To think you don't summon adults like a lost pet?

[Onceihadaname]

So, I've got the back door open and the washing out the back. I am in the living room on the couch getting some work done & looking after my dc...
Neighbour's kid must have booted over the ball because he has started hollering my name towards my back door. He has done it a couple of times in the past and tbh I have ignored it every time because I thought it was really rude and I didn't want to make him think I would come running if he called. Eventually I will check on the laundry and will chuck the ball over then.
Except this time the mum has joined him hollering my name! Not asking if I was about, not an hello, just repeatedly shouting out "Ethel"*.

Now I happen to know that while she has 2 under 5 to look after that she also has her parents round. Both parents can drive and have no mobility issues and both say hello to me when they see me so there is absolutely no way that 1 adult of the 3 functioning ones available couldn't spare the 30secs to pop down the drive and knock on my front door.

Is this a thing now???? It has absolutely wound me up and I am choosing to ignore them or I'll end up in a row. Please tell me this is not normal and AIBU to think if they can't be bothered to come round they can flipping well wait

Diagrams added as I know how essential they are!

*not actually my name!

How annoying. I'd have quietly closed the back door and ignored until they came round properly. You could have been in the bath or had headphones on.

We are very friendly and informal where I live. But when a ball accident happens, it's always "knocking on the door, say hello politely, explain the situation."
Or we simply throw the ball back if we are near.

We (DH and I and our nice NDN) whatsapp or phone each other if we can't get attention over the fence. Or knock on each other's doors. But then we usually go with 'hello' or 'hi' rather than 'NDN NDN NDN NDN NDN' when trying to get attention over the fence.

How very rude. Knocking on a door is one thing but yelling your name REPEATEDLY? Nope. Definitely bad mannered.

What if you were on the phone? An unanswered door knock or two tells the knocker you aren't answering and they should come back at another time. Yelling over and over again is very different and intrudes on you, disturbing your phone call.
What if you were on the bathroom? Are you meant to screech back through your house for all to hear, "I'M ON THE BOG!" To let them know you've heard and you'll get back to them?

When you do see them, if they mention it, say something like, "Oh really? I never heard the doorbell?!" Or "Oh I wondered what all the yelling was. I thought you were calling a dog back or something"

They don't seem too concerned for my health as no-one has bothered to come round to the front door yet.
I guess they are suddenly content to wait till I go out back and chuck it over, unless jessica is right and an ambulance is currently hurtling on their way to me.
Seriously though, i have no concerns with facing them if they do come to the door. Just because the door was open (into a private back garden) doesn't mean that I was available to be summoned. As people have said I could have been on the phone, at the front door greeting someone, in the middle of something with the kids. As it happens I was working from home, so not languishing bored ... hell, i could have been having a massive poo at the time so you kinda take a risk shouting for a neighbour like that. They could have risked a fright of a sight if we rushed out in case the house was on fire!

i'm on the bog
😂😂😂
Should have def shouted this back!

The issue is that the neighbours are making their mistake (in kicking the ball over the fence) into a problem for the OP and impinging on her day.

Nah, for me the issue wasnt the ball coming over (It happens), it was the rude way they chose to react to the ball coming over.

I'm the sort of jerk who would tell a grown adult they were being very rude if pissed off enough