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AIBU?

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Original poster

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

68 replies

Charlotteap · 12/07/2024 19:37

It’s happening all the time now and it’s always around this time 7:30-9 when I’m bathing baby and putting him to bed and doing toddler bedtime routine , the kids knock on the door and the windows constantly, they’ve just knocked for 20 mins straight whilst I’m sat breastfeeding. The other day I put my head out of the window in the towel and said after 7pm it’s bath and bed and hard to interrupt that !! Mum has never said sorry for it happening all the time and it’s been 5 x already this week.

not to mention they blast it at my fence all night long and the fence touches my house whereas the other side it touches theirs but they never kick that one.

its a football and can easy cause an accident, sick of it hitting my plants. But I’ve got a glass table out there and baby sometimes in bouncer when we are all in garden. The other month a cricket ball went over and I went to the door and said that so could have hit my baby!

the parents don’t seem to give a shit

so AIBU to leave it till husband gets home to throw over, i am in my pjs doing about to attempt to put baby down for night

OP posts:
Runssometimes · 12/07/2024 19:58

so annoying. Initially I was understanding but then the noise was actually disturbing work calls. And then neighbours kid broke several of my plant pots and plants. I started not giving balls back, saying I didn’t have time to look if they knocked and leaving it weeks and then threw them back. Then I spoke to the mother after one work call when my colleague asked if someone was trying to break in,. I told mum it needed to stop. Park is three minutes away. I said no more balls were going back and I was sick of it. Kept my word. Burst and binned three. A year later I’ve not had one since

IncompleteSenten · 12/07/2024 19:57

Charlotteap · 12/07/2024 19:56

@IncompleteSenten this sounds like a good idea thank you, they unfortunately already have a net and we have a 6ft sense so god knows how they’re getting it so high

Sounds like they may be deliberately throwing it over and making a game of it.
If so then having to wait until the weekend for their balls back might make the game less fun.

nutbrownhare15 · 12/07/2024 19:57

I'd put a note through to say you are happy to return the ball but you are busy with bedtime from 7pm and will throw it over the fence when you can. Please can the children not knock at any time after 7pm as it wakes up your children. If they keep knocking tell them that you have asked them not to knock. And that it's going to take you longer to put the kids to bed and therefore longer to get their ball back.

LadyGaGasPokerFace · 12/07/2024 19:56

Go bang on the neighbours window for 20 minutes.

Original poster
Charlotteap · 12/07/2024 19:56

@IncompleteSenten this sounds like a good idea thank you, they unfortunately already have a net and we have a 6ft sense so god knows how they’re getting it so high

OP posts:
Original poster
Charlotteap · 12/07/2024 19:55

@Mouthfulofquiz you sound like lovely neighbours! It’s a new build house and we’ve only been in a year so not really had much interaction with them Sometimes you can see the mum in the garden watching them endlessly knock on the door !

@Underlig ifs a 6ft fence too, very high !

@Thisismetooaswell this seems the way to go

Thanks everyone looks like the only way for them to learn is to actually stop throwing it over right away.

OP posts:
IncompleteSenten · 12/07/2024 19:54

I'd tell their mum to tell them not to knock because it's disturbing you but that once every evening before bed your husband will go into the garden and throw any balls back over.

If the knocking doesn't stop then go back and tell her balls will now be returned only at the weekend and suggest to her she buys a net to stop balls flying over and staying in your garden till the weekend.

Ftctvycdul · 12/07/2024 19:51

We’ve had this issue. I have a young girl and our garden became a no go zone as she was at high risk of being hit by a ball being kicked at force. I spoke to the parents and even requested they move their net sometime we so they weren’t always shooting at our house but had no success. Once we started to keep their balls they suddenly learnt how to kick and we rarely have balls kicked over now.

Underlig · 12/07/2024 19:48

They shouldn’t be getting it over the fence at all. Just leave it a long time until you are ready to throw it back.

Mouthfulofquiz · 12/07/2024 19:46

I can remember the pure rage that the neighbour’s kids footballs and cricket balls used to cause me. Whacking against the fence and knocking plants out of pots etc.
Now I have three boys and they want to play out, so I have some rules. I will let them play out in the evening until 20:00. No shrieking, no knocking for balls, no hitting against neighbours walls or fences. (We have lovely neighbours so can be confident that balls come back over the fence).
As the neighbours kids have grown up, I’ve encouraged my boys to play out with them, teach them a bit of football or cricket etc and it’s lovely to see.
When my neighbour had a new baby, we stopped earlier in the evening out of consideration. People just aren’t very neighbourly now perhaps.

Thelondonone · 12/07/2024 19:46

We are that family but much considerate (I hope). I don’t get the kids knock, they have to wait until it’s thrown back (unless we can hear them). My neighbours are understanding and we are apologetic!

Emma543 · 12/07/2024 19:44

The minute they woke my kids up continuously knocking I’d have marched into the garden brought the balls through and popped them in their face on the doorstep.. 🙃

paywalled · 12/07/2024 19:44

Put a pin in the ball and tell them they must have hit it too hard as it’s deflated.

Do this every time.

Thisismetooaswell · 12/07/2024 19:44

Just tell them they don't need to knock, you'll throw it back when you see it

Original poster
Charlotteap · 12/07/2024 19:42

Thanks guys , that makes me feel better after my mum telling me ‘ you don’t want any problems with neighbours’ but it’s getting everyday now and it’s always after 7pm the other night they was banging at 9pm! And woke both kids up 😡

OP posts:
BowlOfNoodles · 12/07/2024 19:39

Tell them you're no longer collecting it they are disturbing your baby.

legalseagull · 12/07/2024 19:38

I'd be leaving it all weekend!

Stephy1886 · 12/07/2024 19:37

Yeah,
fuck them