To think boys should be able to kick a ball in the street

[scruffybird]

We live in a new build close with no park or green area. There are a couple of boys who like to kick the football around by their back gate, the prolem is they keep getting told to stop doing it by this old couple, who live in the house right near them. They even phoned the police, who came round and told the parents that the boys needed to play it in their very small garden.
I find it really sad that children can't play buy their back gates without being shouted at. No wonder you don't see many children playing out side.
The mum was telling me she is considering moving because of this.
Is she being unreasonable to let her boys play football near someones house?

I think that depends on how much of an inconvenience the boys were being to the old couple. If they were kicking the ball against their windows or wall or cat, or kept having to retrieve the ball from their garden, or were constantly loudly shouting, then I can see the old couple's point.

If it's going into their garden/banging on their windows then they ANBU.
Personally, if it bothers her that much then she should move - I'd be more annoyed if it was the old couple who had to move.
Surely there'd be a park within a bus ride?

If they are kicking the ball against walls or the ball is ricocheting off fences then YABU. It's so annoying.

Totally depends - if its doing damage - to cars; fences; walls etc then it is unreasonable.

they do have a right to play and new builds are meant to have incorporated green spaces for this, makes me angry when developers completely ignore this.

i'd complain to the council myself about it.

Yes boys (and girls) should be allowed to kick balls.
No they should not be allowed to disturb others when doing so.

blimey the racket my sons make playing football inside the garden and out the front! luckily my neighbours are sensible and grown up about it.

I assume the old couple can hear the ball being kicked? If so, they are within their rights to complain. They have a right to peace and quiet in their own home.

YABU. Footballs on the street are noisy and annoying.

THey have a grden, they can use it. It is not the old couples fault that the children have a small garden.

Depends on the road, IMO. DS couldn't do it here - he'd be killed.

Also, I think if they are making a racket or bouncing the ball off the neighbours' fences, then it's not on.

Hmm. YABU and YANBU.

If the kids on our close were kicking a ball around outside I'd be fully in favour of them getting fresh air and exercise, and sympathetic about the weeny size of average gardens. But I'd also be inwardly screaming "GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM MY FUCKING CAR WITH YOUR MUDDY FUCKING FOOTBALL YOU LITTLE FUCKING VANDAL!!!!!"

Wouldn't an equitable solution be to get the boys skateboards, so they can wear themselves out whizzing up and down rather than launching projectiles around the place?

Yeah, but Southeastastra the green space will be around the corner & the parents may not be able or willing to go stand there for 8 minutes every half hour while the boys kick the ball around.

I don't understand why the old people's right to peace and quiet takes precedence over the boys getting to be children, and do what children like to do (within reason). It's a living space for everyone.

We live in an end terrace and children often play football against the wall of our house and we are usually in the corner room in the daytime because it gets more sunlight. If you have never experienced the constant thump, thump, thump of a football, you probably don't realise how insane it can drive you. We also have a window on that side which they hit quite regularly.

This frightens my DCs a lot because a couple of years ago someone threw a brick through the window while they were having tea. Although it's unlikely to break the window as it's double glazed, I don't see why my DCs and cats should be frightened in their own home.

We also have a park 5 mins walk away and most of the kids involved are roaming the streets till all hours anyway old enough to go there unsupervised. They certainly don't live within sight of where they play football.

New builds don't have to have green space. If new builds are above a certain size (set by local authority) the builder has to provide money for local amenities or build a local amenity under local authority direction.

But the council decide how to spend this money. It can be spent on new green space or playground, a community centre or in improving existing playgrounds.

Because of cuts local authorities are either spending this money on maintaining and improving existing facilities, or only asking for the money on really large new builds (as builders plead poverty).

I think it depends on whether they're hitting the ball against fences/walls/windows/cars. Otherwise, YANBU.

I find No Ball Games signs rather :(

YABU. The noise of a football is so so so annoying. The police clearly agreed that they were causing a disturbance so seems to me the area they were using is unsuitable for playing ball games.

I am sure there must be a park somewhere - I am sure it would be annoying for the parent to have to go there and watch the boys play, but that is what it's like when you have children, no? And when they are old enough, they can go by themselves.

I don't see why the mum's wish to leave the boys to play unsupervised out the back rather than take them to the park should trump the old couple's wish to have a bit of peace and quiet.

My mum is in her 70s and there are 3 young children living next door to her. She loves to hear and see them out in the garden and is always saying how nice it is when they are outside screaming that she hates people who don't want children to play (as another neighbour thinks they should be indoors and silent all the time). BUT - she can't bloody stand the thump thump of a football.

They won't be just kicking the ball against their own gate and fence will they? It will obviously be banging against other peoples, so apart from anything else, they will eventually cause damage. Then there will be the footballs in the garden. It's a bloody pain in the neck, I've experienced it myself and over a period of days it gets incredibly stressful.
So YABU, whether or not there is a green space in the development, it's not fair to inflict this on neighbours.

I'm kind of on the fence.

If they are 'just' kicking a ball around, then no big deal.
I have a DS and at some point maybe he'll be doing the same.

However...
I live on a new build estate (which does have a park in the middle-and a much bigger one round the corner) and there are a few boys who insist on kicking their ball right outside my house.

It hits my car, them: "huh huh huh huh!"
Hits my windows,them: "huh huh huh huh!"

Bloody irritating!

YABVVVU - if this was near a public walkway. Which, as it's at a back gate, I would assume it is.

I HATE children whacking a ball about in the street - it's noisy, it's dangerous, it can potentially cause damage to houses/cars/gardens/people and most importantly, it terrifies the shit out of me. A part of me always thinks the little horrors are going to kick the thing at my head (I have precedent for this and am thus rather paranoid about it) and I feel awful going past. It always feels like they're staring at me -shudder-

FFS, why should anyone be made to feel uncomfortable on their own street? They have a garden - their mum should tell them to use it.

YABU. The sound of footballs banging is really annoying when you're in your home. I live right next to a park & local kids decided to start using the fence & gate for a volleyball match when they had a massive whole park (including an excellent football pitch) to play in. I asked them to move and I will do do again when the spring/summer playing starts, despite the stroppy looks.

I will teach my child (not due til June!) to enjoy playing, but somewhere that they can both enjoy themselves but not unreasonably disturb other residents.

BTW the only 'no ball games' signs I've seen were on end terraces near a wide patch of road where kids must have been making their lives a misery.

It might be interesting to clarify a bit, but just because it's at a back gate doesn't mean it's a public walkway as such. My house backed on to a small square and everyone's garages opened up there, with our back gates beside them, if that makes sense. So it was clearly an area provided for the use of the garages and not a play area. In any case, the football will be getting kicked against other people's fences and gates at least, which really isn't fair is it?

We can't stand it when children play with footballs outside our house and have been known to ask them to move .

The ball comes off the door, windows and our car. That said the boys I am talking about are aged 12 and up so old enough to make their way to the park round the corner.

In our old house we had a gable end that was on the street and the local boys used it as a goal, the constant thumping was horrendous.

I agree with xStarGirl, I hate having to walk past where kids are kicking footballs around in the street in case the ball accidentally hits me or they kick it at me on purpose. I imagine older people feel even more vulnerable about this. And if it's banging against their gates/fence/walls etc and annoying them or potentially damaging their property, then that is really not on.

Sorry but I think football (or any ball game really) needs to be somewhere like a park or a playing field. I don't think children should be indoors and silent all the time, and the old couple can't expect complete peace and silence all the time. But the parents need to be making sure their children have a bit of consideration for others as well.

Agree with Jenai - no ball game signs are sad.

You know when it's halfterm round here (!) because all the kids are playing in the street, but why not? If they are not in danger from cars, I think they should be allowed to, and just told not to bounce the ball of walls of people's houses when people are inside.

You have to be fairly joyless to mind children playing a game in your vicinity.

My ds and his friends got told off for playing with their Gogos on the street. There are some miserable buggers around.