To be annoyed with these kids?

[FernieB]

One of my neighbours kids threw a snowball at my kitchen window this afternoon. He then ran round to the front of my house, ran down the drive and threw one at the front window.

I immediately went round to their house and asked his father to stop his DS. He stopped but continued to dance around near our garden waving snowballs. He has previously thrown stones at me and my DD's (I spoke to his mother that time). He has 2 brothers and last week they climbed over the wall into another neighbours garden and ran around in it playing games.

What would you do?

Harmless fun surely!!

How old are they?

Not harmless. A snowball can break a window.

The main culprit is 9. It's not harmless fun when you have stones thrown at you in your own garden.

YANBU to want your property respected - I think the fact that you'd requested it to stop but he stood there waving snowballs sort of says it all. And the going into neighbours gardens over walls? not impressed, not the sort of thing i would have done as a child (because i knew what would happen - none of this "she's only a child" crap, and my parents would never have sided with me over a neighbour in cases like that anyway).

totally disagree with hairyfairylights on this one. shows no respect and a big F You to any form of disipline these children should be getting.

Turn the hose on them - harmless fun, surely?

p.s. on one of the first driving lessons i ever did, a snowball was thrown at the instructor's car from a bridge, JUST as I was changing lanes. i'm a nervous enough driver as it is but i was a total wreck that day, and it's something i always think of when i see "innocent" kids throwing snowballs at passing cars - the way it made a stressful situation much worse. kids throwing snowballs isn't always harmless fun meant in jest. there's a difference between a loving, fun snowball at someone you know, and one which is intended maliciously. from the sound of the OP's neighbour's kid's dancing after her request to stop, this is definitely the malicious kind.

Thank you frgr - like you, if I had done anything like that as a child, my parents would have had something to say to me. Similarly, if my kids behaved that way, I would be furious - shows a lack of respect for other people's property, privacy etc.

Harmless fun.. there was a news story last week where a man was attacked by a gang with snowballs, his jaw was broken and he was in severe shock so no harmless. If they can break bone they can break glass!