Child using my front garden as a shortcut

[hairyheadphones]

Every single day two children (brother and sister 4 and 2) use my front garden as a shortcut.

I live on a corner house and they walk through to get to there road, their mum walks round the normal way.
I don’t like it as they walk right past my windows which feels like an invasion of privacy, they wind up the dog and it’s dangerous. One entrance is a driveway and there are high hedges all around the front garden, if the children are in the front garden I won’t see them when reversing my car.

I asked the mum to tell them to stop as it’s dangerous but they haven’t. AIBU to expect someone not to allow their children to do this?

@TheJoxter I think those vile things are cruel, do we know how many birds, squirrels, owls, bats etc are effected by this high pitched noise and how far it travels?
I’ve listened to one (anti teenage device) and I can hear it clearly, it’s awful 😫 it’s like a tv left on standby.

I love Scottish people, but I fear the no smacking ban will lead to children getting criminal records, parents taken to court leading to dissentigration of the family unit. I hope I'm prooved wrong.

I dont smack my kids they are polite nice kids rule followers. Tho they do have their moments but dont they all.
Its not hard to parent kids without resorting to violence!

IncrediblySadToo I always back into my drive and drive out forwards. If an adult is in my drive when I back in I will see them but I could easily miss seeing 2 small children.

I know how you feel, but were talking about our own Children, brought up to respect and love others, brought up with boundary's and compassion. You obviously have good parenting skills, poor parenting skills often go unnoticed until it is too late. You wouldn't want your DCs to be injured by another child , where the parents are doing it all wrong.? The type of discipline doesn't matter, what matters is that it is fair, proportionate, and not exscessive. I have heard of children being left on the naughty step for hours because they did not apologize, that can lead to aggressive behaviour. An aggressive dog is not about the breed, it is about the owner. Perhaps people would learn more if they visited the young offenders institute.

I think putting a gate on would do the trick.

I wouldn't be beyond opening your window/door and telling them to f*ck op, perhaps their mother won't wanted them copying your language and stop them...

Booby traps!
Bury an airhorn so it goes off when trodden on
Sprinkler
Rake in the classic clown style
Water pistol
Or became a crazy screaming cat lady. Have a ball!!!

Some estates are against putting fences up when its open plan; besides, they might like it open, why then should she be the one to pay for an expensive fence cand gate to be put up. How about a sign that says "Keep off the grass"? Or find out the mums name and have the sign say "Mrs X, please keep your children off the grass" That should put the cat amongst the pigeons

But honestly, they’re 2&4 is it really a big deal if they walk across your grass?

It gets OP's dog over-excited.

And what if one of them slips and hurts themselves? Or ruins a new coat? Do you think this useless mother isn't going to complain about something like that?

AND - why should any child be allowed to do just as they like, whenever they like, even if it inconveniences someone else? Do you not think that this will eventually breed entitlement and lack of respect for other people's property?

Nobody is obliged to provide a play area for random two year old’s. Especially in their actual garden. It’s quite a prevalent attitude, though, unfortunately.
“What’s the harm, they’re only kids?” So what? They’re other people’s kids, op has no obligation to them whatsoever, whether to provide entertainment for them or to keep them safe on her own property.

I'd let the dog out to scare them shirtless provided he won't actually harm them.

This drives me mad!! I'm a childminder and take several children to school. The paths we walk along at6e at least 5 feet wide- yet they walk as far left as possible, onto people's driveways ! I'm forever telling them to respect other people's property and walk on the path, but it's like some magnetic force that pulls them in....It's rude and disrespectful!

A nice deep pit covered in brushwood should do it,not your fault if they walk through your garden while you are making a pond.

I find that really rude to cut across someone's garden!
If that was my DS I'd be asking him what he thinks he's doing 😂

We live on the edge of a rural village and used to have random people coming into our drive and turning their car or van around and driving all over the grass in the process. Neighbours visitors regularly used our garden to turn around. We had stranded people from a wedding turn up one dark rainy night, a person who crashed his car outside, a man who's wheel fell off, a woman who got stuck in the snow and a policewoman and a lost sheep (long story) and a man who had broken down late at night. People would wander up the drive to ask for directions and one morning we found a couple of cyclists outside having a breather. Finally we installed electric gates and have been enjoying the peace ever since!

Did u put the trelis up?

YABU for not providing a diagram as I can’t imagine the layout but YANBU for expecting parents to not let their little darlings walk over someone’s property

You'd have found a diagram on page two if you'd bothered to read the full thread..

@z0fl0ra

Diagram is there you must have missed it

loving the suggestions.
seriously though, go outside and say in a non friendly voice, 'this is my garden and you are not to walk through it.'
Block the path and say ' turn round and go back to where you came in. Do not walk through my garden again'

repeat several days running. Get firmer and crosser. After a couple of times the mum should stop letting them through. If she doesn't teall her very clearly, she is not to let them through and that she has to do something, hold their hands, tell them off, she has to be firmer with them. if it was me, I wouldn't be able to help myself, I'd be adding a line about if she doesn't learn to make them listen to her now, imagine what they will be like as teens.

OK, you asked the mum, and she was useless.

So now you just have to firmly tell the kids off.

Be scarily annoyed with them: "I have told you two NOT to walk through my garden. You are NOT allowed to come through the hedge. You MUST walk on the road with your mum. Do you understand? If i see you in my garden again I will be VERY CROSS INDEED."

They're 2 and 4. You can be cross enough as a stranger that they will not enter your garden again.

X-post with steppe. Yes, you just need to turn them back EVERY TIME.

What will happen to feckless mum is that she will reach the part of the road where she expects the children to come out of your garden, and they will be back round the corner behind her. Hopefully this will give her a scare.

You then need to tell her off again - it is NOT SAFE, feckless mum!

Just another piling on to applaud your marvellous diagram.

All else failing, invite them in when they enter your garden. Mum will be shitting bricks when they don't appear round the corner.

You could claim as you couldn't see an adult you thought they were lost. I know you've spoken to mum before, but of course you weren't to know she was with them as you've told her they aren't to do it, so assumed that a toddler and their sibling were on their own.

Set up a bear trap in the garden. It's the only way they'll learn.