To be a bit put out by this conversation with neighbouring kids

[user1485342611]

I live beside a big green. During the Summer months there are kids playing out there until 9 - 9.30 at night. Fair enough. It's the Summer holidays.

However there's a small group of kids from about three families who have been out there until 11 o'clock every night since the schools broke up (I'm in Ireland). They're not just playing, they're screaming and shouting at the tops of their voices. Some of the kids look about 8 and a couple look about 12. I went out one evening last week at 10 pm and asked them if they could keep the noise down a bit and the younger ones apologised and I heard them say as I was leaving that I'd been nice the way I asked them.

However, the noise has continued every night. Last night they had left the Green and were out on the footpath really screaming and being noisy. I went out and again asked them calmly if they could keep the noise down as it was 10 o'clock. The older boy who was with them told me it was a 'public space' and they weren't doing anything wrong. I then asked them where they lived so that I could talk to their parents and I was told by several of the boys that they weren't going to tell me where they lived because it was 'stranger danger'. I said fine, but could they ask their parents to come out and talk to me then. Of course they just said yeah and ran off and that was that.

But how do you deal with a situation like that? I can't talk reasonable to the children because they just tell me it's a public space. I can't talk to the parents because I don't know where they live and the 'stranger danger' thing is being quoted to cover that.

They had it all off quite slickly so I imagine they have used the same line on other neighbours who've confronted them.

I'm just feeling annoyed today, and AIBU to be also upset about what turned into a confrontation when I was just asking them to keep the noise down a bit.

Call the police, I'm sure a visit from the PoPo will scare them into being more considerate! (they seem young and cocky, so it might do the trick)

Ask around - someone will know who they belong to.

Call the Guards. They might call out but it is unlikely. I think 11pm is the cutime off for noise in a residential area.
The comment fromthe older ones about a public place sounds like a parent's response when they said they told the parents that you said to quieten down.

You don't live in Ireland do you Foo?

User, their Mammies and Daddies have fed them the line to use. The only thing you can do is keep asking nicely, but then you leave yourself open to becoming a target.

I think you're handling it very well. It's a pain but just continue to go our every night and ask them nicely to be quiet.
They'll probably get fed up and go somewhere else after a few nights.
If you have a community guard they might come and have a chat with them. Ours are good for things like that.

Yes, the whole public space thing sounded like it was some line he'd heard from his parents. I don't want to turn the whole thing into a game where they start deliberately trying to get a rise out of me, or start hassling me when I'm going about my business during the day.

I might ask the management agents if they have a contact on our neighbourhood watch association they could give me. The Neighbourhood Watch would have some relationship with the local guards and might be able to get a community guard to have a word with the kids and their parents.