Kids knocking on doors d running away!

[Imsofatqq]

I caught one today. Have no idea who she is and asked her why she’s doing it. She responded she didn’t do it, I then showed her my ring doorbell. She looks about 12 I think.

The Mum thinks it’s completely harmless. I explained there are millions of other games she could play that didn’t involve disturbing her neighbours

Lie in wait at an upstairs window with water balloons and if you're feeling particularly evil, a bag of flour or glitter. I got our neighbours girl with this and honestly, the shrieking, you'd never heard anything like it. Her mum was absolutely crying with laughter at the sight of her. She sparkled for days!

Ding dong ditch? It’s the sound of the doorbell 😁

It’s what we called it as kids (in the US)

@Imsofatqq

I caught one today. Have no idea who she is

The Mum thinks it’s completely harmless

It’s been a long week for me, but how do you know the mum if you don’t know the girl?

😆 🤣 😂 used to love it as a kid, but wouldn't take too kindly to being the 'victim' now. Hypocrite!

Knock-a-door Run it was called round us. I only played it once because I was shit at running.

And yet people on here are brushing it off as harmless fun - although it's people dictating what you can and can't do in your own home, for fear of how they'll react and target you more.

If it's persistent enough, knocking on doors would probably go the same as phone calls - where you learn to shrug when you hear it, knowing that it will most probably just be another time waster.

I can sort of see how it might be OK if children only do it to people they know well and whom they know won't mind and aren't potentially vulnerable - a bit like trick or treat - but I'm kind of thinking that the children who do this probably find much more fun in knowing that they've put people out and upset or angered them, rather than being welcomed with a smile by people half expecting them.

Nicky Nicky Nine Doors here on the south-west coast of Canada.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickanan_Night

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knock_down_ginger

It’s actually a crime now and police will do something if it happens to you repeatedly

They are ringing a doorbell.
Get a grip.

We had it bad 23/24 summer, the lip off the kids was unbelievable. The police got involved because they frightened an elderly lady relentlessly and it's stopped now. I was asked for footage from my cameras to identify them.

And running. And often repeatedly targeting certain houses. If the person is disabled and they know it then it's harassment.
Get a grip.

No, we haven't 'all done it' as kids.
It does cause harm - or have you not read the OPs posts?
Charming? I don't think so.

Playing knock down ginger might be as old as the hills but that doesn't mean it's an acceptable pastime! It's not just ringing a doorbell either. A home is someone's safe space where they should be able to relax and not have the outside world disturb that peace. And no, I don't need to 'get a grip' either.

I'm with you OP. Really bloody annoying. I would turn down the volume on my doorbell, play music and just ignore them. Hopefully they will go away! Failing that, if it continued I would actually call 101 and report anti social behaviour because frankly, that is what it is. I don't care who wants to wrap it up in childhood memories or kids being kids. It's anti social - and if the parents aren't prepared to make them stop then I'd report it.

It sounds like you're no better than the kids in your ability to understand that people may be disabled, may have mental health issues or may be living in fear having escaped an abusive relationship.

Do you really think that vulnerable people deserve to be frightened, upset or put to a load of unnecessary discomfort in their own homes, just so that children can use them as the butt of their fun?

Ding dong ditch we called it

That said if a kid did it to me I'd shout at them! 🧙‍♀️

Thunder and lightning where I come from

OP you're definitely not alone. The people in this thread who are saying they wouldn't be bothered by it are either lying, or they're terrible parents who wouldn't discipline their kids for doing this.

There's no need for it, we didn't all do it and it's not just harmless fun. For all those kids know, there could be some elderly person behind that door, expecting a delivery or a visitor, and they might try and rush to the door to answer it and in their haste fall over and break a bone or maybe even worse.

If you genuinely think this is acceptable you need to have a good look at yourself. Presumably you're the same people who don't have a problem with e-scooters, or kids setting fireworks off in people's faces, or breaking into abandoned buildings and setting fire to stuff.

Harmless kids game, it was always fun…although when my friend tried to jump over a bush to get away and landed on his face his mum wasn’t best pleased.

That's what we called it (NE). Only played it once, I was at a friend's and we did it to her ndn, we were clearly too obvious and my friends mum absolutely bollocked us.

It is a bit of harmless fun if it's just the once. If it's targeted and repeated that's a bit different.

Knock and Nash where I’m from.

Yes, knicky knocky 9 doors, knock knock ginger, ding dong ditch, cherry knocking - each place we moved to had a different name.

It's a rite of passage. I remember my granddad saying he played it and I know my mum did.

Glad I was never stupid enough to do this as a kid.

I wouldn't say it's harmless. Could be terrifying for a vulnerable person. As a tired mother with a screaming baby in the middle of trying to cook for a toddler, it was fucking irritating at best.

Just started a thread on same as hadn't noticed this one.

I have a disabled relation who's been having this for a few weeks and is finding it extremely distressing. Four times just today, and they're really whacking the door. I've already opened the door on them mid-knock which stopped them for a while, but they've restarted. Have called the police and been told they very much do get involved, and that I'll be contacted soon by a local officer. They also said they've been getting a lot of reports. So if you are getting it, definitely do call it in as it will be taken seriously. Horrid little buggers - just because it's been going on a long time does not make it ok. Would be ok to pick on a special needs child, as loads of people did that when they were kids? Or to call people homophobic slurs, which was entirely normal even a couple of decades ago? One would hope we've evolved past such behaviour, it can cause genuine and significant upset.

ETA response from police (bit scared as to how they have my email address though, I didn't give it to them 🤨)

"I am writing as I know that you have recently experienced antisocial behaviour. We know from spending time with victims, and seeing the impact in our own communities, how upsetting this can be, and the impact it has on individual and households. Tackling antisocial behaviour is a clear priority in our Commissioner’s Police and Crime Plan, and a force priority is to fight crime through prevent and pursuit of offenders.

Since your initial contact with us, our local neighbourhood policing teams and intelligence officers have had your report made available to them. In addition to investigating your incident and looking more widely for patterns of behaviour and incidents that can be tackled more proactively, your local teams will work in partnership with other agencies to make sure you are aware of the best way to get assistance."

I'd take them over the amount of bloody charity collection knockers we get. I work in our loft conversion and as a result now don't get off my butt to trail downstairs unless I've checked the ring app first.

Kids have been doing it for decades and decades. It’s as old as the hills. How have you never heard of it (or indeed done it!)?!?

Obviously it comes with the risk of being caught and shouted at by irate homeowners! That’s sort of part of it. They need to be faster and avoid houses with ring doorbells! 😂😉

It obviously is “naughty” behaviour, and I certainly wouldn’t have told my DC to go and do it, but if a child did it to me, I’d tell them off but have a secret laugh about it when they were gone! Tbh I’d just be pleased that some children were actually playing out! The streets and parks are completely dead around here. So depressing.