Kids scootering in the road making a racket

[HushingDusk]

They are from a small block of new build flats nearby (flats are visible from our upstairs windows, I’ve seen the kids go in and out). I get it’s annoying not to have a garden but they’re using the road and pavements instead, no adults in sight!

Aged about 10 to 5, a group of 6 or 7 children. The youngest was riding his scooter up and down the middle of the road for an hour, wearing nothing but boxers, being chased by an older girl on a bike! Then 2 boys fighting and hitting each other over the head with branches.

They hang around on the pavement right next to our garden wall, screeching, shouting and bickering all day.

Should I suck it up or send a letter to the flats asking them to keep a closer eye on their children and reduce the noise?

It’s a quiet, peaceful rural area apart from these kids treating the road and pavement like a park.

There’s a proper park less than 10 minutes walk away.

I was tempted to go out and speak to them (especially when they were fighting with branches!)

The only time I’ve seen adults around is in the mornings, they stand in the car park by the flats in their dressing gowns chatting and smoking.

WWYD?

The sort of parents who let their young kids play and fight in the street unsupervised are the sort that will give you a mouthful if you try to do anything about it. I would leave it OP.

@soreenqueen21
It is not okay for a 5 year old to play out unsupervised on a road with cars in their underwear. What sort of parents would think this is okay?
So op is a snob for having a problem with this? The kids parents sound delightful don’t they.
Your 6 year old plays out in the street, would you let her play out in nothing but her knickers? On a road unsupervised? I really hope not.

@Workinghardeveryday to be fair just look at the title of the thread though. The concern wasn't primarily for the welfare of the dc but for the 'racket' they are apparently making.

@soreenqueen21

I’m not trying to stop them playing, I just want them to play somewhere safe and keep the noise level down!

You're just another nimby. Oh sure, they should play, but somewhere you can't hear them

If you have young kids, you supervise them. That means that you spend hours outside watching them, or at the park, or whatever. That’s what parenting is. If you can’t be arsed to do it, then don’t have kids

Or we can parent how we decide and not you.

Of course, people can parent as they choose, within reason. But I’m sure you’re aware that there are certain expected standards of parenting, and I think most people could consider that 5 year olds playing on a road without an adult fall below those standards.

@Popcornbetty I agree, the title does come across quite snooty tbf.
I just think with what op has said about the kids actually hurting each other (if I was doing this as a child my mum would have taken me in straight away), then a child playing in a road of 5 years old (dressed or not dressed) is really really so bad!
I wouldn’t dream of letting any of my kids do that! I just think as mothers it’s instinct to protect your kids from harm. How are the parents of those kids doing that? I think it’s highly neglectful.
Kids need to play yes, kids make noise when they play of course they do. But that is different altogether to hearing kids fighting and hurting each other, it’s not playing at all. For instance if say your 10 year old came home from school and said another child had hit him over the head with a branch and it really hurt how would you feel? Angry? Sad your little one got hurt? You wouldn’t want that for them. But these parents are letting it happen because surly if op can hear all the trouble they can too?
The 5 year old playing in a road is actually neglectful I personally if I was op I would worry all day about that poor little boy being hurt

I voted YANBU on the noise and safety aspects - same happens in my street and there have been at least 3 very near misses since I moved in. One taxi driver got out of his car, visibly shaken, and told off the kids for running out into the road - he was told to eff off.

There's also property damage (car windows and letterboxes smashed by balls). Kids are being shouted at fairly frequently but nothing changes.

Huge park 7 minutes walk away.

Fair enough if parents don't want to supervise all day (or at all) but as is the case with parents on my estate, the burden is transferred to other neighbours to keep an eye out/stop the behaviour.

YABVU re: the snails though.

@Bagamoyo1 fantastic post, there seems to be a lot of shit parents commenting !!!

Yeah @Wondergirl100 why should parents take their kids to the park instead of letting them disturb the neighbours ?? It's this sort of selfish attitude that is wrong with the world.

Or they are perfectly happy with that choice? wait what? So an amazon driver has to slam on his brakes every time he goes down Smith Road because another parent is perfectly happy with their choice to let their very young child play in the road unsupervised. Okay.

@Workinghardeveryday op was more concerned about the noise i took from her op than the welfate of the dc which came secondary. It is without doubt that the childrens welfare should be the overriding factor here. It is a sad state of life but there are lots of parents that neglect their dc; i would have taken kinder to this thread if the op was generally concerned and looking to report to relevant services rather than complain to the flats about the 'racket' and their 'scooters.'

welfare*

@Popcornbetty fair point!

a few little kids playing on a sunny afternoon would be white noise to me

Same here. I’ve no issue with the sound of kids playing. My own aren’t silent in the garden nor are my neighbours.

But this is kids screeching, shouting, arguing, hitting each other with branches and wrestling noisily, while youngest ride scooters down the centre of a road. Plus chasing on bikes up and down the road, ball games in the road and no parents coming out to supervise or tell them to keep the volume down. There’s a big difference between the noise of kids playing and ear splitting, nerve jarring screaming and shouting.

op was more concerned about the noise i took from her op than the welfate of the dc which came secondary. It is without doubt that the childrens welfare should be the overriding factor here. It is a sad state of life but there are lots of parents that neglect their dc; i would have taken kinder to this thread if the op was generally concerned and looking to report to relevant services rather than complain to the flats about the 'racket' and their 'scooters.'

Where did I say I was less concerned about their welfare than the noise? You’ve made a strange assumption there. If they hadn’t been making such a racket I wouldn’t have looked out to see what was going on!

I won’t deny the noise is annoying (because hours of screeching and screaming sets most people’s teeth on edge) but I also care about the safety of kids left to play out on roads unsupervised. Especially little ones.

I can’t imagine letting mine ride their scooters down the centre of a road while I stayed inside! Or bash each other with branches. I agree with previous posters saying it’s neglectful to let a 5 year old scooter down a road towards a junction with no supervision (and no helmet, knee pads or even clothes to protect him if he fell off!)

I also feel sorry for the drivers of cars, vans and other vehicles that use this road and junction. It’s terrifying when you’re driving and have to do an emergency stop to avoid hitting a child careering towards you. And the people who park on that road risk damage to their cars.

why should parents take their kids to the park instead of letting them disturb the neighbours??

To keep the kids safe? So they can enjoy the cycle paths, skate park, playground equipment and ball games without annoying all the people trying to enjoy their gardens?

Are they out there all day? Do they go indoors for food etc? If they are abandoned for hours on end and left in the street without access to a drink, then it's a cause for concern and you can contact social services. Otherwise, you will have to live with the noise and let's hope no children get injured.

@Lilibet2022

The making a racket you can't really do much about but I share your concerns about the safety of them playing in the road.

She doesn't give a shit about their safety just the fact they are making a racket

Your mum sounds delightful. Is she always cruel to animals I bet them kids would know better than that !

I just told my ten year old about this thread, he was absolutely gob smacked snd his jaw dropped at a 5 year old playing out unsupervised never mind in the road or not dressed!!!

@Bagamoyo1

I can see this thread is full of the usual “don’t judge” comments, with posters trying to be oh so cool and calm, trying to make OP feel like she’s being a nasty snob. But at the end of the day, there are a load of kids, some probably very young, playing unsupervised on a road. That’s shit parenting, no question. However “cool” you want to be, it’s still shit parenting. If you have young kids, you supervise them. That means that you spend hours outside watching them, or at the park, or whatever. That’s what parenting is. If you can’t be arsed to do it, then don’t have kids.

Quite agree.

You sound like a right misery!
It's a lovely evening where I am and I can hear loads of kids playing outside and I like it.