Am I being miserable about kids in our street?

[SMLSML]

Before I start, I'll say I do have kids of my own, a 4 year old and 7 month old and I wouldn't let them play outside the front of our house as it's not a cul de sac and cars/vans regularly go above 30mph.

For the last year or so the houses opposite us have allowed their kids to put a full size goalpost on the road and play football. Totally appreciate this only happens in half terms and holidays however it is becoming such a pain, the parents argue the kids move the goalpost right away when needed but I think it's crazy they can't do this in their garden safely? The parents have made it clear they're not going to change so I'm having to fume silently, just wanted to see if it's me being miserable and unreasonable 😅 as everyone says its lovely they're not on screens but I just don't see how they can't use a garden!

I'd hope police would come out via 101 online report, and give the parents a talking to, if it's not a quiet non-through road.

It's nice for kids to play in the street though

Not if it's reckless. Not nice for a kid to get squashed by an inattentive van driver. But we don't know the road..

Street yes but not in the middle of the actual road.

If the parents want their kids to be hit by vehicles going 30+mph that sounds like a great plan.

It totally depends on the street and type of road.

I didn’t live on a cul-de-sac as a kid but I played out in the street with all the other kids from the area it used to be a totally normal thing.

if it’s not a massively busy road and is in a residential area, my guess would be it’s fine and you might need to suck it up.

They do this in the actual road?! That's wild, surely that's dangerous / they could hit balls at cars / get hit by a car?

Even the noise would annoy me, let alone adding in the safety aspect.

If they can be seen from a long way off then hell yeh let them play in the street. It will force drivers to go more slowly and hopefully change their route in the future.

Reclaim the streets!

There are numerous side streets near my parents house and a few of the kids round there are allowed to play on the road, they play football and lay on their skateboards in the middle of the road pulling each other long.

Trouble is it's an area where motorists will happily do 30+ mph and just fly round corners. I see them playing on a corner and just feel sick, to the point where I reported it to 101 and they sent a PCSO around to try and educate the parents.

'Not a cul-de-sac and cars/vans regularly go above 30mph.

It's an accident waiting to happen, I'm afraid - and, by the sound of things, they've a garden large enough to accomodate this!

YANBU

I like it, as long as polite and move when needed and not causing any damage I love seeing kids playing out.

Streets are actually meant to be thoroughfares, not playgrounds. But I expect the practice will stop once somebody gets hit by a car.

Yanbu

If it was a cul de sac, then sure

But its a faff to have kids move the goalposts each time a car comes down on a 30 road nonetheless

Edit, I'd also be worried about a football damaging my car window.

Kids playing on a quiet street is one thing but taking a goalpost out is going too far.

No this sounds like a strange thing to do. There are a couple of kids on our street who bring their football up the road towards where I live (as the road by their house is more sloped) and I always feel like they have little awareness of moving when cars are coming and believe they are in the right to be in the road. If they had a goal to move as well they would be there forever moving it out the way.

This is what happens, they're constantly moving it 😅 I just don't get it

Glad to know most people think it isn't normal behaviour but as always with these things, not much I can do other than strap in and prepare for it all over summer 😩

Absolutely bizarre behaviour.

😳 That is insane and so dangerous! And what kind of message does it send to kids - oh well, doesn’t matter if it’s a road 🤷‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️ I am not a fan of kids playing out in the streets though anyway really. Meet ups and play dates and going to each others houses, yes. Just randomly hanging around in the streets, nope.

If it was a quiet cul de sac I’d say you were being a little bit miserable but on a through road with car travelling at that speed it’s a recipe for a tragedy.

I don’t know how effective it would be but I’d definitely do as pp suggested and contact 101 in the hopes that they might send someone out to try and talk some sense into the parents

Yeah the noise is the worst, constantly thudding all day long 🙃

How many cars would you say use the road every hour?

I ask because I used to live in the countryside. The road was a windy backroad and technically was a 60mph road. There would be less than 1 car an hour using the road. They'd be driving v slowly. In that scenario, if kids didn't have a garden, then playing there would have been acceptable (to me). If there are 20 cars and hour driving 30mph it's a v different story. Also though, if this is the case they must be moving the goal posts off the road every 3-4 mins which seems pointless!

Kids playing out - great. Even if they are making a noise. Cos they are kids. But safety wise I think it depends on a number of things.