Am I the neighbourhood fun sponge or are my neighbours selfish

[Worriedmum40284]

Feeling rather peeved after another incident of what I consider to be inconsiderate behaviour from surrounding neighbours.

1. Tonight, after the England game finished, a number of kids appeared in our car park (square of houses with a car park in the middle - see rubbish diagram) and started playing football. Our car is parked in said car park (see the asterisk). No parents in sight (some really quite little ones no more than 4 or 5 out there) and the ball is flying around really close to cars. Why would anyone think that's ok??? DH politely went out to ask them to keep the ball away from cars and moved ours to be on safe side.

1. Neighbours with bays A and B allocated to them in rubbish diagram regularly have someone come to visit who parks their car in position C (not a parking bay), making it really tricky to get cars along our row in and out.

1. Next door have a bush that somewhat overhangs our garden - not a problem. Whenever neighbour trims bush, cuttings fall into our garden (no big deal, we clear it up as they don't seem to like to mention it). But, a load of cuttings also end up in parking bays (green squiggles are gardens) which they do have access to, and they just leave them there.

After the footie incident, I'm starting to think I'm just surrounded my arseholes. Am I, or do I need to lighten up?!

In my rage, I forgot to attach rubbish diagram, here you go.

Nobody likes a mood hoover.

Yeah the car thing would piss me off too. Kids and footballs with mouth breathing parents saying "it's only a car" if you dare whinge.

It makes me want to go and start volleying a football around their car and see how quickly they come out and complain (note parents of the kids playing do not have spaces in car park so no risk to them)

I love seeing/hearing kids play out. I can appreciate the car thing would set your teeth on edge, but where I am literally no children play out on the street like that and certainly never unsupervised. When I think about how much time I spent alone as a kid, or with friends with no adults around and how that shaped me. I learned autonomy, initiative, boundaries and countless more things. Feels so sad that many of the current generation are missing out on something which was so basic. And I remember my parents saying that I didn't go out much at all in comparison to their own childhoods. Getting less and less.

Go and play down the field then, not around cars

I can imagine the conversation when you bill them for damage done to the car. This would grind my gears too.

Exactly how much force would the ball have to be hit with to do damage? I have never seen a car damaged by a regular football.

I have had my paint scratched many times this way. Not hard at all is the answer to your question.

I have zero issue with the sound of kids playing, I have young kids myself who love playing football but they do it in our garden, or at the park. I absolutely wouldn't allow them to do it around other people's cars whilst I'm nowhere to be seen thinking I'm alright Jack.

I have never seen any damage on any car and seen footballs hit them for over forty years.

YANBU

Balls can easily scratch cars. But the point is they shouldnt be played with near cars in a small cul de sac or courtyard or wherever.

Even more frustrating, there's a park at the top of the road, just a couple of minutes away!

Appreciate I'm in a right grump this evening, but the accumulation of unthoughtful behaviour over the last couple of weeks has peaked!

Neighbours who don't sweep up their cuttings from accessible parts of other neighbours gardens would annoy me. My parents house was like this - grass cuttings from the house on the left would fall all over their front steps which adjoined the neighbours garden.

House on the right was much, much lower down, and my parents law clippings for fall over on to their front steps, as did a great deal of cuttings that went over the front and into the public footpath. My mother always, always swept her steps, the footpath, and the neighbours path on the right, after she'd cut the grass.

She also had to sweep her steps after the neighbour on the left had cut their grass, as they never once swept my parents path. They were reasonable people too - I wonder if it even registered they left a mess.

I love to see kids playing out, such a rare sight these days.

I wouldn't be bothered by the bush thing but the parking of car C would do my nut

Not the same thing at all. Kids are playing in an inappropriate place where they can damage cars. Not on.

🙄😬 not hard at all

Or are the cars parked in an inappropriate place? There is clearly alternative parking available as the OP’s car was moved out of the way.

Too many cars are parked in public places that could be used by children for playing out safely

Car parks are for cars surely? Parks are for children to play in.

Well, the problem is that in the UK of 2024, cars are absolutely blinking everywhere, aren't they?

I think children being able to play out is more important than cars' paintwork.

The OP said there was a park at the top of the road though. Surely there would be uproar if cars were parked in that?

Did a child write this?

I agree with you op.

YANBU op. There seems to be a lot more inconsiderate people about these days. I hope my DC will play out when they’re older but they will not be kicking balls around cars.