything, they were just playing hopscotch, for goodness sake. It’s hard to see families like that being called the neighbors “from hell” if playing outdoor games was their worst offense.
Lighten up…let kids be kids. Childhood passes so quickly and life is too short to get upset about the little things.
Writing as a former campground owner who had to deal with precisely this sort of thing except for the fact that the “kids’ art” was on our pool deck, I’d like to point out that the ease with which sidewalk chalk washes off is wa-a-a-y over-rated. In our case the young ‘uns art was still visible after more than a week, despite diligent scrubbing with a bristle brush and lots of elbow grease. Could we have hauled out our power washer and a detergent mix? Maybe, although I wasn’t eager to do that right next to the pool. The more fundamental question is: why should we have to?
There are some RVers who simply don’t recognize they’re guests on someone else’s property, and not in their own homes.
Writing as a current grandparent and concrete patio owner, I’ve yet to encounter chalk that needed detergent, let alone a pressure washer to remove. Just wet broom the concrete, not a big deal.
I find bitter old people who think they were perfect children to be far more annoying…..
” They’re kids. It’s chalk, not spray paint ”
Until they become pre-teens and teenagers. Then they trade the chalk for spray paint. Just look around – it is so sad to see what “kids” do to other people’s property. Chalk is just another “get out of my hair because you are cutting into my social media time” parents use rather than being involved with their kids. I couldn’t even imagine giving my kids a bucket of chalk and telling them to go play in the street!
If anything, if they insist on this type of behavior, they should ask permission from the property owner and, if allowed, clean it up before they leave.
So, chalk is the gateway drug to graffiti and gang tagging. Got it.
RVers act like HOA members. These things wash off and the only nuisance I find is reading complaints of children being children. You complain about loud noise when they’re playing. They’re playing! You didn’t make noises as a child when playing, please! Stop your whining and complaining, quit worrying, your health will thank you.
Chalk on the driveways or site pads is fine with me. And waaaay preferable to a lot of other things kids could be doing. But I draw the line at “on trees”. No drawing on trees or buildings or other things, kids. Stick to the pavement, please.
Hear, hear! For crying out loud! Get over yourselves! Chalk washes away, for goodness sake! Don’t you enjoy the sound of kids’ laughter and playing? What a curmudgeon!
Blue and red are not my favorite colors. Something I run across in my travels are too many birds that are blue and birds that are red. Something needs to be done to introduce more species with green and yellow colors. I’m sure I’m not alone in this, it seems unfair to me.
I, me, mine count. 6.
I guess that the children should be sequestered inside the RV, playing on their i-gadgets and watching mindless TV, right? Even though that kinda’ defeats taking your child away from a typical home setting.
At least they are outdoors and don’t have their noses buried in their iPads or phones.
Yeah, I don’t know how kids were kids before chalk, iPads, and phones. What did they ever do???
We live in Florida and camp quite a bit. Getting ready to take a 3 month trip out west in the spring. I say let kids play. Chalk yes, trees no. We camp at Disney a lot, and are use to seeing a lot of Camp Site artwork, greetings, and other artwork at sites. Go drive through Fort Wilderness at any of the holidays – it’s not just the kids who love decorating, but the adults do it too. We take our golf cart around the campsites just to look each holiday – I say let the adults and kids alone.
“Sidewalk” chalk washes off with the first rain or spray from a hose. The kids should not be marking up the driveways and roads, not because of the mess, but because it’s dangerous. The kids don’t pay attention to oncoming vehicles and some drivers don’t pay attention to anyone on the roads.
As far as the pool deck, signs posted would stop the problem. If not, they could just ban the little ones from the pool area, along with the parents who won’t control their children.
I have a garden hose has removed all the chalk writing on the driveway and if it rained before I got to it, it was gone. Better chalk then then playing Daniel Boone with a hatchet. So those better then thou let the kids play like others have said better than stuck with their noses in some darn electronic device. If you’re that prim and proper than you shouldn’t be RVing but sitting in a hotel room with the other snobs.
No problem with the chalk. In fact, my wife and I might try the hopscotch! It would, however, have been good for them to clean up when they left.
We have 7 granddaughters, soon to be 9. They all love chalk art. As a matter of fact, we often participate as an activity to do together. And have a blast!! We’ve yet to come across chalk that doesn’t come off with a water hose and/ or a brush. We do not, however, allow them to do it on anything but a patio, sidewalk, or driveway. Trees would be an absolute NO!
You allow them to deface private property i.e. the campground? You are excused if you hose down everything before you leave. Other wise, go stand in the corner until your behavior changes.
“ I find bitter old people who think they were perfect children to be far more annoying…..”
Omgosh, people take a chill pill. Really? Some chalk on the ground and I need to vent!! People just look real hard to be offended.
Oh my goodness. Given the issues in the world today people get upset about kids with sidewalk chalk?
Chalk art is not paint, when it rains it will wash away. Let the kids play. They are outdoors, not sitting in front of a screen.
I suppose you like to leave your outdoor lights on ALL night, because you are afraid of the booge man, and think that is acceptable.
The southwest of the country like Nevada get very little rain, so the chalk just stays there. . Must add water ballons are worse. Try picking up the mess after a party. I know as I have worked in Parks.
Another rule, way back on page 23, no chalk art. RV parks are becoming places like the HOAs. Rules, rules and more rules. When will the rule makers stop? When the children of the 60’s and their children and their children fall in line or be sued. It’s always somebody else’s fault and if it isn’t written it must be ok. Common sense and decency are lost or frowned upon. But who am I to judge? My wife and I never had kids.
That’s why we are self contained to camp in the forest. My grandchildren camped with us before they could walk. They made rock cities, built teepee and made their own bows and arrows. I would rather they use chalk than what we see in the parks sometimes. Toilet paper thrown everywhere, trash left for rangers to clean up. When we get to a place the kids would pick up all trash and when we left it was pristine. That’s what our kids need to learn. If you go to an rv park with kids they learn nothing, take them out in nature and teach them to have respect for it.
only if they try to wash it off before they leave. I am a older person and was taught to leave no trace of being there when I leave
Children should be taught to respect other peoples property.
Our society insists on dressing little girls like street walkers and you’re complaining about chalk? Children have so little time to be child-like. Get a life!
Our town has a “paint the streets event each year in the downtown area. It’s NOT paint but chalk. You get a whole square of the street to do chalk art for a few bucks entry fee. Very popular.
OMG. Let kids be kids. The chalk washes off. You folks are just scrooges.
Only after it has rained and if its washable chalk. In the south west rain is rare. Here in Vegas it hasn’t rained in over 150 days.
I’d go for cleaning up the tree before leaving, but the chalk art is a non-issue. Let it rain.
I see no problem with chalk. It’s going to wash off.
Now something permanent is a different matter.
I saw people pull up in the smoky mountains and give the kids markers to write their names and then just leave.
That I don’t agree with.
Voting results say everything about the people who read this newsletter.
Voted ‘no problem’. And indeed I have no problem with kids using washable sidewalk chalk or other non-destructive activities. I DO have a problem with any camper who pulls out leaving the site a mess! Pretty sure most readers have an issue with the camper that semi-burns trash in a fire ring and leaves that mess behind. Or campers that drill into the trees and either abandon the attachments or leave holes for invasive insects to kill that and other nearby trees. Why wouldn’t we also be aggravated by a child’s abandoned artwork? Sadly, since it is hard to control inconsiderate people, I can see prohibiting chalk use.
The parent is the real problem here. The children need to be taught to respect the property of others. I realize the chalk will wash away when enough rain has fallen. That could take months in some areas. Campground should not have allowed this to happen. The children along with the parents should have been required clean up the mess. I have seen events that allowed and encouraged street art with chalk. It gets tracked into stores and even cars. Now someone has to clean it up. You make the mess, YOU clean it up.
kids camping having fun. Respect boundaries and using chalk on pavement is doing just that. It washes, wears off. It is a short lasting indication to the next camper that a family was there and having fun. The parents are introducing their kids to the fun of outdoors/camping. Of course, do not teach your children to make permanent changes to anything not belonging to them. There are adult only sites which will not have reminders of children, but the beer cans, cigarette butts and clothes lines in trees are still a concern.
How about asking if it’s okay beforehand and offering to clean up afterward? Since the majority of readers are in the 70’s, I know you were taught manners.
I have met many people over 70 who have worse manners than most teenagers.
Filters have all eroded with age! XD
Use the chalk in your site and have fun. Clean it up before you leave. Problem solved.
If it bothers you so much, your hose or a bucket of water will clean it up.
I hate seeing litter but am not going go stamp my feet about how entire generations litter. After we get settled, I get my reacher and a bucket and fix it.
Luxury problems.
As a small campground owner, I have no problem with chalk art. I get joy watching kids have fun here. But since it’s small RV park, it’s not a big deal to wash it away myself. Large parks probably have enough staff duties without additional duties that campers could have easily cleaned up themselves. Now burnt “trash” left in firepits or finished cigs thrown in a firepit with no fire – don’t get me started! 🙂 Overall rule should be – leave your site as you found it.
…to say nothing about sunflower seed shells spit all over the site – especially around the fire pit!
Are you sure it is the campers? In my back yard it is the squirrels and birds that spit the sunflower seed shells around the bird bath. lol (sorry, couldn’t resist.)
Chalk is non-destructive. What’s wrong with a little art in your lives, people? I think SOME people just have too much time on their hands to complain. Why not sit down with them and let your own Van Gogh out?
It’s not defacing if rain and sun will wash it away? Also, what do you care?
How apropos for your choice of an artist’s name in an RV article. I think I will name my Class B, Van Gogh. Thanks.
All it will take is a bit of rain & poof, chalk art gone. I don’t see an issue with this. Lot of bigger problems to get in a tizzy about.
Regardless of age, it’s still graffitti and a reflection of poor parenting skills.
“out-of-state RVers”
That right there is probably the real complaint. Gotta keep those strangers out of your state. They’re probably bringing in all sorts of unwelcome ideas. Should have broke out the torches and pitchforks.
There is nothing worse than out-of-state chalk!
There are several places we camped after artists shorter than me have left some art. I love it! This last summer we had a message that said I love you MOM! I took a photo and sent it to our three children who all claimed to have left it for me! Haha!
“Defacing” trees is wrong but chalk on roads etc? People b**ch about kids sitting on their phones & tablets; now they’re whining about kids being kids? Playing hopscotch?
I think they’ve forgotten what it’s like to be kids. They’re scrooges.
Marie, we’ll just have to take this session and CHALK It Up TO, “I was never a kid.”
I wish there was sidewalk chalk when I was a kid. Have good wholesome fun. Just clean it up when you’re done. On two occasions, I have had to hose down my spot before pulling in due to the extreme amount of chalk powder. I don’t want to have to walk through it and drag it into my motorhome. Use it, have fun with it, just like anything else, clean up after yourselves.
I have no problem with chalk art. But they should clean it before they leave. A bucket of water and a broom. That will teach them that they can have their fun, but to respect the property that doesn’t belong to them and leave it the way they found it.
I can’t believe people get so bent out of shape over chalk. I would understand their outrage if the kids used paint, but last I heard, chalk washes off during the first rainfall.
Give us a break Dennis. You actually see no problem with kids marking up others property. REALLY? To say “the chalk washes off after the 1st rain fall” and just which rain fall would that be when it has been 56 days since the last rainfall, it’s the middle of summer and probably a good 90 more days before rain fall. Let me guess –You are letting your kids “discover themselves.” GEEEEEZZZZZZ
Dennis, haven’t you heard? “Getting bent out of shape” and “wanting it my way”, are no longer just for Millennials and Gen Zer’s.
As a Campground Manager, they crossed the line with the tree. I dont have an issue with sidewalk chalk on the street or sidewalk as it will wash off but I do have an issue with messing with the trees. While I’m writing, please stop painting my rocks. Thanks
Seriously chalk is not an issue. It washes off with rain and traffic and isn’t an environmental hazard. The tree situation is the actual issue.
I don’t have kids nor am I a huge fan of kids but if you want no signs of kids stay in an adult only park.
Gosh, I wish they had invented chalk when I was a kid. “Back in the day”, If we wanted to play hopscotch, we had to scratch it in with a rock or set a twig on fire to create charcoal, LIKE MOM TAUGHT US, ’cause she was the one who invented hopscotch. “Kids today just have it too easy!”
Your kids aren’t special to me and you don’t want me to raise them. If you don’t teach them that there are other people in the world then they will learn the hard way.
The chalk washes away with the first rain, or a quick spray with a hose. No permanent damage. We always have chalk drawings from our grandchildren all around our sidewalks and driveway. The kids are having fun and using their imagination. Quit being an old grouchy!! There are lots of worse things like bright lights on all night, outdoor theaters or blasting music, drunken rowdy parties, running through other people’s campsites, leaving a real mess.
Leave no trace, this applies no matter where you camp. Pick up your trash and wash down your kids chalk.
We are a 55+ coop. Several years ago a couple of members decided to commemorate special events of members, birthdays, anniversaries, recovery from surgery with chalked greetings on the street outside their sites. This work was done by artists and mostly were quite creative. Some members took umbrage to these displays and brought complaints to the board of directors since these chalking were considered “changes to common area” even though temporary. Clearly there are at least two sides to every good deed.
I enjoy seeing the artwork or games that children have left. We sometimes find painted pebbles or other Knick knacks left at the campsite. If it looks like anything valuable or that it would have sentimental value I would take it to the office to the lost and found.
The kids are not the problem, it’s the “adults”. The only way to stop this nonsense is to treat this situation as damage to the facility and charge the cleanup to the guest’s credit card.
There are plenty of 55+ resorts all over the country. These grouchy campers should stay at them. Using chalk is quiet, creative, harmless and fun. It can occupy kids but keep them in sight for hours. I do say NO to the tree being chalked on, though. Their parents should’ve stopped that immediately, But otherwise. chalk away, kids! It’ll all be gone the next time it rains!
Do not mind chalk art, but I do draw the line at marking up the plants/trees. Anything that will not easily wash off needs to be avoided. FYI, did chalk art with my stepson when he was 10 in our driveway.
Oh for goodness sakes! I’m shocked anyone would side with the spoil sports! Did they ban their children from chalk writing in their driveway, walks, or yes, the street? Rediculous! Dennis G. has a point about the plants & trees & common sense would dictate nothing permanent anywhere!
I voted no problem with it but I do think it should be cleaned before they leave. All it takes is a little water.
Chalk art is fun and a great way for kids to entertain themselves.
That said, wouldn’t it be a great lesson in “leave no trace” to hand kids some water and a brush to clean up their chalk art before they leave? The parents in this case are teaching them it’s OK to deface property, even with chalk, and leave their mess to be cleaned up by others (or deteriorating as it waits for rain to fall).
Chalk art is fun! And rain washes it away. No damage and no big deal.
The tree is unacceptable! That’s leaving your trash for someone else to clean up. As for the chalk, I have grands that I give chalk to. At a campground tho, hand them a squirt gun n broom to clean off the chalk b4 leaving. Life is not all about you.
Thank you, RV Travel! I haven’t a problem with anything described. Perhaps the tree should have been left alone, but why worry with chalk on the road? Inferring that the children will next deface national parks is quite a leap and a groundless one in my opinion. I can be as cranky as anyone, but I can’t manage to become cranky with the children’s described behavior. Happy new year and safe travels! 🙂
I’ll take creative and removable chalk art any day to screaming children.( Not that children’s inside voices aren’t one of life’s blessings.) Even the tree isn’t hurt. The flowers chalked onto it are on it’s protective bark covering. However, the parents of the kiddos get an F in raising responsible citizens. A few more hours should have been spent with a bucket and gentle brushes “lovingly” removing their art from the tree.