Boys playing in garden of terraced house

[whattheactualfuckery]

Where do we all stand with teenage kids playing in the garden? Especially when it's terraced houses.
My boys are sport mad, they play in football, basketball and cricket teams in and out of school.
At least half an hour but no more than an hour a day they're in the back garden kicking, throwing or bouncing a ball. There's no excess shouting.
Is this ok? They do go to the park, team practice etc but just like a muck about in their own garden.
I feel this is acceptable and wholesome behaviour, but a neighbour doesn't.

I feel we as a family are entitled to use our outside space. Would you stop your kids because of it?

You are. No I wouldn’t stop them.

what would you say to this neighbour shouting out her window to my boys or if she comes round?

Ask her what the problem is and say that they have a right to play in their own garden. If they aren’t shouting, yelling or swearing I can’t see why anyone would have an issue. Is she old? She doesn’t have a terminally ill husband in that upstairs room does she? Or is it her home office and it disturbs her work? Which still doesn’t mean they can’t use their own garden, just that she should invest in some noise cancelling headphones.

Sorry I missed that part. I'll blame the sun on the screen

Whilst I wouldn't want my kids to be annoyance to anyone, this sort of thing is part and parcel of close community living so I wouldn't worry about it too much.

What exactly is annoying about it?

Maybe it was just at that kids moment it was annoying because she was tired and grumpy?

It sounds like what they’re doing is absolutely fine.
I’d be tempted to turn it round and say I would be reporting her for harrassment or something similar.

I agree with most posters and you sound like a sensible mother. However, the one thing most people object to is if balls are banged repeatedly against adjoining fences. In other words, using a fence as a goal. Bang, bang ,bang. Not good, otherwise fine.

Peterpiper
She's a single mum with 3 kids aged 13-25

Teenagers can't really win can they? Get off the streets, get out the garden, stop playing computer games.....

It is their garden to enjoy. As long as they aren't veering into antisocial territory - and it doesn't sound like they are - then your neighbour can jog on. I quite like the sound of children, lawn mowers etc. though.

I think it’s fine up until average evening meal/baby bed time.

Consider some height extending trellis to minimise stray balls.

Nothing wrong with children (of any age) playing in their own garden.

Ground rules

1. no shrieking
2. no swearing
3. between 8 am and 8 pm. Summer weekends maybe later.

I agree that it’s good to hear children playing outside. The only neighbours that ever bothered me were a family whose garden backed into ours. The older boy constantly kicked a ball against our fence and the whole family were whiny, shouting potty mouths from the primary school aged children to both the parents. But the sound of kids playing normally is a positive pleasure.

I live in a small terrace house with a paved small back garden. I allow my sons to play ball for a short period of time, but it's very hard for them to do so w/o banging the fence so I have to stop them and send them out or take the younger one out myself.
Scooting around or playing with something other than a football is fine.

I've never had a complain in over 20 years of living here.

My older son plays elec guitar which is obviously quite audible. He only plays at what I would regard as reasonable times and I have spoken to my immediate neighbours. Again, no complaints.

Reasonable noise is OK, talking to neighbours is good.

I can understand why someone bouncing a ball repeatedly is really annoying, but there's not much anyone can do.

I would sympathise with the neighbour is someone was preparing for an exam and she had asked politely for a little bit of quiet that week, but otherwise, she is unreasonable.

If your teens stay away from the fences, kicking a ball is not that loud!

I am not sure what difference it makes if you have a terraced or a detached house, you still share fences? No difference on a garden point of view at all.

Agree with what PutOnYourDamnSocks says

Ground rules
1) no shrieking
2) no swearing
3) between 8 am and 8 pm. Summer weekends maybe later.

Exactly this.

My heart has been broken by unreasonable neighbours objecting to my children playing outside, especially in summer. My natural inclination is not to have any hassle, and I absolutely can take their point if it's too loud, or balls being kicked at their property etc but my nerves were worn out trying to manage it all.

Kids have to be able to play outside and those rules are reasonable and neighbourly and what I try to ensure myself.

And yours are in their GARDEN fgs, so of course it's fine.

3) between 8 am and 8 pm. Summer weekends maybe later.

it might be legal, but it's not pleasant for your neighbours.
I wouldn't let my kids be noisy so early, or so late. I think 7pm is late enough for noisy play. You can be outside without disturbing the neighbourhood.

Congratulations on raising kids that are not sat inside their bedrooms playing on the internet every chance they get.

Family home with a family garden ... kids are entitled to and SHOULD be outside playing. That's why people buy homes with gardens when they have children. We can't always being going to the park.

Anyone is entitled to use their back garden as much as they wish as long as they show consideration to others.

So not too early or late (I'd say 8am-8pm is about right.
No loud music
No excessive noise/shouting
No swearing

Definitely not using someone else's fence or wall to kick balls against etc.

As long as they are not doing those things I would politely ignore any complaints.

I used to live next door to a childminder - sometimes the noise of the kids was a tad irritating if I am completely honest to us as non parents, but they weren't doing anything wrong and were playing as kids should, as was their right. So of course we said nothing and eventually moved

Was it a one-off complaint or does she do this regularly? I normally wouldn't consider it as kids have as much right to their outside space as anyone else and agree with a lot of the comebacks others have posted, but if she's been a neighbour a while and doesn't normally do this, I might wonder if there was something else going on and consider asking mine be quieter or something for a day or two.

Really good to hear your teenage boys are outside playing sport . Good on them !

If she came to my house complaining I would explain it's your DC's home and garden and they are not doing anything wrong. 1 hour a day is not excessive but really, if they were there all day it wouldn't be any if her business. I'd warn her they will be making more use of the garden in summer.

Tell her to mind her own business. What your kids do in your own garden is no concern of her's. It's light nights and they will be playing out. If she has an issue with it, tough!

When we were little my mother asked the neighbour next door if she minded the noise from us playing in the garden. She replied that the day she couldn't enjoy the sound of children playing was the day it should all be over.

That story is no help to you! But YANBU and your children sound very considerate.

So long as not excessively noisy or ball continually banging against a fence or coming over the fence, you can do what you like. If someone feels that precious they really shouldn't be living in a terrace!