Why do I have to be the one…
… to ask the neighbor kids to stop hanging on the tree in our yard and breaking the young branches off?
… to ask the neighbor kids to quit playing IN THE STREET and yelling at cars?*
… to ask the neighbor kids to stop scratching on the back of the large residential mailbox with sticks?
I am not a parent. So, parents, ANYONE in fact, please call me out if there is any reason why I should just let these kids do their own thing.
I just wonder… why do their parents not worry about them playing in the street? Or defacing public property? Or ruining our already pathetic looking neighborhood trees?
Why do I have to be the neighborhood bitch?**
*One time, Steven bribed them to get out of the street by giving them fresh cookies.
**We’ve had to ask these particular neighbors, and others, unfortunately, to please turn down the loud music they blast out of their open garages in the middle of the night.
Themocracy
Personally, I don’t think it’s your responsibility to approach the kids. I would, however, talk to the parents. And if the parents don’t do anything about it, I’d have no problem calling the police. Catching kids doing stupid things while they’re young and the *things* are relatively harmless is a lot more important than letting it go now and hoping it doesn’t turn into greater misdeeds.
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Well, I AM a parent and I feel like a lot of parents these days don’t seem to watch their kids. It is one thing to let kids be kids and completely another to let them do things that are not respectful or can damage property. How will they learn what isn’t ok to do if no one ever tells them? (Actually my oldest and I had a long talk just recently about how she feels some adults have no manners a lot of times and she pointed out that it is probably because their parents never taught them the things that she thinks would be common sense manner things).
I totally remember when Steven bribed them with cookies and I remember laughing about that and wondering what would happen the next time.
Similar to your problem I am the only parent at the bus stop in the morning. There are about 15 kids. The bus stop is in front of this one guy’s house who has no kids at the bus stop (he has older kids) and he has beautiful flowers and very pretty landscaping around his trees. It is definitely not a young kid house. The other kids run around and trample through his yard. My kids stand on the sidewalk and wait for the bus nicely (and they do on the rare occasion when I’m not there..I know because I spy out of my daughter’s bedroom window that they don’t know I can see the bus stop from). Recently when the daycare kids were with me I had to tell them the rules I have. I know thier parents let them do it, but when they are with me I feel like they need to follow my rules, which makes me feel like a bitch, even when I am only being respectful of the guys lawn and property. Just because the bus stop is in front of his house doesn’t mean he deserves a bunch of kids ruining his flowers and pulling branches off his trees!
I tried telling the other kids to stay out of the lawn but they didn’t listen. I have no idea what to do but since I am not the parent (and their parents don’t care, I have asked them) I will leave it be and just keep reminding my kids how proud I am that they do what I think is the right thing.
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And that long thing should probably have just been an email since it’s longer than the actual post. Sorry!
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haha – this is SO me!!!
I remember when I was little, my dad would yell at kids who threw rocks in our neighborhood pond. I was SO embarrassed – what was the big deal?
Annnnd NOW I totally understand him. Kids play football in my yard sometimes – wtf? I haven’t said anything to them, but when I was a kid we just didn’t go into other people’s yards without asking.
I think you are right to call them out on this – kids have to learn some respect!!! It’s so sad that their parents aren’t doing anything to teach them about this.
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It’s unfortunate that you have to say anything. Where are the parents? I can say this as I am a parent, If I saw this happening, I would also be doing the same thing. I try to teach my son hat this is not acceptable behavior and reinforce that. It is sad that this seems to happen all to often. Maybe I am just an old crank ass who likes to yell at kids.
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Kids these days! I’m a bit shocked by many of them, and I’m sure I don’t see the worst of it. I have a feeling the parents might be upset if you said something to them, but I think I would. It’s not up to you to discipline them, it’s their job. Like one of the above posters said, I don’t think that parents watch their kids as much anymore. When I worked as a server in a restaurant, some kids would just sit there and yell and make a mess and the parents wouldn’t do anything. I couldn’t believe it! As a camp counselor, I was shocked at what the kids would do. The food they brought for lunch (cans of soda for seven year olds…really??), all the toys they had…such a far cry from how I was raised.
Okay, that is probably enough. But you get the picture. 🙂
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At the first house Jason and I lived in, the kids next door would ride their bikes up and down the sidewalk (badly) in front of our house and crash into our fence and our flowers. They would pick the daylilies and torment our dogs. I was the bitch who tried to plant cactus in between the lilies to deter them! Didn’t work, sadly.
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REALLY Happy someone else feels this way besides me. Why do I always have to be the asshole (or what feels like the asshole)? Why cant other people take care of themselves and their own actions (and their kids for that matter)??
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I think parents are too tired and bedraggled to give a rat’s ass what their kids are doing out of sight. That is NO excuse mind you, but I think that is why. I also think the parents should be approached, however, please know that most parents do not think their precious angel can do wrong and will likely be defensive and not do a damn thing.
Hate it for you. I think that is why we are going to buy a condo!
Ok, so the other day a friend of mine was at MY HOUSE with her kids. Her son jumped on two of my couches, my bed, and BROOKES CRIB. He also set up some items and went HUMAN BOWLING. He pushed Brooke several times (who can barely walk yet) and knocked her down.
Its a parenting thing. There are parents who think the hands-off approach is appropriate, there are others who are just too overwhelmed with their kids and cannot control them, and there are others yet who had kids but dont think they actually have to take care of them. All three of those parenting types are the kind that raise kids like your neighbor-kids 🙁 Your scolding wont make a difference, they likely dont know any better and just think you are psycho. Talking to their parents wont matter either, they likely dont care. (and they will think you are a psycho too).
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oh i TOTALLY find myself “parenting” other peoples’ kids. and i’m not even a parent either! i feel very strongly that too many parents take the “let kids be kids” thing WAY too far. let kids be kids, but also RESPECTABLE HUMAN BEINGS, maybe?
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Totally unrelated to your post, but thanks for the comment on my blog and the quick story about how you met your husband. 🙂 It made me smile tonight!
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Many parents don’t parent. I don’t think you were out of line at all! Kids need to learn, and if the parents don’t teach them, society must. It takes a village.
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It takes a village…and we are all part of the village whether we like it or not. And especially whether other parents like it or not….I’ve had to parent stray kids plenty of times. Like the ones who used to play directly outside our apartment door and would be loud and childlike (tiring, but somewhat acceptable sometimes), but then they started leaving toys and garbage -lots of garbage-there. I nearly made a little girl cry when I gave her my lecture about picking up after herself and she is a nice and pretty little girl and does she really want to shame her mother like this?? I was a bit ridiculous, but I was DONE with them and I tried to be nice!!
And there were the little boys who would ride their bikes through the parking lot like it was their own personal effing world and the rest of us were all just observers…but one time I was almost more of an observer when one of the boys rode his bike too close to my car and I almost smashed him like a bug – accidently!!- and then I had to give him a good parental lecture on how to be safe.
I think you should feel free to jump in and lay down the law if they are being hoodlum like.
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I have had the same feelings many times when I tell a kid to stop running up and down the hallways of my apartment complex, screaming at the top of his/her lungs. I’m sure they think I’m a total nag but that’s okay.