Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To have told a kid off for playing knock door run?

76 replies

FuryFowler · 21/08/2015 16:30

I know it's the holidays, and that the kids are bored! But it's the 2nd time they've done it today. I let it slide the 1st time, but the 2nd time, I happened to be in the hall way and I could hear them outside the door fighting over who should knock!

So I waited for him to knock and flung the door open :)..... Safe to say he looked pretty shocked! And nearly slipped over!

So I told him off and that I had two young children and a dog and didn't want to have to drop everything to open the door, and that I didn't want him breaking his leg on my property by running away and slipping. And that if he did it again I'd go tell his parents!

Am I mean?! I think I was a bit too shouty! (It's the teacher in me :/)

OP posts:
arkestra · 21/08/2015 21:20

YANBU - if they are rubbish enough to get caught they deserve everything they get Grin

Iliveinalighthousewiththeghost · 21/08/2015 21:22

Lurked. You don't have to be disabled to be vulnerable. What about someone who suffers from anxiety. They could find such behaviour very intimidating. Have you ever thought of that.
And your DD getting a telling off is everything to do with you. You're her mother and you should be instilling in her that knocking on poeples doors no matter ifb they're able bodied or not. Is no way to behave.
Like it or not the way you are letting her do this. Is a form of anti social behaviour. It's not your dd's fault of course it's not. If she is not told it is wrong she will think it is okay, but please do not underestimate how scary and threatening it can be.

Iliveinalighthousewiththeghost · 21/08/2015 21:23

Thanks Fury

springbabydays · 21/08/2015 21:40

I will never forget the strip that some bloke tore off me when I got caught playing knock down ginger.

Never played it again. Whoever said upthread about it being something to get out of our system has it right I think.

Teladi · 21/08/2015 21:47

It was called Chickanelly when I was wee. It's a right stupid game that one, I don't know why kids play it... I remember playing it once or twice but then think I realised it wasn't a fantastic idea.

DontHaveAUsername · 21/08/2015 21:55

Seems perfectly reasonable to me.

Lurkedforever1 · 21/08/2015 22:04

ilive yes, I've thought about anxiety more than most thanks. And understand a lot more than I like on feeling vulnerable. So I'll pass on the ott scary and intimidating lecture thanks.
Kids play knock a door run, always have, and always will. At least with my open way of discussing it with dd I get to impose some sense on it. I'm not going to tell her not to, anymore than at 16 I'll tell her never to touch alcohol, or at 5 I told her toilet humour wasn't funny. Sense is all well and good but I'm not a hypocrite and understand that my dd and her friends will do the same daft shit me and mine did. I get why a kid finds childish stuff fun. So while I might tell her she shouldn't, I won't tell her she mustn't. Most kids do stuff they shouldn't, but unlike some parents I actually know about it, rather than sitting about thinking my little angel child who would never do such things. Neither do I wish for your insight into what you think I should be instilling in her. I'll parent my way thanks.
And get a grip with the anti social behavior, it's knock a door run ffs.

Puffinella · 21/08/2015 22:13

I agree with lighthouse, Lurked. I had a run of kids knocking on my door a number of years ago. I had just been made redundant, had crippling anxiety, and lived alone. It was terrifying. The door knocking went on for about 3 months, not every night, but a couple of times a week. It got to the point where I was hiding upstairs with all the lights off every evening (this was mid-winter, so from 5pm onwards I just lay in bed).

I'm not sure why anyone would think it was ok to let their DC do this to anyone. If i found out that DS was doing something like this, he'd be kept indoors until he showed a bit of sense and concern for others, and I would spell out to him exactly why he wasn't to do it to anyone.

Iliveinalighthousewiththeghost · 21/08/2015 22:19

Yes it is just a knock on the door to you but someone who suffers from severe anxiety, could be thinking okay. It's kids playing knock and run now but what's next bricks through my window. Would you say ffs. It's only a brick.. You do remember the Fiona Pilkington and Frankie Hardwick case don't you. A mother who killed herself and her daughter by setting fire to her car due to anti social behaviour. She must have been it that much torment. That she burned herself and her daughter to death, so one can only imagine the emotional terror this poor women must have been feeling.
I am in no way comparing that to your DD playing knock and run, but things can escalate., and it is classed as a form of anti social behaviour..

Deadsouls · 21/08/2015 22:25

No YANBU, I remember playing that game when I was little', and I got told off, it's all part of the game

Ilikedmyoldusernamebetter · 21/08/2015 22:25

Shock :o Compos

As SirC and vvviola and others have said its part of the game - there'd be no point doing it if there were no risk of getting caught and told off!

That said we never played it as kids (not comfortably part of the local community enough I think), my kids don't play it and neither do any others here _(forinn... and rural - you have to go up drives to knock/ ring bells and usually get spottend from windows before you get to the door, and in summer most people have their doors open til after kids are in bed anyway :o Not an encouraging environment despite the fact its the kind of place kids call for each other all day long...

That could be part of it too - I really don't answer the door, not because I'm a "My Precious Family Only" shut in but because we can see who's coming up the drive, its usually for the kids, so the kids answer the door and yell "can I go out to play with M?"... Knoc a door run just wouldn't work :o

I do remember being a little bit alarmed when I was a young student home alone in a new student house in the evening for the first time and somebody knocked on the door and when I opened it there was nobody there... had to consciously remind myself it must be kids, because it wasn't part of my childhood it wasn't quite "nothing"... so I see the alarmed and annoyed side too - now I have kids, other people's kids don't really annoy me, and now I'm old I tell other people's kids off if appropriate :o but I wasn't always in either group, so I see its fun and a right of passage for kids in some areas but also annoying and potentially alarming in certain specific circumstances.

Bellebella · 21/08/2015 22:34

Iliveinalighthouse Fiona killed herself and her daughter because of disability hate crime and numerous reports to police not because a child played knock down ginger. Kids have played it for years and will continue for years. No they probably shouldn't but try not to exaggerate that every child that plays it is a asbo case Hmm

kali110 · 21/08/2015 22:39

I completely agree ilive!
I was not allowed to play this game. If i were caught i would have been in big trouble with my parents! It would not have been acceptable.
People should think more about people with invisible disabilities and tell their kids not to do it!
I have hidden disabilities and very bad anxiety.
Getting to the doors some days is a huge effort in pain and anxiety!
I get nervous around school kids as some are not nice by me.
I get nervous whenever the doorbell rings, i don't answer if i don't know who it is.
Having domeone ring the bell a few times puts me on edge for hours.
I would never tell my kids it was acceptable they would be in huge trouble, especially as you cannot tell what person has disabilities.
I look young and healthy.
Unfortunately its far from the truth.

AwfulBeryl · 21/08/2015 22:40

YWNBU, its part of the territory, if you get caught you expect a bollocking.
I used to do it, one of my mates got caught and we pissed our selves round the corner while a grown up told him off.

That said I can understand how horribly it would effect someone with anxiety, I am ok at the moment but I do have periods where my anxiety levels are through the roof, if I was going through a rough patch I don't think I would be able to just brush it off.

Lurkedforever1 · 21/08/2015 22:43

puffin so tell me, which kid is knocking on the same house several times a week, mine who tells me every detail, or one whose parents aren't aware they do it?
ilive again, I don't need you to ramble on about anxiety thanks. And fwiw, your inane mention of bricks through windows and knock a door run escalating just come across as ridiculous, not a convincing argument to follow your advice.
I also think bringing up a tragic case to try and justify your opinion is a bit sick. Either you're implying my dd is on that track, which would be fucking stupid. Or you're irrelevantly referencing a tragedy to try and make me agree with you, which I think is highly disrespectful to those involved in it.
Its been played for generations, and regardless of either your opinion or mine will continue to be played, so again, get a grip.

cowssheephens · 21/08/2015 22:46

Oh Combos I'm so tempted to head down the village and try your prank.

Iliveinalighthousewiththeghost · 21/08/2015 22:48

I didn't say that Bella. But
If Lurked thinks it's fine for her daughter to play knock and run at a young age, which I will keep saying it can be intimidating for some. What will she be fine with when she is 15.
I think part of society's problems is that parents have some sort of aversion to disciplining their little darlings. It really does not harm to instill respect and compassion for others.

ComposHatComesBack · 21/08/2015 22:49

haha compo where did you grow up?!

English West Midlands. My mum told me how to do it with ropes. She still wanders past terraced houses and thinks 'if only I had a bit of rope'.

SideOrderofChips · 21/08/2015 22:51

Where I live it's counted as anti social behavior and if reported to housing the parents can get a warning.

Iliveinalighthousewiththeghost · 21/08/2015 22:54

There is no such thing as rambling on where anxiety is concerned. It's very very crippling and terrifying. Trust me i speak from experience and no I did not say your DD was on that track at all. Please do not put words into my mouth or rather on to my post that I did not say.

Lurkedforever1 · 21/08/2015 23:25

ilive you rather patronisingly asked if I'd thought about anxiety. I told you I'd thought about it a lot. You then proceeded to lecture me on it again, thus justifying my 'rambling on' comment. As you are doing yet again. And I will call it rambling if I choose, harping on about it does nothing to help anyone, and you aren't the spokesperson for all sufferers to decide what words can be used in conjunction with it. Again I don't need you to ramble on about anxiety, nor do I need to trust in your personal experience to gain either knowledge or experience about anxiety, or the morals of knocking on doors.

Hoik your pants right up to third degree chaff burn judging my parenting and what you think my dd will be like at 15. You're confusing me with someone who seeks your approval. I don't make parenting decisions based on your thoughts thank fuck funnily enough.

As for your mention of a suicide case, like I said, either a ludicrous accusation about my dd or a disrespectful way of trying to prove a point. Perhaps you can expand on what the relevance was if its not either of those.

pigsDOfly · 21/08/2015 23:26

I can only assume that the stupid people who used to regularly knock on my front door/ring my door bell at around midmight/1am where I used to live - door was directly on the street - had never been told off for doing it as children because they were still doing it as university students - university town.

I'm a pretty confident person and don't suffer from anxiety, but even so it's not funny at that time of night when you're a woman living alone.

Iliveinalighthousewiththeghost · 21/08/2015 23:32

And I am not seeking your approval Lurked to feel what I feel, and nor am I offering any apologies for thinking something is wrong . This is a public world wide open forum and opinions and morals will differ. So I will be adult enough to say. I am more than prepared to agree to disagree.

Samcro · 21/08/2015 23:37

we used to get this a lot, we live in a disabled access HA property, \because of this it had a doorbell intercom. so the little cherubs thought it was such fun to target my house and the other one thats the same.
just what a disabled person needs.
yep all kids do it, but they need telling that some houses are out of bounds.
(I include 99% of houses in this.....so just leaves thier own)

dilbert19912 · 21/08/2015 23:42

There is a thing om YouTube called knock a food don't run from a tv show called balls of steel, that is genuinely hilarious.