Neighbours balls

[Kenthighst]

We don't speak to our neighbours due to a number of incidents. The kids are also very rude. Anyways the past few weeks they have been kicking balls over the wall into our garden. They havn't called to the door to ask for them back either as we do not speak at all.
Aibu not to return the balls until they come to the door & politely ask for them back?

I had this in my last house - broke two panes of the greenhouse and damaged many plants.
They didn’t respond to polite requests not to - just kept doing it then immediately knocking and asking for them back.

In the end I told them to send their parents round for the balls or I wouldn’t give them back.
Funnily enough it became a lot less frequent!

I went though a period of tensions with my neighbour and one of the things that helped us to be friends again was his friendly habit of throwing various munitions back over our fence after they had gone astray. I want to list all the things he has kindly thrown back, but I'm sorry to say that I have lost count even of the types of items, let alone the number. These small kindnesses really add up.

Imagine calling the police because you got hit with a wayward football

Well if not footballs, then the 1000 other things your DC (and Jack Russell!) will likely do that drive the neighbours mad. My DD also happily potters. My DS is a different matter. He has ADHD but unless I want to spend hours a day in the park I'm going to let him play with a ball in our garden. My DS has only kicked it over a handful of times but it has happened. In my opinion the light balls are the worst, they catch the wind easily, fly much further when kicked and bounce higher when dropped. These are the only type my DS has ever kicked over. Also are the kids are similar age to your eldest? If so they may end up friends.

No the kids next door are 10 & 12.

All I can say - very good title, OP. 😁

We have lived in our house for a very long time. First we had babies and next door had older kids - balls etc came over from them to us. Then their kids grew up and ours got older - balls went in opposite direction. Now ours are grown and there are new families either side with kids. Balls come from both directions. Also we now have grandchildren so sometimes the balls are going the other way too! No-one has ever had a problem with any of this we did/do just throw them back.

Why be difficult and unpleasant for the sake of it? Chuck them back once in a while, how else will you get rid of all the balls?

Bless, your 6yo and toddler will be doing the same before long....I hope you won't want the balls back.

Another one who thought it was another naked neighbour thread. Seems to be a recurring tits at the window theme, so I was somewhat intrigued.
And no I'm not on the gin (yet).

Old enough to walk themselves to the park!

stab them & throw them back over deflated
truly commit to being someone worthy of spreading rumours about
of course this may lead to retaliation but you then blame your wee dog or toddler for getting at the balls first

advice given only semi in jest

Glad it wasn't just my mind that went there 🤣

To be fair the kids might be crap at football and have very little control over where the ball goes. If they're anything like DS they'll be disappointed at the thought of losing a ball.

When I were a lad if someone told us off we'd just see how far we could push it, because apologising made no difference. When we got cut some slack it made a difference to our attitude.

Have a really overgrown garden full of raspberries so they can't ever find the ball in summer and you uncover three in winter.

I wonder if they don't speak because your awkward for nothing. We kick the ball back over if we spot one and it's accidental probably happens once a week

I would just throw them back over. These things happen and they're just kids

I'd have been fine with once a week! We would often get four a day in summer.

Our neighbours kicked them high against the wall and bounced them off the garage roof. Or a trampoline against the fence and balls thrown above the height of the net. The balls coming over was inevitable, not an accident. I think some posters don't know what others put up with.

Adult balls are designed to be headed as well as kicked, you aren't goiing to be physically hurt by being hit but you might get a shock. As someone upthread said unless they are firing them at you with a cannon you'll be fine. They are also quite expensive so I find it hard to imagine the neighbours children are happily firing over masses and masses of balls (especially as the OP doesn't give them back). I think the chances of actually being struck are quite low. When our DS were very little we lived next door to two football mad boys and balls would occasionally be kicked in to ours and, I can honestly say, it never ever crossed my mind to be worried one of the DS could be injured by a stray ball and it never happened to any of us and we use the garden a lot most of the year.

Adult balls are designed to be headed as well as kicked, you aren't goiing to be physically hurt by being hit but you might get a shock.

If it comes at you unexpectedly then you aren't going to head it. A ball to the face could break a nose, or glasses. A shock isn't nice either. It puts you on edge whenever you are just sitting in the garden with a drink or a summer's day and the balls start hitting the fence.

They are also quite expensive so I find it hard to imagine the neighbours children are happily firing over masses and masses of balls

We've had four in the garden and one still in use. Some have money to burn.

So you think they are kicking them over on purpose?
My dd kicks throws ball over the fence to our neighbours garden quite often never in purpose tho why would she want to lose her ball?
Thankfully my neighbours throw them bk over at somepoint sometimes straight away some times a few days later literally takes 30 seconds to throw it bk over.

I'm on the throw them back over team. You want to work towards putting good out there.
Interested in why you don't speak?

I’d love to hear the phone call to the police 😂😂 “My neighbours heavy balls hit me on the face.”