To ignore the neighbours kids at the door and not throw their ball back over

Tell them thst any balls that come into your garden will be put into a bag and returned at end of each month or given to charity.
You are not a ball machine.
Don't answer door.

Don't allow them to knock*

I agree with others op that you're being too accommodating. Let the balls sit there for days or weeks so they get the message. And yes if they keep doing it I'd pop them.

We have neighbours that do this but the parents don't slow them to knock. I throw them back when I see them.

One of mine did this. Slobbery remains duly given back!

Our next door neighbours kick the ball over alot, the opposite side of neighbours to them purposely popped their balls. Then they just started to take the balls and said they never saw it. We throw it over when we see it, one evening we were on the garden and they kicked it over our 8 times and my husband told them if they kicked it over again they wasn't getting it back.

Ignore my post above.
I quoted the wrong post.

What an awful, mean-spirited thing to do.

I read a thread on here a while ago where the OP had a similar problem, so she told the kids that she would only return the ball if one of the parents came over to ask for it - funnily enough they started to care when it inconvenienced them and it stopped.

I still think you’re being very passive.

When the mum asked you how long you’d be why didn’t you tell her I’ll be as long as I want?

Tell them you won’t be throwing any further balls or that you’ll only do it once a week, on Monday mornings.

If I was feeding a baby and they kept knocking for 20 minutes I’d have steam coming out of my ears and that would be the time I’d choose to speak to their parents.

it’s all very well wanting to be a good neighbour but it’s all one sided as they blatantly aren’t bothered. Anything affecting my kids and I’d be livid. Tell them the only time the balls will be returned is at the weekend - once a weekend. The kids are cheeky little shits because the parents have no respect for others. Don’t let people affect your life like this.

Go and see the mum. She is taking the piss. Take your baby so she can see how young she is and tell her very firmly that her children are never ever to bang on your door ever again. Tell her if her children can’t keep the balls in the garden she’s going to have to erect something to prevent them coming over.

Then don’t throw anymore over.

You can borrow my dog if you like, ripping footballs to pieces is his favourite hobby. Presenting them with the slobbery shreds of their ball might make them be a bit more careful about where they're booting it 🙃

Tell them that you understand that they are really bad at playing football because they keep kicking the ball over the fence and they need to practice but you will not be returning any balls after 7pm.

That does sound super annoying but I guess the problem with the park is that a parent will have to stand and watch them, whereas they’re free to play in their garden. So they’re disincentivised to go to the park!

I do agree with your mum to an extent - not getting on with neighbours can make your home life so stressful.

I think you need a compromise. Ask them not to knock and once an evening you or DH will throw any balls back over the fence. In return ask them not to kick the ball against your fence. Good luck.

If you push a darning needle into the ball's valve, it appears to be a faulty valve not a leak from random piercing elsewhere. We have a recreation field two minutes away and enormous kids still play football in their garden. Or on my drive around my plants.

After their balls smashed numerous valuable garden plants and hit my small dog?

Sorry, but popping the balls is fitting response to their anti social actions. They'd been asked kindly and ignored requests to aim elsewhere, stop bashing the wood fence, etc.

Also we have a park with football goals a 2-minute walk around the corner. Let them use it.

Put a sign up saying baby in bed so you
won’t be answering the door till the following morning after 9am.

I agree with everyone saying throw them over when you’re in the garden, but not every time they knock on the door. Totally fair to say that you won’t be answering the door after 7. It’s nice of you to keep answering until then, tbh! I’d get sick of it and probably not answer a few times to give them the hint - and I love hearing kids playing out and I’m v friendly and neighbourly.

But to those who pop the balls… that’s a bit harsh!

My DS left a toy on a neighbour’s front yard (very end of a long front garden) once and she threw it in the bin.

Fair for her to hate children going on the end of the lawn, and DS absolutely shouldn’t and has been told, but chucking the toys away is miserly and also environmentally unfriendly.

Is there a way to create a slow puncture on a football? * off to google

Them balls would die in my garden if it happened that often. Honestly OP I would probably never throw them back over or if I felt bad enough pop them helpfully onto the green you mentioned with football nets etc. It is not on at all.

Our neighbours just chuck them back whenever they go outside. It might be straight away, it might be hours later. This is the friendly neighbourly arrangement we have, which means they don't get door knocks at inconvenient times either. I have a rule though that once a ball goes over, they stop playing, or go to the park (they can't always do that, particularly if the local teenagers have commandeered it).

No matter that you have every right to be annoyed, don't bin or burst the balls, that's unnecessarily mean and will create bad relations with your neighbours. Also, remember it could be your kid in a few years' time putting things over the fence and playing noisily. I'd suggest speaking to them and their parents when they come to the door and setting some rules to manage their expectations. Don't shy away from dealing with this because you 'don't like confrontation' (they're kids 🙄). You don't like this situation either so do something

I did something similar. Once they stopped getting their balls back, they miraculously found the ability to refrain from kicking over into my garden.

Don't be a doormat, OP. Make them wait several days at least, to send a message.

I've had this with my neighbours' boys for a couple of years now. It was fine when l moved here, they were very small back then, but of course they're older now.
I didn't mind at first, they're very polite and used to knock to ask if they could fetch their ball. Then I had a big bramble bush which had grown by the middle gate so said l'd throw the balls back so they didn't get scratched.
It's getting ridiculous now, though. I came home one day from work and there were five footballs/rugby balls in the garden. Threw them back, twice within an hour they're back again asking me to throw the ball back.
On one occasion they were in their garden with friends, knocked so l went out to throw the ball back. There was also a toy plane, so l threw that back as well - it was thrown straight back. I was furious. Went next door but the parents weren't in the living room, didn't answer. Found out later that it was one of the friends who had thrown the plane back. Dad messaged me, very apologetic, but l made it plain l wasn't happy and that l was getting sick of it.
My neighbours are lovely, l don't want to fall out with them, but it's getting beyond a joke now.
Balls, planes, screaming, kicking the ball against the fence for hours on end, when they come to knock it's like the drugs squad on a dawn raid. If l'm not at the door within five seconds, they're looking in the window.
Legally, you can't keep or damage any balls (or anything!) that comes into your garden from next door. But l've told them not to knock now, I will throw back anything that comes over into my garden THE NEXT MORNING.
Not then and there. I'm not a ball girl at Wimbledon.
They don't just have one football. If there are five in my garden at once, they have more than one or two which happens to come over.
What also annoys me is that there is a big green space almost opposite our houses. You can see it from both my and their houses so it's not like they're out of sight and safety. Losing balls over a fence there wouldn't be a problem.
I don't know why they don't just play over there. They have done in the past. Even had goal nets. But there's nothing to kick the ball against there, there's a fence in the garden, l suppose.