To ignore the neighbours kids at the door and not throw their ball back over

[Charlotteap]

It’s happening all the time now and it’s always around this time 7:30-9 when I’m bathing baby and putting him to bed and doing toddler bedtime routine , the kids knock on the door and the windows constantly, they’ve just knocked for 20 mins straight whilst I’m sat breastfeeding. The other day I put my head out of the window in the towel and said after 7pm it’s bath and bed and hard to interrupt that !! Mum has never said sorry for it happening all the time and it’s been 5 x already this week.

not to mention they blast it at my fence all night long and the fence touches my house whereas the other side it touches theirs but they never kick that one.

its a football and can easy cause an accident, sick of it hitting my plants. But I’ve got a glass table out there and baby sometimes in bouncer when we are all in garden. The other month a cricket ball went over and I went to the door and said that so could have hit my baby!

the parents don’t seem to give a shit

so AIBU to leave it till husband gets home to throw over, i am in my pjs doing about to attempt to put baby down for night

After their balls smashed numerous valuable garden plants and hit my small dog?

Sorry, but popping the balls is fitting response to their anti social actions. They'd been asked kindly and ignored requests to aim elsewhere, stop bashing the wood fence, etc.

Also we have a park with football goals a 2-minute walk around the corner. Let them use it.

If you push a darning needle into the ball's valve, it appears to be a faulty valve not a leak from random piercing elsewhere. We have a recreation field two minutes away and enormous kids still play football in their garden. Or on my drive around my plants.

I do agree with your mum to an extent - not getting on with neighbours can make your home life so stressful.

I think you need a compromise. Ask them not to knock and once an evening you or DH will throw any balls back over the fence. In return ask them not to kick the ball against your fence. Good luck.

That does sound super annoying but I guess the problem with the park is that a parent will have to stand and watch them, whereas they’re free to play in their garden. So they’re disincentivised to go to the park!

Tell them that you understand that they are really bad at playing football because they keep kicking the ball over the fence and they need to practice but you will not be returning any balls after 7pm.

You can borrow my dog if you like, ripping footballs to pieces is his favourite hobby. Presenting them with the slobbery shreds of their ball might make them be a bit more careful about where they're booting it 🙃

Go and see the mum. She is taking the piss. Take your baby so she can see how young she is and tell her very firmly that her children are never ever to bang on your door ever again. Tell her if her children can’t keep the balls in the garden she’s going to have to erect something to prevent them coming over.

Then don’t throw anymore over.

@Legacyloops seems to be a problem for quite a few people! We are the same if we are in the garden we will throw them straight over and ask them to a be a little more careful as kids in garden but seems to go in one ear and out the other straight away. Hopefully leaving it a while makes them get the message.

@katseyes7 it would deffo soften the blow if my neighbours were lovely but not once have they ever said sorry or thanks when we do throw it back. They do the same too, start looking in the living room window and then knock even more. When football was on last Saturday they was knocking at 9:30pm! For 12 minutes straight. Luckily they only seem to have two footballs ! For now 🤣

@MonsteraMama aww I lost my dog a couple years dog and he was exactly the same he’d have ripped it to shreds in seconds. We only have cats now

Thanks everyone again for your comments as soon as it comes in next I am going to make clear not to knock after 7 and hopefully bump into their dad ( mum doesn’t seem very approachable) and mention the cricket balls coming over being super dangerous. Last week it was quite a heavy wooden tomato ( from like a play toy kitchen) would love to see how they’re actually getting it over such a tall fence. Also have a ring camera coming tomorrow!

If I was feeding a baby and they kept knocking for 20 minutes I’d have steam coming out of my ears and that would be the time I’d choose to speak to their parents.

it’s all very well wanting to be a good neighbour but it’s all one sided as they blatantly aren’t bothered. Anything affecting my kids and I’d be livid. Tell them the only time the balls will be returned is at the weekend - once a weekend. The kids are cheeky little shits because the parents have no respect for others. Don’t let people affect your life like this.

I still think you’re being very passive.

When the mum asked you how long you’d be why didn’t you tell her I’ll be as long as I want?

Tell them you won’t be throwing any further balls or that you’ll only do it once a week, on Monday mornings.

I read a thread on here a while ago where the OP had a similar problem, so she told the kids that she would only return the ball if one of the parents came over to ask for it - funnily enough they started to care when it inconvenienced them and it stopped.

What an awful, mean-spirited thing to do.

Ignore my post above.
I quoted the wrong post.

Our next door neighbours kick the ball over alot, the opposite side of neighbours to them purposely popped their balls. Then they just started to take the balls and said they never saw it. We throw it over when we see it, one evening we were on the garden and they kicked it over our 8 times and my husband told them if they kicked it over again they wasn't getting it back.

One of mine did this. Slobbery remains duly given back!

I agree with others op that you're being too accommodating. Let the balls sit there for days or weeks so they get the message. And yes if they keep doing it I'd pop them.

We have neighbours that do this but the parents don't slow them to knock. I throw them back when I see them.

Don't allow them to knock*

Tell them thst any balls that come into your garden will be put into a bag and returned at end of each month or given to charity.
You are not a ball machine.
Don't answer door.