Neighbours young kids playing football in front of house.

[jimjam2313w]

The kids are young. Like 8 years or less. They aren't really playing football, just bouncing the ball around. I heard them screaming and shouting and looked at CCTV to see the ball bouncing off our two cars. One is my classic and fragile 1977 classic.

I go out to tell the kids not to bounce the balls off the cars and (to my almost surprise) I find that neighbour mum and visiting mum are sitting there watching this. I explain that I'm concerned about my old car being damaged because it is fragile. Visiting mum reassures me that the children are being watched and that "we don't want any damage to happen either".

Anyway, I keep the cctv on as we are watching our movie and the ball once again hits out car. I go outside and both parents are gone. So I tell the children they should not be hitting my car with the ball.

What more do I do? Sometimes the responses here surprise me so I am reluctant to say that I would like to warn the neighbour one more time then speak to the community police officer. Neighbours new friends seem to smoke weed ALL THE TIME and community police officer will obviously smell this right away if they come along. I don't want that to happen. I just don't want to have football marks on my cars OR the mirrors broken off my classic.

Sandgrown, ironic that car drivers are expecting children to 'respect the environment'

Pink, can we not disagree without personal attacks, I do not advocate damaging cars, I advocate giving some of the space back for other uses. Cars have done far more damage than a kids street football game ever could.

No car is a tricky one for people like me who are required to have a car to do their job.

We have exactly the same. Small area. Endless litter and bikes and trikes just left out overnight. Kids eating then just dropping packets and skipping off. Boils my piss. Lazy parenting

Kids being able to play is more important than a car.

Kids can play but they absolutely should not be damaging other people’s property. Or kicking a ball against it. That is bad parenting. They should be taught to respect other people’s property.

OP maybe you will have to stand out there a few times in front of your property when it happens. If they think you’re going to come out every they start kicking the ball outside your house instead of their own, they may stop doing it.

@Sigmama you obviously believe no-one should have a car, so could you explain how you believe people like carers, for example, can do their role as they need to visit people in their homes (and shock horror have to park on streets). Should they accept that children can damage their car?

Some people are deliberately being obtuse. Whether your car is parked on the road or drive the kids should know not to hit your car with it. Yanbu. People are bringing up their kids to be entitled brats. If the parents are so bothered about them being able to play, then take them to play in their garden, if they don't have a garden then actively parent and take them to a local play park (if its a housing estate) or to the nearest park.

I'd keep on at the parents, explain you have cctv and will bill them for any damage since you've told them not to do it several times already.

Road safety advice from a "bygone and very damaging age":

I'm sure your car has had loads of footballs bounced off it through the years and it's still fine.

Lol, if they can't play without repeatedly hitting cars they need to go to a park to play. I can't believe the entitlement some people have, it's perfectly normal to have cars parked in the road. No you cannot just damage it because of your need for play. Unreal.

What's with all this 'taking up road space' argument?

The road is an unsafe place for kids to play anyway, small children could easily be hit chasing a ball that's gone into the road.

Weird bunch this thread has attracted

O wonder if parents would feel the same way about letting their kids kick footballs at cars of they a new windscreen could cost a thousand Euros (actual bill we got a few years ago after a windscreen chip!)

Do you search for threads on Mumsnet that you can come and pontificate about? Or do you create posts and use a sock to come and argue about the climate?

Why wouldn't I think that your kids would be allowed to damage other peoples' property when you are so insistent the brats the OP is talking about are doing nothing wrong?

Have you any green areas in your estate? Ask the kids politely to move their game to it if there is.

It's not acceptable that the ball keeps hitting your car. Fragile though? If anything cars from that time are better built than many cars these days.

Kids playing outside - excellent
People smoking - better outside than inside

Balls hitting cars repeatedly - not on at all

Think you need to specifically go and speak to neighbours about your concerns.

What many people are saying though is that you cannot control what happens in a public space. If you keep something fragile and delicate in a public space you run the risk of it being damaged by others who also have the right to use the space.

Replace the car, the kids and the football with any object, person and activity and it still applies.

You cannot trust others to have respect for your property. You cannot control how others behave in a public space.
There is no point here criticising the parents or the children because OP has zero control over them. Repeatedly telling OP that the kids are bad, the parents are shit etc doesn't change anything.

Practical advice is to move the car or make them very aware of the CCTV and tell them that they will be charged damages, or stand by the car and bat the ball away whenever it comes near.

I am in the camp for kids to be allowed to play outside. Much more important than a car.

Just wondered which the op would prefer. Kids playing outside with a ball, keeping themselves fit, active and healthy. But much more importantly not getting bored.

Or would the op prefer bored kids who start getting up to mischief and start becoming anti social. Possibly targeting cars, houses and locals.

I laugh at all the people on our housing estate who panic every time there are kids playing or being a little naughty. Showing clips on their cctv of the kids riding their bikes near cars and running about. They would happily have them carted off by the police. Eventually those kids will grow up and if they have been encouraged to keep themselves busy, active and respectful they maybe wont develop into the social issues we have today.

Confused as to why people are justifying this. If the kids want to play in the road and parents let them, fine, (sounds daft IMO but anyway) but damaging people's property is not OK. If I saw the ball bounce off my neighbour's car I'd be asking the kids to play elsewhere e.g. in front of their own house. 'These things happen in a public space' - they do, but they don't need to If people were more respectful of other people's property.

Just wondered which the op would prefer. Kids playing outside with a ball, keeping themselves fit, active and healthy. But much more importantly not getting bored.

It's not an either/or situation though. Kids should be able to play outside without damaging other peoples' property.

Or would the op prefer bored kids who start getting up to mischief and start becoming anti social. Possibly targeting cars, houses and locals.

The above is exactly what the children are doing. Where I live children play at the park, they don’t play on the road kicking footballs at cars.

As I said previously it’s about respect for others. Repeatedly kicking a ball at someone’s property is antisocial. It’s teaching them they can do what they like and fuck everyone else. I don’t get the mentality of PPs who are saying it’s ok. Yes, play outside but have some fucking respect. Jeez

It didn't sound to me like the kids were kicking footballs at cars. It sounded more like they were trying to bounce the ball to each other and accidentally hit the cars twice.