Kids Playing In Cul De Sac

[StressieBessie4]

I’m aware I may get slated but this is starting to get to me! I have name changed.

I am a carer, and I have a 7pm appointment daily down a cul de sac which seems to now be mainly families living here and it’s turning into a nightmare.

As you enter two chairs are in the middle of the road with two parents sat on them, and it’s a struggle to get past. Then when you get around the corner the kids leave bikes and scooters over the entrance to the car parking spaces so you can’t get in without many shuffles. But when you’re trying to, the kids are walking behind your car! There is no consideration whatsoever and I’m starting to dread this call.

I feel so sorry for my client, who is lovely, but it’s an accident waiting to happen and . They all look at me like I’ve got three heads when I pull into the road yet they see me every day. What’s worse is the houses back onto a park!

AIBU to tell the parents it’s a road not a playground?!

If you are driving 5mph (which you should be on a street like this) then walking is no slower.

My neighbours do do this. It doesn't bother me in the slightest. It's how these spaces should be used.

For our children's health and for our planet we need to stop the mentality of driving door to door everywhere

👏🏻

This is all assuming that there is a suitable place just off the cul-de-sac - maybe another cul-de-sac where the residents aren't as selfish? What if it's a main road with double yellows down it for miles? Or what if it doesn't have parking restrictions - don't the children who live on that main road have the same right as the cul-de-sac-dwellers to block off the road to cars so that they can play in it?

Unfortunately, fighting against the 'mentality of driving door to door everywhere' very frequently relegates disabled, elderly, frail and otherwise vulnerable people to second-class citizens; and often robs them of their dignity, independence/semi-independence and access to their basic needs.

It's all very lovely saying "Come on, we should all be walking more and getting more exercise" if we ignore the existence of those who simply do not have the privilege of being able to do just that.

For our children's health and for our planet we need to stop the mentality of driving door to door everywhere

So we should give up on using our actual driveways in case some children want to play in the road?

This is by far the best diagram I’ve seen

The children should be playing in their gardens. I live In a cul-de-sac, and the children used to play inside or in the gardens. Roads are for vehicles. There seems to be an attitude among some respondents that the children have a right to play in the road, because they are in the open air.

They should be playing in the park behind them not the road!
I remember a case from the news that sounds similar. The children played outside on the close, one of the residents reversed out of their driveway very unfortunately not seeing a child lying down playing armies. It ended in fatality and the driver being imprisoned.
Obviously chidlren should be playing outside, but choose a safe, traffic free spot.

I hate that car is king these days. I think it's great they've reclaimed the street for fun and recreation. You need to park somewhere else or just be very careful. Yabvu imo.

Roads are for vehicles

I don’t agree with this at all. I think roads, especially near houses and shops, can be shared spaces, and in some cases pedestrians should have priority. I think we should move more towards the European model of safely shared roads rather than the US model of King Car.

But OP says they have a park behind the houses, why play in the road then?

I think it's worth having a word with the adults and explaining why you are visiting, and asking whether perhaps they could keep the kids/chairs/bikes out of the way when you are due.

"For our children's health and for our planet we need to stop the mentality of driving door to door everywhere."
I'm all for losing this as a general mentality, but not when it comes to carers who are not given the time to do otherwise. In this case, it sounds like it's not that there isn't a suitable parking space, so there's no reason why the carer should park anywhere else.

It is possible for kids to play in the road on a quiet cul de sac where there aren't cars using it. It is also possible for those kids/parents to move out of the way on the occasions when a car or van does need to use that shared bit of road.

Reading this thread it seems it's a binary choice between locking children up until they die of obesity so that cars can rule the road or turning the road into an open air soft play.

Could you not just ask them if they can leave one space for you when they come out to play because you come and care for the gentleman who lives at no … daily? Any reasonable parent would ask their child to facilitate this

Many people aren't reasonable nowadays, thy're entitled..

Bloody hell, let the kids play, it's their home not yours.
Or would you rather they sat inside watching YouTube and getting fat?

Many people seem to think their home ownership extends to the path/road/all land beyond

They are acting like dicks by sticking chairs in the road. There's just no need. After all it's a cul de sac (as so many posters are desperate to keep reminding you) so if they put their chairs ON THEIR OWN FRONTS they should still see their precious offspring while allowing other residents and visitors to safely and civilly go about their business

Maybe you can suggest that take their chairs and kids to the park which sounds like it's a few minimum walk away?

@PaintDiagram agreed - an excellent diagram. I for one think every thread should have one

Please tell me you have name changed especially for it?!!

I think there may be a middle ground here? ...

Weird idea, but maybe say to one of the parents "I have to come here every day at 7pm for my job. It's nice to see kids playing outside like I used to as a nipper, but I find it quite hard getting around all the chairs and kids and stuff. Do you mind grabbing all the stuff and calling to the kids to get into the side when you see me coming?"

Kids can't win really can they. Constantly being slated for being obese/inactive/too much screen time then as soon as there's a bit of nice weather and they play outside there's a rash of threads moaning about noise and what an inconvenience they are.

Thank god I don’t live there.

The road is not a playground ffs. OP is trying to do a job, no doubt on a timescale. The entitlement!!!!!

Sorry we did this...
The parents are protecting their children, they live there.
You visit for 30 mins a night, I bet the children have sent hours out playing, it was normal 25 years ago.
Talk to them about it.
Plus most of the time it rains in the UK...
Bet they are not out then....

Perhaps the adults sitting on the chairs could walk the children round to the park

This is very polite and a good way to just mention to the parents.

In fairness to the OP she hasn't come across as moany at all merely concerned that she isn't able to use a shared space road as intended. It's actually the daft adults and their chairs that are making this worse.