Groups of kids playing with Basketball net outside my house?

[WaxOnFeckOff]

More of a WIBU.

I know kids need to get fresh air and excercise, but surely the point of schools closing was so that they could stay socialising in family groups rather than all meeting up and playing in the street? which is part 1.

Part 2 is that one neighbour opposite me has put a basketball net out on the pavement so the kids from all the houses are coming out to play on it. They did this last summer and to be honest it was a pain in the arse but I didn't say anything as kids gotta play and they weren't doing any harm. There are also basketball nets in the playground about 100m away with no roads to cross. Now that I and half the street will be working from home, the constant bouncing is going to do my (and I'm sure others) head in.

WIBU to ask them if they can put the net in their back garden rather than out on the pavement?

I'm feeling like I am being a total grumpy arse btw so prefectly prepared to be told I'm unreasonable re the noise but maybe not so much on the social distancing?

Hmmm. I think YABU, sort of. A basketball set bought for the street is a nice idea (although the noise would drive me mad too) but asking your neighbour to put it in her back garden and effectively babysit and look after children (for free) where their parents can’t see them would be hugely irresponsible and would raise a few eyebrows in any other circumstance.

If neighbour wants to offer basketball then she should be offering it in her garden, where it only affects her, not on the public road where it affects her neighbours. YANBU.

But they shouldn't all be playing together anyway? Plus she doesn't have to have them in her garden?

I am also taking age 10 up at youngest. I didn't overly supervise DSs friends/neighbours playing in the back when mine were that age but if they were younger and I wasn't able to supervise I just wouldn't let them be in the back.

It's all gone quiet now. Just more bothered about trying to work next week if it goes on half the day.

Plus she doesn't have to have them in her garden?

But you asked whether it WBU to ask her to put the net in her back garden? (I assumed you meant so the kids would play there instead or did you mean so it would be removed from the street and they wouldn’t be able to play with it)?

I meant that she can put it in the garden for her DC to play with since that's who it is intended for and if they (as in it's just the Mum here to decide) want others to play with it then they can allow or not allow as they wish? Owners DC are teen/almost teen. Other kids in street are mostly younger.

as in it's just the Mum here to decide)

Should be it's not just the Mum here to decide.

I meant that she can put it in the garden for her DC to play with since that's who it is intended for

But that’s not the intention if she has done this for two years in a row now and doesn’t complain or tell kids that aren’t hers to not use it in the street because it’s for her own kids only.

Btw, if it were me, I would ask the same question and would think I am NBU as well, but your posts aren’t making sense. I should point out that I am very ill and have been misunderstanding a few things lately so it might be on my part.

Again, it's not just a "her" situation. Why do people always assume that it's the mothers responsibility here?

They bought it for their DC, It was originally on the drive in front of their window, presume they got fed up play being stopped when car came home or hitting it off the windows so DC dragged it onto the street. For a while it would be brought out and put back but clearly they got fed up and it sat out for the latter half of the year. High winds blew it over onto the road, no surprise as pavement slopes down to road. It got picked up and put back onto the drive.

Now that DC are off school and it's not raining for a change, one of their DC dragged it back down to the pavement today.

So, I really have no idea of what the intention was re who was allowed to play on it.

Sorry to hear you are unwell, I've just had Covid so maybe not making sense and extra grumpy :) Hope you feel better soon.

They shouldn't be mixing.

How can people not 'get' this?

How can people not 'get' this?

I'm hoping that's why it's now gone quiet.

If it was one child playing by themselves, I'd say YAB a little U. But groups, absolutely not.

Mine have played cricket in the garden tonight. I'm sure it was loud for our neighbours and they probably could have stayed inside, but it was the safest way to let them burn themselves out. It's not difficult to enforce the rules; mine are 14 and 9 and understand how vital the social distancing is; their parents need to step it up and take control.

Im really not getting why kids are playing out together. They wer olaying in the park behind our house earlier. Do parents not care if their kids get ill?

I was thinking about noise today during my walk, now that everyone will have to stay at home and lots of people live in terraces, semis and flats noise is going to be an issue, maybe we need to have quiet hours in place like they used to have ( may still) in Germany. If everyone knew that between the hours of 13:00 and 15:00 there would be no loud music, no lawn mowers and no screeching children bouncing on a trampoline or boucing a basketball etc they would be able to cope a bit better. It would help ease any tensions that will build between neighbours during this time. Same at night no loud music or any othe rnoise including washing machines between 22:00 and 07:00

Thank you @WaxOnFeckOff, I probably shouldn’t be posting as I’m saying stupid things but it’s the only thing keeping me from utter boredom at the moment 😬

Yanbu. They and parents being stupid. The longer they group together like this the faster all the people will get infected. Just because the teens will be fine doesn't mean the people they come into contact will.

Stay in. Poke heads out of windows for goodness sake!!! Makes me mad!

Re the cricket in the garden, I wouldn't worry about that, same as i don't worry about next doors kids being out on the trampoline as there is only so long that a small number of Dc can continue the same activity for before they get tired/bored and do something else for a while.

The problem is when it becomes something that is on the street that different groups of DC are using at different times. So, owners DC might play for an hour or so and do something else and may come back a few hours later and do another hour or so, still a wee bit annoying but no great shakes. If other DC go play on it when they aren't, there could be constantly kids playing on it all day and no breaks.