to wish that balls (not human) were never invented?

[WaxOnFeckOff]

Jeez, it's nice to see kids out playing but the bounce bounce bounce is driving me up the wall!

Every time I see one of those US programs with the kids/teens out playing basketball on their driveway in the evening always makes me wonder why some neighbour hasn't taken a baseball bat to them.

I'm clearly not very noise tolerant.

[That1950sMum]

Its a nice sound. Shows children are outside, having fun and being active.

[bridgetreilly]

YANBU. I hate ball sports.

[WaxOnFeckOff]

Yes, i've said it's nice seeing kids out playing and active, but it's not a nice sound. It's not like I'm shouting out and telling them to go in and be quiet but playing on their bikes or with water pistols for a bit would be greatly appreciated :)

[Mintychoc1]

Trust me OP, when the alternative is xbox sounds, ball noise is like sweet music!

[WaxOnFeckOff]

I would add that we live about 200 yards from the school playground which has a set of goals and basketball hoops and I've even just let them retrieve a wheen of balls from the back garden. I could have been mean and kept them there until the ran out..

[WaxOnFeckOff]

I have two teenage boys, though they are past x-box now. They game on PC but are quiet as church mice! They were more into mass games of hide and seek than football/basketball.

[ToadOfSadness]

Balls being kicked into wheelie bins, lovely, smash, smash, thud, crash, thump... and into front doors, and walls. Bouncing nicely off my car, dent, bump, thud. OI!!! Clear off and play in your own driveway. Thump, thud, crash...

Bounced on to decking, nice and hollow, resounds really well, thud, thud, thud, Daddeeeeeee look, thud, thud, thud, into the hoop, crash, wobble, boing, kerthump , Mummeeeeeeee - aaarrggghh!!!

Ball on elastic, hit with a bat, smack, smack, smack, yell, smack, screeeeeaaammmmm, smack, holler, smack.

Football on trampoline (why?) squeak, squeak, squeak, donk, thud, thwack, Mummmeeeee!!!, mutter, mutter, bash, bash, bonk..

Outside my bedroom window, another ball on elastic, swoosh, swoosh, wack, and so on...

And the yelling of the boys, the screaming of the girls. Find a playground please, not everyone wants to hear you all day and evening.

There is no escape here. I wish I could move, or die.

[my2bundles]

Toad, why should they find a playground when they have a dive and garden to play in? My children spend alt of time keying p,aygames, trampoline etc in the garden, that's why we have one. They are to young to find a playground and I'm certainly not going to supervise them all day in one when we have a perfectly suitable garden for them to play n.

[WaxOnFeckOff]

I think it depends my2 Normal childhood playing noise is fine - despite me moaning about the balls - however, there are some parents who provide no supervision at all or think that it's their DCs right to be as annoying and antisocoal as possible.

e.g. running around with a ball is fine, continually booting it off a shared fence isn't. Normal excited playing is fine but caterwaulling at half 7 on a weekend morning not so much...

Contantly hitting a ball on your car/windows or running to retrieve it from under your window when you are trying to relax in your living room is a pain in the arse. Coming to the door every 5 minutes asking to retrieve balls that they've managed to lob over a 6 foot high fence (usually becasue they've been booting it off the fence) is also a pain in the arse.

I'm not anti child, I have two, I just think that playing in the garden means playing games suitable for garden play, anything overly antisocial should mean a trip to the wider open spaces/playground. Some DC also seem to think that just becasue the front gardens don't have fences that it means they are a free for all. Strange how the best bits to play are never on their drive or lawn or next to their car.

Anyway, as I say the vast majority are just kids being kids and enjoying what decent weather we have even if the constant bounce bounce bounce irritates the hell out of me. But there are kids who think they can do whatever they want and parents who allow them to. These kids will most likely grow up to be irritating feckers just like their parents.

[ToadOfSadness]

Playing football in someone else's drive is OK then is it? Smashing it against someone else's car?

Balls coming over the fence and knocking breakables over, unsupervised?

Not a minute of peace on every single nice day because the parents can't be arsed? Non stop noise. Other people have a right to enjoy their homes too, gardens are not just for the sole use of yelling and screaming. Listening to children play at a reasonable level is pleasant, listening to hooligans smashing around non stop is not.

[Laiste]

I nearly had a nervous breakdown due to football problems on the estate i lived in for 8 years the '90s. Bloody full size foot balls smashing into my patio doors and kitchen window and the plants on my balcony every.single.fucking.day.

I tried all the nice ways of dealing with it: asking the kids not to aim at my house, asking the parents to ask the kids to play on the nearby park not the tiny patch of grass outside my house. Showing the parents my broken plants. Telling them my DDs were scared. I tried taking the balls into the house for an hour. I tried keeping hold of the balls till the end of the day. Nothing worked. The parents didn't give a toss as they weren't affected. ''Ohh. I've told little Jonny but what else can i doooooo''

My own 3 DDs were young then and couldn't play on our balcony for fear of getting a fucking ball in the face.

In the end do you know what worked? I snapped. I took a ball into the house, stuck a kitchen knife through it, stood on it, marched back out and handed it back as flat as a pancake. I told them that would happen to every ball which came over. That was about 3 months before i moved 150 miles away but it was the only peaceful 3 months i had in that place.

My heart rate's going up just typing this and it was 18 years ago!

[Andro]

Cricket balls in gardens should be banned by law, £1800 of damage to my property this year so far (made it to ~5k last year) - greenhouse panels are expensive to replace!

[pudcat]

Small children playing a game of footie is lovely but strapping teenagers continually just booting a ball into a fence/kerb is horrendous.

[ILikeMyChickenFried]

running around with a ball is fine, continually booting it off a shared fence isn't. Normal excited playing is fine but caterwaulling at half 7 on a weekend morning not so much...

Agree with this. Mine play in the garden with balls and things. I wouldn't let them constantly hit it against a wall though and certainly not a fence. It would annoy me too much.

I was tempted to send them.out at 7.30 last weekend though after the neighbours were out playing music until around 2am. Adults can be annoying too!

[WaxOnFeckOff]

Yes, adults can be annoying too!

Like the ones cutting their lawn at half 8 on Sunday - the owners of the screechy children.

Sorry you've had a hard time Laiste.

Andro do you get that money back? Luckily Cricket isn't a big thing round my way but not looking forward to tennis season...

[WaxOnFeckOff]

pudcat I can't even blame teenagers in this case. To be fair the older DC/teenagers do tend to take themselves off to the park/playground - not without bouncing the ball through the street all the way there. My main culprets are the around age 10 ones, they play for the junior temas of professional clubs and so they think they are Maradonna. I keep saying to them that for kids that think they are good at football, their ball control is shite needs a lot of work...

[echt]

I have nothing to add to this thread right now except to note the fabulous username of WaxOnFeckOff.

Outstanding.

[WaxOnFeckOff]

Why thank you echt :)

[Andro]

WaxOnFeckOff - I get the money back, but the danger to me/dh/dc from flying cricket balls and broken glass is significant (and arranging replacement panels inconvenient). NDN just pays for the damage and is thankful her dc play outside all the time.

[WaxOnFeckOff]

Ando that is awful. If my DC did that once then that would be their last. Lazy parent just chucking money at a problem. Cricket is not a garden gamne.

[backaftera2yearbreak]

This reminds me of a poster in our lives cal council office about noise complaints. Quite clear they will accept to complaints about children playing outside. Good know someone’s on side.

[backaftera2yearbreak]

Local

[backaftera2yearbreak]

Accept no complaints.

That will teach me for typing on the bus 🙄

[WaxOnFeckOff]

As I've said, I have no issue with kids outside, i like to see them cycling and skooting and skating in the street, playing hide and seek, doing races, out with dolls and prams. It's the ball sports that need reducing a bit as it can very soon turn into anti social behaviour. The kids have a right to play out but neighbours have a right not to have their property damaged and to be able to relax in their own homes.

[smithsinarazz]

Bloody hell. Let kids be kids. Put some blooming music on if the noise bothers you so much. Or leave the house for a bit and get a sodding life rather than making other people miserable.
I'm an urbanist. I worked in a planning office for a bit. It just about boils my piss when people live in a town or city with, you know, other people, and expect to be able to apply their draconian standards of behaviour to everyone else.
And no, I'm not saying "anything goes". I'm saying that living within a community requires consideration and flexibility from everyone. Sure, that means no loud music at midnight, no sounding of horns after 7pm, etc etc etc. But bouncing balls? Get a life!
Personally, I'd rather the kids were playing out than staying inside playing on IPads and getting fat.