Children on my front wall

[LighthouseTheme]

I have a small wall (2 feet high maybe) at the front edge of my garden. The garden itself is small anyway - three big slabs width from the porch/front door (with a set back area under the front window, and a gated path down the side of the house to the back). There is also a low gate that I had put on as the fact that the path slopes slightly and there is no barrier between my neighbours, meant that it was sometimes used for scooters. [I do feel a diagram might help...]

It has only been in this last year that I have done much to the front - as it is south facing and almost any plants will certainly die. But I now have some hardy-ish ones in planters, a wreath on the side gate and a pear tree and honeysuckle trying their best on the side wall and high fence to the other side.

This last year, a new neighbour's daughter decided that the wall is perfect to walk along and jump off (I think she is 10). As my car is on the road outside, I would quite often see her do this. Despite having been friendly towards them, she often walks past and, without her mother seeing, and without looking back, gives me the finger gesture. I added some plants on the inside of the wall at two spots, making it pointless to walk along the full length of the wall, but she still did it, stepping on the leaves of the plants.

Tonight, I could hear loud voices right outside, and when I looked, a group of (definitely pre-teen) girls were on the wall, all facing my house, dancing and jumping around. There was definitely a goading feel to it - but I only (I think) know them by sight. By the time I had got myself together to go and speak to them, they had gone.

A little while later, I had gone out to my car, and two of them (plus a little boy, I think a brother) came back, not seeing me at first and climbing straight onto the wall. So, in the conversation we had, it seems that I have to let them do it as they "are kids", they want to learn to balance, I am unfair and spoiling their lives and basically what do I know, they can do what they want... oh, and I'm a Karen.

So, apart from this moan, I am at a loss. The wall covers the length front of both my house and next door and so at my side, there are the plants in pots at either "end", and usually a bowl of water for dogs on the pavement side. But nothing for the half of the length outside next door.

My pathetic passive-aggressive attempts to prevent it are obviously not enough to stop them - and I fully expect to be ramped up now - or worse (I live in/close to a not-so-great area - and have been burgled and bullied and targeted in the past); sadly, the behaviour even at the start seemed very "goady" anyway, so I don't doubt I have already done something to warrant it.

Oh, what to do?
And I don't really think IABU but maybe I should let them just carry on.... (which I don't want to do)

Problem is for those who say let them just play on it. Eventually it becomes damaged and then the bricks start falling apart. Our own little brick wall is in a terrible state from age and it being sat on and walked on since the day it was built it’s much older then me.

Since they are doing it to be goady whatever you do, needs to look like it’s not because they are getting to you. Extra stinky fertiliser, wooden planters with trellis on them to block some of your own view of the wall, inside you garden and you can grow climbing plants up it.

Evergreens in pots, anything should grow as long as you water it enough. Our entire back garden is south sun all day and it’s a very established full of plants garden including in pots.

As myfavouriteflowers said
wall top railings
You can get them on Amazon

You should not feel barricaded in as they let light through. I would be tempted to get pointy ones!

I'd keep going out for a chat m. Act completely oblivious to any rudeness and chat to them like they're 5 years old. Call them darling a lot and make reference to how sweet it is to see them all playing and putting on a 'performance' for you. It reminds you of your children when they were 'little' and would want to dance for you.

Any rudeness just chuckle and say how cheeky little ones are and how sad it is when they grow up so quickly. Really damage their street cred 😂

I guarantee after 2 or 3 of these chats, they'll avoid you like the plague.

Put some well rotted manure all over your garden. The stink should shift them and it'll do wonders for your plants.😅

As stupid as it sounds, I do not intend to let their schedule dictate feeling relieved at the reduction in their behaviour. I hate wishing time away, and that is certainly not a reason for me to do it.
That said, I was on the lookout on a daily basis (sad, but true) for the girl who started it all (and gave me the finger). School times were easier to predict, and besides I was not always here - but if I was, I annoyed myself by looking out for her doing it.
This is when I started to add things out there - all of which, as @OhmygodDont says, was designed to seem as though it had happened naturally and I was just getting a bit more creative...
I even started to chain my bike up to the wall on the inside, to a tie-ring added specifically for the purpose. It definitely makes going along the wall pointless. But it always felt vulnerable to theft out there (never at night), as I have been burgled twice and had the house targeted - for eggs etc - several times. [During lockdown when there were massive fires at the back.]

What makes it so troubling to me is - as then - people, adults and children alike, have NO IDEA what a person living in a house, minding their own business (well, most of the time!) is going through at the moment. How do they know they aren't prancing and shouting and squawking around just a few feet away from someone who is very ill, physically or mentally? Or, maybe worse, someone who is just about a nano-second away from flipping out?

@Lovelysummerdays
Yes it is... I've attached a diagram.
The apartments are set back a little.
This house and next door were built on the large garden of the one next door but one, and the apartments were built on a plot of spare land next to the garden.
The old brick wall runs to the edge of this house's front "garden".

What is up, fellow kids? 🛹

No reaction can be the best reaction for these silly little bullies. What you need is the street king or queen to go tell them to stop disrespecting your property, or is there a street community youth worker who can tell them to grow up.

Slightly off topic but I love the colour of your side gate and little bit of fence there, it's gorgeous!

Thank you😊
It's a Cuprinol Shades one I think...
the other side is a darker blue-green.

I dropped a can down the side path, so now have painted one slab the same colour all over, and where there were splashes, I made them into flowers.

This and according to a recent post on here, if they injure themselves 'playing' on your wall, apparently you can be sued!

@DoreenonTill8
Yes, that has been at the forefront of what I think about doing...
I studied and have always been keen on Health & Safety, and even at a low level, it would apply to what they are doing. Probably more so with the way disputes and grievances are handled around here.
I just have a vision of something small, and me rightly defending myself, growing into a massive issue that ends up with me dead.
Not only that, I only want outside what I want or would like.... hence no spikes, or sticky things, or ants (have them anyway, and create my own non-toxic deterrent as I also have hedgehogs who expect to be fed every night), bad odors or manure.
What I am working on, with lots of these suggestions in mind, is an obnoxious-children deterrent. High on the passive-aggressive scale, but that's fine with me.
Equally, I could do aggressive, but no doubt, I would be the one in trouble with the Police!

This 🤣 Scare them with friendliness

I’d go for the timber fence.
If their parents were reasonable I’d talk to them.
You want to prevent your wall being their hang out space as they’ll be there for years whenever the weather allows.

To be honest, the way I spoke to them yesterday was not especially unfriendly initially.... But the spokesgirl of the group WAS rude and unpleasant, so I just turned up the use of big words and long sentences. That resulted in the "Karen" being shouted from about 50 feet away.

Although, if you're too friendly here - and they don't know or aren't related to you, you're classed as a weirdo. And I have had that said to me more than once, not keen for it to happen again.
I don't WANT to (even pretend) to be friendly.... why bother?

Let alone, they were not just walking on the wall.
I have photos and video of what they were doing, and it was really ridiculous!

I was going to suggest Berberis too.

Why should OP put up with it, though? It matters to her.

Children shouldn't be allowed to do anything they want at all times, especially not on other people's property.

Get some metal railings, OP.

A low wall is a magnet to kids isn't it. I remember walking on walls when I was young. I wouldn't have realised that this would have been annoying/whatever to the owner of that wall, at that age, but if challenged, I would never have walked on their wall again, let alone pulled a finger!!

It's either you ignore the behaviour and as they get bored of getting no reaction from you, they'll move on or you get metal railings and place them on the edge of the wall, nearest the pavement, you could then hang some little planters off the railings, facing towards your house.

If you place them in the middle of the wall, the little shits kids will still walk on the half of the wall and hang onto the railings in doing so.

Your front garden looks lovely btw.

I'd also suggest a metal railing placed at the furthest edge away from your house, if that's possible to add, or a timber fence. Whichever you prefer, or whichever is more affordable or easier to add.

Maybe I've missed a reason not to do so (beyond too much sun making it more difficult to find plants that would be happy growing there), but my first move would have been lining several plant pots/boxes along the top of the wall, not just a couple behind it or at the ends. It may not be a look you'd like, but if you put enough pots along the wall, the bratty kid won't be able to walk there and may find the location less appealing. Unless she's brazen enough to push them off the wall, that is, which is why a sturdy railing or fence would be the better option, if it's feasible.

We had a drunken man in his 40's fall on our front wall. His dm actually stormed round to tell us to get it sorted as he could have hurt himself!! Not sure how I kept a straight face... It had railings on the front years ago. Just the stumps now. Rented house so nowt to do with us. Dh did end up boxing it in to string Christmas lights along the front. Bet she thinks we did as we were told!!

Whew, I am back from Wickes (road works), and researched railings - which look very nice. They cost £100! - and in principle, why should I spend that, or anything, due to their behaviour.... Although the man in next village would put his reclaimed ones on, fitted, for £25... I didn't realise what a bargain that was!

I too believe that all they will do is hang off the railings and cause more damage, and not sure how they would look at the outside edge. Needs more consideration.

I wish I could post the video. It would show even in the 20 seconds I got (which was a fraction of the time they were doing it), that it was so much more than just walking along the wall. Looked particularly stupid, but nevertheless, the intention was unpleasant.

I had been back five minutes, and the younger two must have seen me, and were outside on the pavement (boy on his scooter, wearing T-shirt this time), speculating about where my bike was, looking up the side path, pondering where I might be - all very loudly). I could "watch" them from a concealed vantage point, but Good God, it's not what I want to be spending time doing.

It's cold and windy, so there will not be so much hassle today - but it's earlier than it all started yesterday. I have money on it.

@HeliotropePJs You're not wrong --- I probably should have put planters and sun-loving plants on the wall.... When I first put plants out there, the neighbourhood cats were using them, and it did put me off a bit. As well as everything seeming to die on me.
The useful ideas are making good sense to me, so more research is being done right now.
But obviously they need to be evergreen.

@tailofthecock

Thank you 😊 it's only recently that I have done much, apart from the gates... and I know it's still not much really.
Down the side is all fairy lights and a slightly out of control elder plant. It's verging on twee, I know.

My road would drive you insane I have no fence around my front garden at all and kids use it as pissing playground all day long they literally play in it and stand in my path lots and lots of different kids and they honestly aren't the kids you would want to deal with their hell razors swear at people none stop and even smack my front door time to time I live in social housing and it's a horrible road with bloody awful neighbours to on that note I'm actually giving my keys back to my housing association because of it all and they do nothing I really know how irritating it is having kids hang around in your garden