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Parent baffled after HOA sends email threatening to ban kids drawing on sidewalks

'Dear Shadowhawk Residents, this is a friendly reminder...'

Parent baffled after HOA sends email threatening to ban kids drawing on sidewalks
(L) Little kid enjoying while drawing with chalk on sidewalk; (R) Man confused and shocked after reading message on phone. (Representative Cover Image Source: Pexels | Photo by (L) Antonius Ferret; (R) Kevin Malick)

Rules and regulations are great… as long as they make sense and don’t dim the light in others, especially kids. When it comes to having rules for kids, they need to exist with the aim of disciplining and teaching kids something of value. Unfortunately, a parent who goes by u/ponyloverr shared an HOA’s email about children’s chalk painting on sidewalks, and it has nothing of the sort. The warning to parents was that if their kids’ drawings are still there after a day, they will be “prohibited” henceforth. The ridiculous rule received much criticism and even more sarcasm from fellow Redditors, and it’s beyond hysterical. 

Representative Image Source: Pexels | Alexander Grey
Kid is enjoying while getting creative with color. (Representative Image Source: Pexels | Photo by Alexander Grey)

Chalk painting, especially on sidewalks, is nothing new. In fact, many artists have embraced the idea to let their imagination flow freely, adding some color to the streets and bringing a smile to a stranger’s face. To see kids imbibing the same values is pretty great. However, that's seemingly untrue for this HOA. The email received by the parent read, “Dear Shadowhawk Residents, this is a friendly reminder that if you are using chalk to draw on the sidewalk, please clean up after yourselves. It needs to be removed the same day; otherwise, this may be prohibited in the future.” The parent captioned the post, “My HOA doesn’t like kids.” 

Kids engrossed in chalk painting on sidewalk. (Representative Image Source: Pexels| RDNE Stock Project)
Kids engrossed in chalk painting on sidewalk. (Representative Image Source: Pexels | Photo by RDNE Stock Project)

There’s honestly nothing wrong with harmless chalk painting that interests kids and helps them creatively pass the time. But for this HOA, it was something that needed to go… in a day, which didn’t make sense at all. The internet wanted to make it clear just how reckless this caveat seemed. Several people called out the rule. u/FirstNoel said, “F**k that. Chalk drawings make it a neighborhood.” u/Fragrant-Doughnut926 added, “If this is real, I am gonna donate tons of chalks to everyone to paint the sidewalk with just different colors of chalks.” 

Representative Image Source: Pexels | RDNE Stock project
Shocked dad speaks on phone after reading email. (Representative Image Source: Pexels | Photo by RDNE Stock project)

Still others commented with more sarcastic rules the HOA could follow up with. u/Edith_Keeler_Shoes wrote, “In addition, please be advised that perpetuating the Santa myth with your young children will not be tolerated. We appreciate your understanding that any suggestion of a delivery means that involves landing a sleigh on the roof will significantly increase our insurance premiums. We have decided to add ice cream, bicycles, and dolls to our list of items prohibited from the home's interior. To appeal this process, collect a minimum of six ounces of freshly shed tears from your children in the sample vial included. The answer will still be no, but at least it will give your child something to do for an afternoon.” 

Image Source: Reddit| u/facemugg
Image Source: Reddit| u/facemugg
Image Source: Reddit|u/Chaotic-Bubble
Image Source: Reddit|u/Chaotic-Bubble

u/Dino_Spaceman added, “The HOA chair has proposed a new rule that bans the visibility of all children during daylight hours. These children have become disruptive to the community and may lower property values if a prospective buyer visits a nearby property. As a result, we urge you to also require children to lie down while traveling on neighborhood roads so they are not visible.” u/PerfectForce2370 remarked, “And please, no skipping down the street. It makes the people who cannot skip sad.” 

 

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