Cul de sacs are not playgrounds....

[Bestb411pm]

Last bloody forty minutes spent listening to kids bounce a sodding basketball right in the middle of the road. Maybe they're going for some sort of world record?

I've gone from been mildly annoyed to hoping the bloody thing goes through their car window and not mine. I can see why the parents don't want them banging outside their window if they keep them in the back garden, but what are they thinking letting them out to play with a sodding ball in the middle of the road?

AIBU? Really?

well they dont sound like very nice people then boney my children dont cause any damage, and the kids are on both sides of the cul de sac and play in our garen as well, i often end up wiht random extra children in my front garden, we keep the gates open (driveway) so that the children can play in the garden and on the cul de sac, we are right in the middle of the cul de sac and they play mainly right outside our house or slightly over the right with next doors children. as i said they have set boundaries over where they can go and there is often a parent outside as well.

there will always be some that take advantage and let their children be a pain but most of us are letting them play out and being sensible and courteous about it.

There is no less than 14 kids currently playing football outside my house. We live in a cul de sac full of kids. It's lovely to see, ages range from 13 down to my DD who's the littlest at 3. One of the neighbours bought a foam ball to avoid the thwack thwack thwack noise. There's always a couple of parents watching (DP is out with a beer and next-door-dad). The big ones look after the little ones, getting them involved. I think it's taught them road safety, tbh. Whenever a car pulls in (rare) they all shout "car-on the paths!" and collect random scooters in a lighting quick race to the kerbs. DDs and DS can now hear a car engine from 3 streets away...

Yes boney, when the wingmirror was broken in our little street, and the kids had to play closer to home and their parents cars; funnily enough there wasn't a football in sight

inthepotty see, that's nice

YANBU. Yes by all means kids should play outside (garden?????). But even cul de sac roads are not safe. Delivery drivers might not expects loads of kids running about and where we live, the kids are always playing football in the cul de sac, but the football is always kicked out onto the very busy main road and in the happiness of playtime, lets face it, for most kids the first instinct is run out and get the ball, not check the road. I've seen quite a few near misses.

Agree with OP on the basketball thing. Kids laughing and playing is a lovely noise. Thud thud thud of a basketball is not.

Just ask them nicely to think of another game for a while. Be honest.

My DCs play street hockey (we live in Canada!) and basketball outside our house with a bunch of the kids opposite. But if they ever disturbed anyone, I would want to know about it. In fact, I made sure i told our neighbours who don't have kids to let us know if they were being too loud.

i skipped most of the posts , we live in a cul de sac - got no problems with the kids playing out in it

i do however have a massive problem with them playing football right near my drive - hitting my car, and then walking round my garden like they own the flipping place, yet their parents have a problem cos i dont like it ... ummmm not allowed near u own cars i see

Totally 39. Totally

just reminded me of this :)

I apologise for the last bit tho I had forgooten that bit

Do you think it would be better if they were inside glued to the TV then?

Pre dc we lived at the end of a cul de sac and the kids were turned out very early at weekends . We had a garage attached to our house , the kids kicked the football against it over and over again . It drove me nuts . I asked them to stop and thy did for five minutes then started Again!! We moved eventually to another cul de sac where my dd pays outside but I respect people's homes and there is no screaming and banging balls!

Don't forget these are the children who have been cooped up indoors all through the winter. How dare they want to go out when the weather is nice.

I spent my whole childhood growing up in a cul de sac with only 7 houses down the road. It was fantastic, all the kids would play together and we'd kick a ball about, sledge down the little hill on one side in snow etc. It was brilliant. Then a new neighbour moved into number 2 and decided that he alone wanted no ball games in the road and managed to get a sign erected opposite his house on the grass saying no ball games Passive aggressive man. At no point did he complain to any of the parents of the children at numbers 1,3,4 and 5. Not once. And I missed my old friend at number 2 who moved.

I think as long as they're being careful and having fun. There's nothing wrong with it. We used to just move out of the road when we saw a car coming and then move into the road again to play. It was a fairly quiet road being a dead end though.

Sounds like the miserable git up here Tea. he stands in his window with his hands on his hips, banging on the window and pointing.

I want to go down and tell him to stop harassing the kids that are playing silent football with a sponge ball.

He hasn't once been up to speak to any of the parents. Coward.

yabu

We live in a cul de sac and love it.

Thankfully our neighbours are not miserable bastards.

YANBU

Both homes I've had since having ds have been in situations that have enabled playing out, and that's been super.

But the doing, doing, doing of a basketball would drive me fucking nuts.

How miserable - yabvu

kids play, have fun and may make a bit of noise - try to keep it in perspective!

btw i have realised that for the last hour or so i can hear the thump thump of a basketball from next door, they have a hoop on their wall out back (we are mid terrace) anyway with ds4 playing the xylophone in one room, the tv on in another and ds3 playing on the ds as well its just another background noise tbh and with 5 kids there is always some noise in my house, except for when they are all in bed!

It's all about respect.

Doink, doink, doinking a ball for hours on end is a PITA. Hitting cars with balls (or anything else for that matter) is an absolute no no.

Getting one's knickers in a twist over a bit of child-noise is also a no no however.

I do hope that the YABUers don't get in a piss when the neighbours have guests over who chatter and laugh a bit outdoors, when they're putting the ball-doinkers to bed...

Sponge balls are the way to go.

YANBU I lice in a cul de sac that's within 15 seconds of a playground, a green and a few mins away from a beach, a dam and a castle. But the little darlings instead stand next to cars, whacking a ball into them, scraping them with their 3 seated go karts & mini motorbikes, while screaming endlessly. And it's all kids who are 8+ years old.

I couldn't care less if they're in front of their tv's instead, I just want my car to not get damaged and my eardrums to get a break :o

Yes, culs-de-sac(s) would be the plural.

at "cul".

Sparkling at that man. I'm surprised you've managed to resist going and having a chat with him.

We live in one. Lots of playing out, my own dc included. But tbh (although not top of the list) it is a factor in our moving soon. I feel like I'm living in the middle of a playground.