Mom Writes A Letter In Sidewalk Chalk To ‘Karen Neighbor’ Who Complained About Her Toddler’s Drawings And It’s Going Viral
I couldn’t imagine my childhood without sidewalk chalk. This is how my parents taught us, little kids, letters and numbers, and this was basically the only thing that would keep us interested. It had unlimited play potential so you could doodle, play with friends, create art and unleash your imagination. The best part, you didn’t need to worry about leaving a mess!
But it turns out not everyone is as excited about chalk drawings. In fact, one co-op neighbor got so annoyed about this mom and her toddler using sidewalk chalk in the courtyard that she complained to the board.
While you may wonder what precisely got her so upset (was it too much of a green color, not enough precision?), the mom Ashley Woodfolk shared a smashing response letter she wrote… in sidewalk chalk.
“So I wrote her a little letter. In sidewalk chalk. In the courtyard,” Ashley tweeted yesterday and her post went viral, amassing 237.6K likes and counting.
So let’s see what she had to tell her neighbor below, and be sure to share your thoughts on the incident in the comments!
After hearing her neighbor complained to the co-op board about her toddler using sidewalk chalk, mom Ashley penned a clever letter
Image credits: AshWrites
For anyone living outside the Big Apple, the co-op may sound new. Basically, when you buy a co-op, you don’t actually buy your apartment; instead, you are buying shares in a corporation that is your building. The size of your share depends on the size of your apartment; buying the shares allows you to occupy a unit in the co-op building.
The thoughtful letter Ashley wrote was done in chalk in the courtyard, where chalk drawings frustrated her neighbor
Image credits: AshWrites
Co-ops are basically the homeowner’s associations (HOA) of urban environments, where an organization in a condominium makes and enforces rules for the properties and residents. Moreover, every co-op has a board. The board is a group of members that has been elected to make decisions for the co-op on behalf of all the other members.
It turned out that the board of Ashley’s co-op was “super apologetic and on her side” in regards to the incident. However, the woman added in her tweet that she doesn’t want to make their lives harder. “I wish my pettiness could only affect her but the trickle effect isn’t worth it,” she said referring to the neighbor.
Here is the full letter Ashley wrote as shared on her Twitter account
Image credits: AshWrites
From the witty and graceful style of the chalk letter, you can suspect Ashley is no stranger to writing. In fact, Ashley Woodfolk is a full-time mom and writer, who, according to her website, lives in a Brooklyn apartment with “her cute husband, her cuter dog, and the cutest baby in the world.”
Her books include The Beauty That Remains, When You Were Everything, Blackout and the Flyy Girls Series, so you may want to check them out!
People have shared some opinions about the board, wondering how they accepted the complaint, but Ashley said she doesn’t blame them
Image credits: AshWrites
Image credits: AshWrites
Others showed their support for Ashley, giving her kudos for a great response in such an ‘infuriating’ situation
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With the world on fire, people dying because a large number of d!ckheads are keeping a pandemic going and racism, sexism and fascism getting worse by the day, sidewalk-chalk seems to be the biggest problem.
That was such a gracious response. I would have felt the need to practice some letters of my own instead. B I T C and H come to mind.
I so hope her neighbors supported her. I would have bought 100 chalk buckets and left them all over. After all it was just her the board addressed. Crap like this brings out the petty in me.
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I strongly dislike chalk on the sidewalks, because it's usually just an ugly, colorful mess, but I would NEVER say anything about it. They are kids, they need to play, draw, be creative, and chalk washes away with the first bit of rain! Why complain? I'll just walk by, dislike it for the few seconds I see it and move on with my life.
Chalk is easy to ignore! The fact is, visual nuisances are comparatively easy to ignore, you can look away from them. But odor nuisances like cig smoke are much harder to ignore, because nobody can stop breaking to avoid inhaling the smell, same for noise pollution. Nobody can stop hearing.
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Seeing a child with chalk makes me so happy. I find it so satisfying that not all parents use the insta- babysitters such as phone, PCs, and other sorts of technology. She in interacting with her child with chalk. It's safe, harmless and just good fun. My driveway is constantly covered with artwork that my grandson (3) and I draw. It brings life to an otherwise lifeless palate. This "Karen" must be a miserable soul to take such an innocent child's play away from them. This mother was much more gracious than I would have been. I aspire to be more like this mother when wronged by others. This makes me angry and sad all at the same time.
I've had great times for years chalking all over the paths round my house with my kid(now 11) ^-^ it really is fun (I enjoy it too lol reminds me of when I was a kid). He even once did a special picture for me by covering the washing line pole all round with grass, sky, and a picture of me and him holding hands. I have photos of it close up, and him standing proudly beside it, I will always treasure that even though the rain washed it away ❤
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The people in my neighbourhood got together and got paint and draw on the street (it is a closed street, they are at the end of it, so no trafic, no cars) some tic tac toe games, and some other games that you can play on the street for the kids an left empty spaces for them to draw. Whenever i go thry that street (walking, there is a little passage that you can use as a shortcut) i try to avoid the drawings with chalk so i dont ruin the childrens art :D It is a harmless fun, i really dont see why would it bother something. How much hate and spite you must have to be that person
On my deliveries, I sometimes see chalk drawings and I think that they are so cute. It's really sad that with everything that is going on in this world right now that someone is having a tantrum about sidewalk chalk. I live in an apartment complex that is mostly adults, but if some of the kids drew o the sidewalk with chalk, it would not bother me in the slightest. I would be happy that they are having fun without having to be on some sort of device. If I were on the board, I would tell her that we are not doing anything about it and that she was no longer allowed to complain. I would tell her that if this made her that unhappy then she should move.
I'm just sooo tired of the use of "Karen". Can't we go back to more fitting words?
Silly Karen's everywhere sucking the joy from everyone's lives. I'd have given every other member of the building (except complaining Karen) a box of colored chalks and got everyone in the building going out and doing art. Whole community can give her the middle finger in colorful sidewalk chalk art.
During the lockdown drawing on the side walk became a big thing in my little town. Kids drew pics and messages for others out for walks. They drew thank you pics and notes for delivery people. It was so sweet.
Ah yes, a woman is annoying, let's call her Karen and ruin the name for all actual Karens out there. Sigh.
I love seeing chalk art! Of course when they're really little you may not even be able to figure out what it is, but it's an expression of how their minds are working and I love to see that. They have so much fun doing it. I wish they had this when I was a kid. I'm always sad to see it rain and wash it away. But then the sunshine comes with whole new works of art appear. Love it.😍
This woman (the complainer) is probably also complaining to whomever will listen that videogames turn kids brains to mush, watching Tv is for the plebes, and so on. They are never happy, life is just an excuse to make others miserable.
I really wish I knew where she lived. I got a bucket of sidewalk chalk burning a hole on my bookcase and a whole slew of young kids that would love to liven up a sidewalk or two.
There's a miserable soul in our neighborhood too. Complained about our "red shed" , didn't know about it at the time, just when the city wanted us to clear the 'unsightly' items near our garage. ( realitor was selling a home near by, wanted curb appeal for the area). He said he told the busybody that the city didn't rule on colors that residents use on their buildings. That she can return her nose to her face and keep it out of other's business. Love that knowledge that some folks are told that. A red shed was a great way to direct the parent of a injuried child in more than one case, being we live across from a park. Many reasons to contact a parent and they were not always familar with street names/park locations. Mentioning that red shed was a time saver.
I noticed that your headline says "Karen". It is high time that this trope be laid to rest. People actually named Karen are tired of having the name dragged through the mud. We are not constant or frivolous complainers. We are simply at home, minding our own business. We have not done a blessed thing to deserve the malicious mocking and the character defamation that comes with it. This trope has adversely affected many women named Karen. I do not complain about kids chalking the pavement. I do not call the police every time I see a man I do not know in my neighborhood. I DO complain about the Karen trope, and will continue to complain until it is gone.
I'd love to see everyone outside with oil paints doing art on the sidewalk. We are not using chalk!! See Karen, it could be worse!! When board gets upset, a good power washer would take care of it.
If I was on the board I would have told the whinging cow to shut the f*ck up and get a life, or she will be penalized for harassing the neighbours
The kids in my old neighbourhood also liked chalk drawings. Mostly of pənises. Lots and lots of pənises, one after the other, the whole street along - you see, not every kid is a budding artist. But guess what? Nobody said anything about it, no pearl clutching, no complaints and one good downpour washes everything away.
In year 12 I had to make a graduation video as an IT assignment, and had the great idea of getting all the graduates to sign their names in chalk on the court. I severely underestimated the amount of penises that would result. So. Many. Penises.
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I remember me and a friend used to chalk all over the street and the sidewalk, and how my neigbor would come out after we where done to throw buckets of water over the sidewalk to get rid of the chalk. My mom was SO angry :')
So what the neighbour is saying is that they don't want the child to draw on the ground because it clearly needs to go on the walls of the building so that everyone going past can see it.
Toddlers are toddlers. They're gonna sometimes scream and shout becaus they don't know any better. They're still learning. Everyone was a loud annoying child at some point too, so let children be children, they'll grow out of it anways.
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Being told off when all you try to do is make the best out of a situation is an awful experience. That board should have told that complaining person to stuff it where the sun don't shine.
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With the world on fire, people dying because a large number of d!ckheads are keeping a pandemic going and racism, sexism and fascism getting worse by the day, sidewalk-chalk seems to be the biggest problem.
That was such a gracious response. I would have felt the need to practice some letters of my own instead. B I T C and H come to mind.
I so hope her neighbors supported her. I would have bought 100 chalk buckets and left them all over. After all it was just her the board addressed. Crap like this brings out the petty in me.
Load More Replies... I strongly dislike chalk on the sidewalks, because it's usually just an ugly, colorful mess, but I would NEVER say anything about it. They are kids, they need to play, draw, be creative, and chalk washes away with the first bit of rain! Why complain? I'll just walk by, dislike it for the few seconds I see it and move on with my life.
Chalk is easy to ignore! The fact is, visual nuisances are comparatively easy to ignore, you can look away from them. But odor nuisances like cig smoke are much harder to ignore, because nobody can stop breaking to avoid inhaling the smell, same for noise pollution. Nobody can stop hearing.
Load More Replies... Seeing a child with chalk makes me so happy. I find it so satisfying that not all parents use the insta- babysitters such as phone, PCs, and other sorts of technology. She in interacting with her child with chalk. It's safe, harmless and just good fun. My driveway is constantly covered with artwork that my grandson (3) and I draw. It brings life to an otherwise lifeless palate. This "Karen" must be a miserable soul to take such an innocent child's play away from them. This mother was much more gracious than I would have been. I aspire to be more like this mother when wronged by others. This makes me angry and sad all at the same time.
I've had great times for years chalking all over the paths round my house with my kid(now 11) ^-^ it really is fun (I enjoy it too lol reminds me of when I was a kid). He even once did a special picture for me by covering the washing line pole all round with grass, sky, and a picture of me and him holding hands. I have photos of it close up, and him standing proudly beside it, I will always treasure that even though the rain washed it away ❤
Load More Replies... The people in my neighbourhood got together and got paint and draw on the street (it is a closed street, they are at the end of it, so no trafic, no cars) some tic tac toe games, and some other games that you can play on the street for the kids an left empty spaces for them to draw. Whenever i go thry that street (walking, there is a little passage that you can use as a shortcut) i try to avoid the drawings with chalk so i dont ruin the childrens art :D It is a harmless fun, i really dont see why would it bother something. How much hate and spite you must have to be that person
On my deliveries, I sometimes see chalk drawings and I think that they are so cute. It's really sad that with everything that is going on in this world right now that someone is having a tantrum about sidewalk chalk. I live in an apartment complex that is mostly adults, but if some of the kids drew o the sidewalk with chalk, it would not bother me in the slightest. I would be happy that they are having fun without having to be on some sort of device. If I were on the board, I would tell her that we are not doing anything about it and that she was no longer allowed to complain. I would tell her that if this made her that unhappy then she should move.
I'm just sooo tired of the use of "Karen". Can't we go back to more fitting words?
Silly Karen's everywhere sucking the joy from everyone's lives. I'd have given every other member of the building (except complaining Karen) a box of colored chalks and got everyone in the building going out and doing art. Whole community can give her the middle finger in colorful sidewalk chalk art.
During the lockdown drawing on the side walk became a big thing in my little town. Kids drew pics and messages for others out for walks. They drew thank you pics and notes for delivery people. It was so sweet.
Ah yes, a woman is annoying, let's call her Karen and ruin the name for all actual Karens out there. Sigh.
I love seeing chalk art! Of course when they're really little you may not even be able to figure out what it is, but it's an expression of how their minds are working and I love to see that. They have so much fun doing it. I wish they had this when I was a kid. I'm always sad to see it rain and wash it away. But then the sunshine comes with whole new works of art appear. Love it.😍
This woman (the complainer) is probably also complaining to whomever will listen that videogames turn kids brains to mush, watching Tv is for the plebes, and so on. They are never happy, life is just an excuse to make others miserable.
I really wish I knew where she lived. I got a bucket of sidewalk chalk burning a hole on my bookcase and a whole slew of young kids that would love to liven up a sidewalk or two.
There's a miserable soul in our neighborhood too. Complained about our "red shed" , didn't know about it at the time, just when the city wanted us to clear the 'unsightly' items near our garage. ( realitor was selling a home near by, wanted curb appeal for the area). He said he told the busybody that the city didn't rule on colors that residents use on their buildings. That she can return her nose to her face and keep it out of other's business. Love that knowledge that some folks are told that. A red shed was a great way to direct the parent of a injuried child in more than one case, being we live across from a park. Many reasons to contact a parent and they were not always familar with street names/park locations. Mentioning that red shed was a time saver.
I noticed that your headline says "Karen". It is high time that this trope be laid to rest. People actually named Karen are tired of having the name dragged through the mud. We are not constant or frivolous complainers. We are simply at home, minding our own business. We have not done a blessed thing to deserve the malicious mocking and the character defamation that comes with it. This trope has adversely affected many women named Karen. I do not complain about kids chalking the pavement. I do not call the police every time I see a man I do not know in my neighborhood. I DO complain about the Karen trope, and will continue to complain until it is gone.
I'd love to see everyone outside with oil paints doing art on the sidewalk. We are not using chalk!! See Karen, it could be worse!! When board gets upset, a good power washer would take care of it.
If I was on the board I would have told the whinging cow to shut the f*ck up and get a life, or she will be penalized for harassing the neighbours
The kids in my old neighbourhood also liked chalk drawings. Mostly of pənises. Lots and lots of pənises, one after the other, the whole street along - you see, not every kid is a budding artist. But guess what? Nobody said anything about it, no pearl clutching, no complaints and one good downpour washes everything away.
In year 12 I had to make a graduation video as an IT assignment, and had the great idea of getting all the graduates to sign their names in chalk on the court. I severely underestimated the amount of penises that would result. So. Many. Penises.
Load More Replies... I remember me and a friend used to chalk all over the street and the sidewalk, and how my neigbor would come out after we where done to throw buckets of water over the sidewalk to get rid of the chalk. My mom was SO angry :')
So what the neighbour is saying is that they don't want the child to draw on the ground because it clearly needs to go on the walls of the building so that everyone going past can see it.
Toddlers are toddlers. They're gonna sometimes scream and shout becaus they don't know any better. They're still learning. Everyone was a loud annoying child at some point too, so let children be children, they'll grow out of it anways.
Load More Replies... Being told off when all you try to do is make the best out of a situation is an awful experience. That board should have told that complaining person to stuff it where the sun don't shine.
Load More Replies... 
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