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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Footballs

19 replies

Wonkydonkey44 · 05/05/2019 12:35

I am prepared to be told I am unreasonable but really am loosing it with neighbours kids.
They have a small garden and the kids all boys every day play football in the garden , not football keeping the ball on the ground but basically kicking it as hard as they can so it goes over the six foot fence and usually rebounds off our car ( which is parked on the drive ) then rolls and gets wedges underneath said car.
One of the boys all them under 10 then just wanders down our drive and gets it. No knock and ask just sneak in and get it.
It’s no good speaking to the parents he’s aggressive and she’s a nitemare . I’m just getting really sick of my relatively new car being hit numerous times a day.
The kids father has moved his car so it doesn’t get hit but we have no where to move ours.
I now want to go and get this ball and put it in the hall so one kid has to knock and I can ask them not to keep hitting my car.
It’s literally dawn till dusk football kicking

OP posts:

CircleofWillis · 05/05/2019 12:58

I would get it and keep it until someone comes to knock. Ask them to stop and if it happens again don't answer the door for a few hours. Rinse and repeat until they get the message.

SneakyGremlins · 05/05/2019 13:00

Ask once. After that, just don't give it back. Feign innocence if anyone asks if you have it.

Ghanagirl · 05/05/2019 13:14

So they can’t play football in their own garden?

Hylobates · 05/05/2019 13:42

Oh don't be so ridiculous Ghanagirl. Of course they can play football in their own garden if they do it considerately and I suspect you'd be a lot less pearl-clutchy if it was your own car being hit.

MereDintofPandiculation · 05/05/2019 14:08

Ghanagirl Yes of course they can play football in their own garden. What they can't do is play in someone else's garden.

Bunnybigears · 05/05/2019 14:11

I wouldn't be bothered about them just coming to get the ball, I would far rather that than them knocking everytime, and it sounds like it is your front garden not back so not really invading your privacy. With regards the hitting of the car I would just go and speak to their parents about that.

IsYourGoogleBroken · 05/05/2019 14:14

This is an accessible drive, not back garden? This wouldn't bother me. A football isn't going to damage a car, it might set the alarm off repeatedly. Frankly Id rather they came and got it rather than ringing my door bell every two minutes asking for it. Getting up and down to answer the door is infinitely more irritating,.

TigerCubScout · 05/05/2019 14:25

Get the ball and say you will only return it to a parent. Parent will get sick of coming to get it so hopefully will tell the kids to stop kicking it out of the garden.

BogglesGoggles · 05/05/2019 14:27

@Ghanagirl did you miss the part where they’re not playing in their own garden? That is pretty much the point of the thread.

Does it matter if it hits your car though? It’s not doing damage surely?

Ghanagirl · 05/05/2019 14:28

@Hylobates
I’m not the one being “pearlclutchy”
If the boys are under 10 they can’t go to the park by themselves.
So the have to play in the Garden.
My erect some sort of canopy of the car.

IsYourGoogleBroken · 05/05/2019 14:30

If the boys are under 10 they can’t go to the park by themselves.

Why not? that depends on area and proximity

Geminijes · 05/05/2019 14:33

@Ghanagirl

My erect some sort of canopy of the car.

Why should the Op. go to the expense and trouble of erecting a canopy over her car just because her neighbour's children are inconsiderate when playing football.

Don't you think the children should learn to play football in their garden without inconveniencing the neighbours?

ForalltheSaints · 05/05/2019 14:37

Playing in the garden is reasonable. Not knocking and even making an effort not to kick it in the garden is unreasonable. In fact learning not to kick it in the neighbour's garden is learning a bit of skill.

Ghanagirl · 05/05/2019 14:38

@Geminijes
It’s not always possible to get the ball exactly where you want it even as adult professional.
I wouldn’t let my under 10 year old go to the park by himself maybe their parents won’t let them.

Fazackerley · 05/05/2019 14:40

Its perfectly possible to play footie without constantly kicking over the fence. It would really piss me off OP

Ghanagirl · 05/05/2019 14:47

When I was child free boy next door frequently knocked his ball over into our garden I told my neighbor to just let him come and retrieve it as I worked shifts
So could be asleep.
Fast forward to me having kids same neighbor kicks a stink up when DS incredibly infrequently ( because we installed and paid for higher fence with trellis) kicks over to her garden she rarely spontaneously returns it even if she’s in garden so he has go and ask and the last time she denied all knowledge even though I could see from my bedroom and didn’t answer the door.
I went around and sheepish said he couldn’t find it.
Some people are not capable of give and take.

ForalltheSaints · 05/05/2019 15:34

Ghanagirl you must be a Man U supporter then! Agree with you apart the park perhaps not being available.

BrokenWing · 05/05/2019 15:48

Ghanagirl, I had no problem with returning balls, and when ds was little I also tried to make sure he kept it in the garden as much as possible. I would not have let him play where cars might get hit.

The ball regularly hitting the OPs car is a different problem.

StoneofDestiny · 05/05/2019 16:37

The parents need to tell the kids to play without lobbing a ball over the fence and teach them to respect your space and property. I'd be very annoyed if my car got hit by a ball regularly. How any parent can permit their kids to be a nuisance to others is beyond me.

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