Just caught 2 kids playing knock down ginger

[BitterlyLemon]

They had been knocking on the door all night to the extent that the dog was going mental.

What they didn’t realise is I have a camera on the front of the house so the 4th time they did it, I opened the door as they were about to knock

I meant to just scare them but for some godforsaken reason I chased them (god knows what got into me) and caught one 🫣

They were absolutely terrified. I told them to stop it as they were winding up the dog and asked them where they lived (on the street).

Have I officially gone mad? Will I forever be known as the madwoman on the street? They were only about 8 or 9

Well done! Maybe they'll have another think about being little shits. What they think of you is irrelevant.

Who cares what anyone thinks...well done.

Good work!

Yes you will but atleast they will stop now🤣🤣 i have no issues with kids having fun and we use to play this game but id be pissed of if they repeatedly kept doing it.

I remember being about 5 and playing this with a bunch of friends. We knocked on the ‘old ‘witch’s’ house, repeatedly one after the other, then it was my turn to knock, she was waiting and pulled open the door and dragged me in by my hair and smacked me! I was so scared! I thought I was going to be put in her witches pot! It stopped me playing it forever!

@ilovepixiethat is a great story 😂They were also taking turns!

Some appalling parenting, allowing kids to do this.

And yes, they are allowing it if they let such small kids out unsupervised.

As long as you didn’t put your hands on them, I wouldn’t worry.

Glad to hear about kids still playing silly games and getting in trouble

If you are on the receiving end it's not a silly game.

Why were 8/9 year olds out at half 7, in winter when it's dark?!!

Oh hilarious when it really upsets someone.
And many are fearful of reporting for fear of backlash

My granny used to barely be able to walk to the door and she’d have kids doing this causing her to painfully make her way to the door. Kids should be told not to do this

How did you catch them, did you grab them, or corner them?

There are 2 boys who give our front door an almighty kick every now and again when they go past. Gives us all such a fright. Last time DH ran out the door and found them giggling round the corner. They weren’t giggling for much longer after they saw him heading their way. Just to confirm he didn’t do anything, just glared at them

I used to play this. I feel guilty about it now but it seemed very funny back then.

I had the same today.
I've had the day from hell and I'm in a foul mood.
I flung open the door and shouted "fuck off, and if you knock again I'll smack your face".
I'm not proud of myself.

My pals neighbourhood was subject to this, same silly group of 8 and 9 yr olds. One neighbour stood right behind the door and watched them approach, then as one kid rang, he opened the door and snatched the child into the house. The others ran off screaming. The child inside was told he would have to stay and was left alone in the hall. After about 3 mins the door was opened and he was told to go home and never knock again. The kids were all upset, and the parents found out about what was going on. Most thought it was good the kids were taught a lesson but one parent made such a fuss, even called the police and accused the neighbour of falsely imprisoning the child. The neighbour was made apologise to the child. So now these kids have learned they have licence to do whatever they want. It's a sad sign of the times.

I was once lucky enough to be chatting to a neighbour when I saw a group of kids doing knock down ginger on my door. It was really satisfying to nip across the road and ask, very earnestly, how I could help them. I've never seen 12 year olds look so aghast.

Most kids don't think about the fact that it might be an old person struggling to get to the door. Or an old person living alone who's really scared.
I think playing that game, and then having someone solemnly explain to you WHY it isn't always nice is quite a formative experience. It's how children learn about the harm principle really.
We tried tying neighbours doors together with string and then knocking on both doors simultaneously in the hope they would.be trapped as each tried to open their door. But it didn't work because the doors opened outwards.

My first thought too

Op you did good.

As some victims will be really scared about this happening to them.

Hopefully you have stopped them doing this.

There were two teenage boys who were knocking on doors on our street. When the householder answered, the boys were asking for a fictitious friend. We have a WhatsApp group, which is how we knew about this. It seems like it was just a prank but some of our neighbours were quite anxious about it.

When they knocked on our door, my DH took a photo of them. They quickly scarpered. We put the photo on the WhatsApp and someone on the street knew them and where they lived. Their parents were informed and the boys were made to write a letter of apology to everyone on the street.

Why is it called knock down ginger ? Sounds offensive to red heads...
We called it knick knacks.

We had this last summer with a group of 17/18 year olds who did this at 1 in the morning. The third time they did it I was behind the back gate waiting for them and chased them with a telescopic roller pole. They were shit at running.

Apparently I am now branded a “fucking psycho”. Yes lads, I can be, so keep away and you’ll be fine.