How to handle bonkers request from neighbour

[DaphneMoonsSeattle]

We live on a small estate (22 houses). One of my neighbours knocked on my door yesterday to ask if I could please stop my DC riding their scooters past her house.

Today my DD came in to tell me that the neighbour had now asked her not to ride on the footpath outside her house. I went outside. She asked me why my DC ride on the footpath right outside her house. I told her; it's a footpath. They're allowed on the footpath. I have asked DD to avoid being right outside her house but my DS is autistic. I've told her that. He doesn't understand "don't ride your scooter on this particular bit of the footpath".

But, aibu to think that what she's asked is unreasonable? You can't ask people to not use a footpath! They are not on her property, fair enough she can absolutely ask people not to be on her property, but she can't control the footpath. She's complained that they ride their scooters near her car. Her car is parked right beside the footpath. She's in a corner house so she probably does have more footpath outside her house than most. But that's not really anybody's fault. She's really taking it personally. 'They're outside MY house'. They're on the footpath, they're not peeking in her windows!

How many hours per day?

Your child isn't anything wrong; he's outside on a pavement getting exercise.

Tell her to leave him alone.

😁😁🤣🤣🤣

The diagram isn't great, both neighbours house and mine are fairly central. So it's hard to avoid going past her house. I did feel that the supervision was adequate (but no, not constant) but I have been out with them at all times since this kicked off yesterday.

The pavement outside your unhinged nieghbours' house is a public right of way and they have no right to insist your children not to ride their scooters past their house.

If they ( nieghbour)continues to cause bother, they can be reported to the loxal council for Anti Social behaviour. Remember to log dates and times you or your kids have run ins with them just in case then you are prepared.

Your child/ children have every right to play out without harrassment from a nieghbour.

I live in a terraced street and the pavement is right outside the front door, so you open the door and you're on the pavement and the kids going up and down constantly for an hour at a time is quite loud, the pavement is those square slabs so it more like a loud rattle, and kind of could feel the vibrations from the slabs in the flooring. It bothers me a lot but I have autism and possibly adhd myself and I just can't focus properly on anything when that noise is happening and often for hours at a time so I spend a lot of time with noise cancelling headphones on, which causes its own problems as I can't hear things inside my home that I need to but it's preferable to approaching the parents and having them hate me or like some of the OPs have suggested, start sending their kids to chalk on the pavement outside my house or encourage them to make even more noise just

I get that it's kids playing and they're causing no harm which is the exact reason I would never say anything but sometimes it's not case of someone just being a grumpy child hating miserable cunt and not everybody can "choose" to live in a detached home in a rural location.

I meant local council, my fingers are too fat for the samsung keyboard!

How many hours? Could be as many as three on a nice summery day. That's 3 hours total time, not at all once.

Ignore her. It's not your problem if she WFH. If she doesn't want to hear kids playing out she can go into work.

How old are your children?

have you ever had any interaction with this neighbour before now?

Agree with this too. The noise is actually annoying as shit after a while..

That’s quite a lot.

DC are 9 and 6. Have not had many interactions with most of the neighbours, we are here less than a year.

A couple of things spring to mind. How old are you children? Are they electric or normal scooters? Do they have those hard, really noisy wheels? Do your kids shout to each other as they are scooting past your neighbours? I know if you live on an estate, you should expect some neighbour noise. But there is reasonable kids playing noise and there is unreasonable kids playing noise...

If they're not doing this, you need to encourage it immediately.

If your immediate neighbour had a dog that barked for the same amount of time each day as your children ride their noisy scooters outside the other neighbours house how would you feel. It would probably start to get inside your head and cause you as much stress as the noise of the scooters is causing this other lady. Other people's noise is far more annoying than the noise you make yourself. Your children are nothing to do with anyone else and their playing should not cause annoyance to other people. If your children slip and scratch her car will you accept the damage and pay for it or will you expect her to put up with the noise and pay for the damage.

3 hours of having to listen to your kids scooters against concrete, that would drive me nuts. My neighbour's kids do it for 10 mins and it is annoying. It is very loud to the point I can't use my front room if I want to hear Zoom calls. Perhaps stop being so anti social and lazy and take your kids to a park.

3 hours a day is too much. Take them to the park or something. The noise is louder than you think, and consideration goes both ways.

I’m generally v tolerant and wouldn’t say anything anyway but 3 hours is a LOT. If she wfh or is retired and there’s constant noise of kids scootering up and down it could drive you insane. I don’t think a polite request necessarily paints her as crazy self absorbed neighbour.

I have some sympathy for the neighbour. Sound affects some people a lot more than others and once they start noticing some noise it's hard to ignore. She feels it's being inflicted on her and she's powerless. Not necessarily BU. Compromise is the way forward. Maybe if she knew the times your dch would be out there it would help?

3 hours is a lot, even worse if they are laughing, shouting at each other, squealing. That would drive me nuts. Is there anywhere else they can play.

They're normal scooters. Yes, I agree it's probably annoying for her. I don't think she's being unreasonable for being annoyed. I do think she's unreasonable to expect my DC to not (ever) be on the bit of footpath that happens to be outside her house.

In our previous house there were barking dogs, honking cars, kids ringing the doorbell and running away. These things are annoying. Lots of things are annoying. You can't expect everyone else to tiptoe around what you find annoying though.

Our old neighbours used to let their kids go up and down outside our house for hours on noisy ride ons but it is what it is ... I made sure I bought a house in a corner when we moved to avoid the same situation.
She can't stop them scooting past her house wether she likes it or not .
Living on an estate comes with these issues . 🤷‍♀️

Just say no. Only bad things will come from indulging this sort of nonsense. People do not own bits of public footpath and road that happen to be situated outside their homes.

Take your kids to a local park to burn off some energy and try to be a considerate neighbour.

No, she doesn't have right of way over a common pathway. But your kids sound really annoying. Three hours of this? Nope. I'd flip too.