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?

I think if I saw a bunch of kids that looked to be in danger I wouldn't first come on to mumsnet, and to bitch about their noise at the same time. I also wouldn't let my mum throw snails at the poor vulnerable things who are being neglected by their parents.

So I don't believe OP gives a shit about their safety really and is maybe exaggerating because she hates their noise so much. I don't trust her intentions here at all.

With my assumption that the safety aspect is being exaggerated, it sounds like the kids are having a great time. Even the one in his pants, I'm sure he's not out there in his pants every day. I probably wouldn't let mine out in their pants but at the same time as a one off why does it matter

@Sillawithans bully for you ! Hopefully you'll get nightmare children moving in near you then you won't be so accommodating !!

@GorekyPark so you think it’s okay at 5 to play outside with no supervision on a road with cars every 10 minutes?
That is pretty shit parenting to me!

The title of your post suggests you're annoyed by the noise. You lead with the noise not with any concern. Then the weird and mean spirited snail chucking to shut them up.

Don't fein concern. It really doesn't wash

They weren’t on the paths or pavements much. Mostly they were playing in the road. The smallest one was scootering down the middle of the road, through the t-junction, a few laps around this area then back up the middle of the road. Probably too young to worry about cars or realise how vulnerable he was. Isn’t that why they need adult supervision when little, to keep them safe and teach them you don’t scooter up the middle of the road?

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

I’m not sure as I’m at work most days (and guess they’re at school) but they’re usually out in the road after school for a few hours.

I can only see them from the upstairs windows or if I go outside, so I don’t monitor their coming and going. Weekends the noise goes on for a few hours at a time, then quietens down, then starts again, so it’s hard to tell if they’re going home or just playing further away.

@lollipoprainbow these children are hardly nightmare children.

*I work in housing and this is half my inbox every day.

Hopefully those saying they work in housing and essentially saying neighbours are just being petty have more empathy with their clients in real life.
My NDN is making our lives a living misery with weekday parties and abusive behaviour but thankfully the current housing manager. After yet another night of being kept awake on a weekday I've just walked home from an opticians appointment to have all the DCs and the DCs parents stand in the driveway literally staring me and my autistic son down the whole time it took us to walk back up the the street to my house just because I dared to call DS back with his nickname (which is similar to one of the DCs). Thankfully our housing manager appears to understand most of us don't complain at the first 'he breathed in my direction' and there's often a culmination of events beforehand.

Issue sorted (for now at least)

Last night it was 2 boys aged about 9 and 7 scootering up and down the road just before dusk, screeching and doing that thing where they wave their scooters over their heads then crash scooter against the road (no idea what that skater move is but it’s dangerous swinging a metal scooter like that!) I’ve seen teenagers do it but not little ones.

When a scooter nearly hit my car (and after much banging and yelling from the boys in the road) they saw me looking at them out of the upstairs window and started shouting ‘what?’

So I went outside (barefoot and in my PJs and dressing gown) and very politely asked the boys to keep the noise down as my DC are in bed trying to get to sleep.

And told them I was worried about them scootering in the middle of the road especially near the junction, explained drivers might not see them in time.

Both boys immediately said sorry. One said ‘we didn’t know you had a baby, we didn’t mean to wake him up’ 😂
(mine aren’t babies but I got the impression they’ve been told off before for waking babies as he looked very worried and jumped straight to that conclusion)!

I emphasised my worries about road safety and suggested they scoot in the culdasac nearby instead of the road and junction. Also pointed out the dangers of swinging scooters up in the air near parked cars or each other.

They agreed, I thanked them and they moved off to the culdasac. No more noise!

So to other posters in similar situations, I suggest a gentle, kindly chat with the actual kids. These 2 seemed clueless about any danger they were in and oblivious to the noise they were making. I didn’t expect an apology I though they’d argue!

Of course they may not be the same kids who were out before but the gentle chat about safety, noise and damage risk seemed to sink in, as did re-directing them to a safer area.

re-directing to a safer area
You mean, you pushed the issue on to someone else .

Your kids are probably wishing they could go and join them

You mean, you pushed the issue on to someone else

Hope not! The culdasac is within my earshot and I didn’t hear any further screeching or banging. I think the thought of waking babies hit home to them!

Your kids are probably wishing they could go and join them

Mine are too little to be scootering at dusk even supervised. They’re tucked up in bed by 7pm as they have to be up early for school and nursery.

They couldn’t see the boys as their rooms face the other way, just kept calling out asking what the noise was!

'The culdasac is within my earshot'

They are playing in a quiet culdesac? I thought it was in a dangerous place near a main road or something from the earlier comments?

My daughter plays in the street but there’s no way I’d let her walk 10 mins unaccompanied to a play park herself-huge difference between the 2 for me.

They are playing in a quiet culdesac? I thought it was in a dangerous place near a main road or something from the earlier comments?

They were playing in a road and T-junction (a quiet one but not without traffic and people speeding). I suggested they play in a nearby culdasac instead as it looked safer!