[Closed] Unruly Kids

A strongly worded letter to the mail would be a start.... 😉

"politely" mentioning to the parents about a "number of near misses", etc.
Failing that - a stronger "mention" and failing that a full on word with parents...
It's amazing how fast things happen when ££'s get mentioned - i.e - that the ££'s WILL be coming out of their pockets for damage, etc....

sounds like normal kid behaviour TBH - do you have kids?

Normal kids behaviour, where you ever a child, or just from birth morphed in Victor Meldrew.

Just wait till they get cars, and the right to vote.

Drive slower when approaching your house and tell them not to throw stones

The chucking stones is the only thing I would have a problem with. The rest is kids playing as long as there is no damage from the drive incursions that's ok too.

Be nice these people are your near neighbours and good relations will pay for themselves.

Just wander around with a long cloak, long straggly greasy hair shouting "lollipops, lollipops, come and get your lovely lollipops". 😆

Do they not have TVs and iPads to veg in front of?
Poor blighters.
As a parent of three primary age kids, I'd be keeping an eye if off our property and they wouldn't be going into others drives and gardens (unless kids lived there)

Should kids give way to cars? Really?
The kids *should* be playing in the street.
Perhaps the kids should be quiet, indoors, maybe playing computer games for hours on end?

just generally getting in the way.

On the other hand, it is the family and neighbours responsibility to help guide the kids as to what good play and responsibility looks like.

Read Tim's blog:
http://rethinkingchildhood.com/2013/09/23/playing-out-street-why/

Watch this - the kids have a right to play.

And this:
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/may/10/perfect-childrens-playground-the-land-plas-madoc-wales

This is how childhood SHOULD be - not the experience that many children now face.

I agree with Matt.

As an aside I let my two play on the road (cul de sac) and every neighbour I've spoken to doesn't mind and in fact have said they like the fact they can hear kids having fun. I've had occasion to tell one of the neighbours kids off for kicking stones about but that's about it, it's an open plan estate so I don't mind them on my lawn etc.

Same experience as you Marcus - neighbours who commented when we moved in that it was so nice to hear kids outside again.

Not having a go at him specifically but the op's post depresses me. The car is king culture drives me mad and kids infront of screens. Small residential roads should have maasive increases in road furniture and obstacles to ensure cars are driven at 20mph imo

Ffs... please find more drama in your life and report back. seriously depressing reading

You live on a cul de sac if people are driving badly enough to endanger playing kids you need to haul the anti social twunts out of their cars and give them a talking to.
Try getting your neighbours to park on alternate sides of the road a sort of self help traffic calming .

Was a cul de sac. Now a busy through road. I don't have an issue with the kids playing out, but if one of them steps out into the road and a driver can't avoid them, imagine the impact on the family of the child, and that of the driver who has to deal with knocking a kid over. Its the lack of parental supervision that is annoying me.

(often all we hear is CAR!!!)

Do you live in Aurora Illinois?

I assume you don't have kids of your own ? One of my tactics with the more adventurous kids on our street is to make clear my sons rules no going into gardens unless invited or playing with the kids from the house no playing in the road (he is 3) no going pasta particular point. The kids all agree to keep the rules or crankbrat can't play with them .It seems to work without having to lay the law down to someone else's kids.

Don't post on here much but had to - seriously depressing post. Apart from throwing stones which I'm sure could be sorted out easily enough, they're just kids doing what kids want to do. Agree 100% with Matt.

Yes, you should be looking out for them on their bikes. Let's face it, where can they ride roads in relative safety these days? Why should they be supervised? I have great memories of disappearing all day went I was a kid without parental supervision.

Sorry but get a life.

often all we hear is CAR!!!

I cba reading all that, I'm just pleased that in the 30 years since I lasted shouted it, the cry of CAAAAR is still in use across the UK.

So, what would be the best way to deal with this, before little timmy is run over

Expect kids to be there, slow down and get home 5 seconds later?

I'm on a culdesac with 20 kids, mostly primary school age. They chuck gravel onto the street sometimes, make mud at my garden tap which ends up strewn around, draw on the road with chalk, leave bikes and scooters all over the place. It's great!

I suppose the difference is that we have great neighbours who all know each other and I'd be able to approach any parent if their kid was making a real nuisance of themselves.
I appreciate if you don't know the parents well it would make things much harder though.

has the internet made us all less capable of speaking to actual people or something?

Go and have a friendly chat, see if the parents are aware and share your concerns.
I think though you're very thinly masking your general annoyance of kids cluttering up the place, with a safety concern.

Is it still a Cul de Sac but with 40 extra houses?

Or is it now a through road?

Is it still a Cul de Sac but with 40 extra houses?

Yep, apart from the stones and possibly being on other peoples property without permission, sounds great to me.

The grumpy old biffer at the end of our cul de sac had a go at the kids for playing in the road as he swept in in his big old Honda. Next day the kids mother stopped him and gave him a firm but polite rollicking in front of most of the street suggesting he drove more considerately.

He sat there squirming and looked pleadingly at me for help for some reason. "She is absolutely right mate" wasn't what he was hoping for 🙄

They sound like kids to me, unless they're causing damage, let them play you miserable sods.

Do you really expect parents to sit outside to "supervise" their children? If you do, your childhood must have been, errrrm, great.

CAR COMING !!
The sound of my childhood playing football across a road that is now a superhighway of fatties going nowhere and doing nothing but updating their Facebook status whilst poisoning kids and wondering how to meet next months finance payment.
Soon (the ones who aren't too fat and sat at xboxs) will be pretending to kick shit of their little mate until you get out of your car only to call you a **** and all run away...hahahah!
God I wish I was ten and lived on your street, you'd have a ****in breakdown.

Most people on modern estates have kids, accept kids will play outside and reflect that in their own driving and other behaviour. I have kids, they annoy me, so do the other kids on the estate, that's what kids do !! Sounds like OP maybe doesn't have kids and is the minority on the estate.

Depends on the parents I guess, they sound typical, let their kids run riot & think thats normal without any consideration for others. Can you get one of them high frequency things to keep them away from your property perhaps?
I hate kids, they should be grown on a farm & released into society at 18 or so once they have had some manners & sense drummed into them.

Plant a couple of Apple trees in your garden,
Then you can shout at them when they come a scrumping.
And confiscate a football every now and again.
I genuinely grew to love the grumpy gits I grew up with.

All part of the rich tapestry of life.

😀 @ CAR COMING!!!!

Brings back memories, kids scattering in all directions panicking as a car trundled round the corner at 5 mph.

It was strange how the football would hit the miserable folks car more than others.......

It's worth a thread of its own, our fave was old man clayton he would sit in his garden reading the Yorkshire evening post and shouting at kids but inside the paper was a copy of razzle, always had a suit and tie looked immaculate but was probably one of jive bunnies kiddie fiddlers.

We used to get double points if we scored a kerby over a passing car.

We had two main antagonisers.
One was huge an known as evil structure but due to some of the younger kids poor pronunciation became evil scrupture.
The other was known as Peggy or peg leg as he lost a leg fighting in the war, who used to chase us waving his stick .

Actually there was a third an old African lady who used to grow veggies in her front garden and would be out like a whippet with a carving knife and run through any footballs that landed in her garden.

Happy days, was genuinely saddened when I heard Peggy died.

Of course kids should be playing in the road. And just the other day, I went up to the local park for a drive round the swings.

People should be driving carefully through residential areas of course, but roads are built for the transfer of vehicles, not as recreational areas. Is there nowhere more suitable for the kids to play? Timeshare between parents' gardens perhaps, or fields, or local amenities?

We discussed this to death the other week, but when I was a little kid I played on the pavement outside our house, and wasn't allowed across the road unsupervised. As I got older, we milled around the local park and woods, and the largely traffic-free back streets behind terraces. A "busy through road" surely isn't the best place for kids to play. Are there no communal green bits on your estate?

Well I don't think there was anything unreasonable about the OP's OP. The answer is to talk to the kids, especially about chucking stones about, but in a friendly manner.

I just told my neighbours that I hate children especially ones with no manners and don't do as there told, they (the children) give me and my house a wide berth I just smile & wave at their parents who give me rather nervous glancing looks if their little shits are play out ( by their own houses) 😈

What greatape says. Too many people seem scared of talking to other peoples kids. Kids playing is fine. Kids chucking stuff abit possibly not. Step outside and with a smile ask them politely to stop it.

I just told my neighbours that I hate children especially ones with no manners and don't do as there told, they (the children) give me and my house a wide berth I just smile & wave at their parents who give me rather nervous glancing looks if their little shits are play out ( by their own houses)

That's what I am talking about, you sir will become a legend, past from one small child to another.

God bless you. 😀

So, what would be the best way to deal with this, before little timmy is run over and death occurs

Get the council to turn it into a 20mph limit, and enforce it?

Of course kids should be playing in the road

You got that bit right. Shame you turned into Victor Meldrew afterwards.

When we moved in to our street there were no kids playing in the street. Now Jnr FD and about 4 other 2-6 yr olds play in the street. Its brilliant, football, bikes, water fights. Its how it should be.

If some one else's kids do something wrong the kids get told. If they keep doing it the parents get told.

People now drive slower as they expect kids to be out.

ransos - Member
Of course kids should be playing in the road
You got that bit right. Shame you turned into Victor Meldrew afterwards.
POSTED 1 HOUR AGO #

I think cougar has this spot on. There is a park at the back of the houses, probably 30 seconds walk. Loads of space to play. Not arsed about the kids playing, but the estate layout hasnow changed, the road is now a through road and very busy. The kids have zero road sense and are left unsupervised.

I live in Didcot. Local kid ran into the road last year from between parked cars, got hit and died. Now his dad has campaigned for and got a 20mph limit on the road saying his son died so others can live.
His son died because his son made a mistake and got the maximum penalty for it. The errorless non speeding driver has a child's death on his conscience and the local community has a 20mph limit on a road where the chances of getting above 20 are a pipedream due to the amount of traffic and the number of parked cars.
Kids have accidents. The situation described by the op suggests that one may occur there. Let's hope the resulting penalty is less than the one levelled on Freddy Perry.

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Kids should be out playing. My house (I don't currently live there) is at the bottom of a cul de sac on a residential estate. However you would be more convinced it was Silverstone the speed most idiots drive through it!!. I've actually been overtaken before in a residential area as I was doing 20mph (never go above that in housing estates). The answer is to cull the idiots who constantly seem to be in a rush in their cars 😉 .

Most depressing thread ever. Another small victory on the war on children.

And people who put up no ball games signs need a KFC too.

This and the Christmas thread are right up there on my FFS scale this morning.

CARRRRRRR!! good memories

Just make sure your car insurance covers bodywork damage and blood splatter by third party human objects, then just drive as normal - kid goes down, lesson learned by the rest.

Not arsed about the kids playing, but the estate layout hasnow changed, the road is now a through road and very busy.

Then the problem is the road, not the kids. As you say, it's an estate, so you should expect to find kids playing there.

And people who put up no ball games signs need a KFC too.

Whilst I agree bening forced to eat a KFC is worse than death as a punishment. Have you ever lived in a end of terrace house? I'm usualy a nice person (the alarm clock incident excepted) but I've gone absolutely batshit mental at the parents who just stand there gossiping whilst their kids pelt a football against our wall/windows.

I think cougar has this spot on. There is a park at the back of the houses, probably 30 seconds walk. Loads of space to play.

So why aren't they there? there must be a reason, have you asked any of them? maybe it isn't suitable or there is some other aspect you're not aware of...

Not arsed about the kids playing, but the estate layout hasnow changed, the road is now a through road and very busy.

As mentioned by someone else, the road/drivers is the problem, not the kids, petition for a 20, start talking to the neighbours about calming their driving?

The kids have zero road sense and are left unsupervised.

Why not talk to the parents about your concerns and see if there is anything they, or a local community group, or even their school will run as an educational piece about road sense?

Throwing stones is the only bad bit in there, but we all did it as kids, surely that's fixable with a quick chat to them?

open plan estates are no fun, not many hedges to hop and few trees to hide behind when playing knocky nine doors, bah humbug.

I have alot of kids always causing mayhem and running around outside my house, sometimes I even hear my own squeeling and shouting (well one of them at least).

Generally if they are doing something that I think is risky I just go and speak to them, tell them it's [b]not cool[/b], but I'm not immune to a wee shot of kirby on the way home from work, I generally reserve my wrath for the ****y drivers that like to boot it between speedbumps, not the kids.

Why not talk to the parents about your concerns and see if there is anything they, or a local community group, or even their school will run as an educational piece about road sense?

What's it got to do with him? Why is the OP suddenly obligated to make up for someone else's lax parenting? "My kids are running amok on the streets and in other people's gardens but it's ok, I'm leaving it to the rest of the world to work around my precious little Bella and Harry."

If it's a residential area then it should have a 20 limit and that limit should be actively enforced. But kids with no road sense really should not be playing in traffic on a main road, it really is that simple. How far is it to the nearest quiet side street, even? 20 yards? Can't be that far on your average estate, I'd have thought.

But they are UNRULY!

How busy is the road , if CAR! was being shouted every 30 seconds forcing them to pack in what ever it is they were doing, unless they are playing a real life child based version of frogger I am sure they would move somewhere they would be disturbed less.

Are there three people living in each of the 40 extra houses, each popping to the shops in their car once an hour? How busy can the road be, really?

We had 'Hotshot', who lived at number 5 in the street where I grew up. He had a Porsche that he'd pull into the garage when it rained, then come and move it back onto the street when the rain stopped (presumably so that everyone knew he owned a Porsche). Oh, the fun we had riding our bikes around his car 🙂

What's it got to do with him? Why is the OP suddenly obligated to make up for someone else's lax parenting?

He seemed to be expressing concern for their safety, so there must be at least some community spirit in there...

I was just suggesting something he could do about that. Not saying it's his obligation to parent other people's children but if he is concerned then there's the option of doing something positive about it*, or whining about it.

* Even a grumpy 'you should teach your kids some road sense before they get squished!' rant at the parents is an option!

But kids with no road sense really should not be playing in traffic on a main road, it really is that simple

Agreed, so the question becomes how to teach them road sense, see above ^

sounds like us when we were kids. there were always a few grumpy ones in the street who'd complain but we just ignored them and carried on doing what kids do.

Why is the OP suddenly obligated to make up for someone else's lax parenting?

That depends if you think allowing children to play on the street unsupervised constitutes lax parenting. I don't.

real life child based version of frogger

Excellent turn of phrase, bravo!

roads are built for the transfer of vehicles, not as recreational areas

Streets and roads predate the invention of the motor car; [url= http://www.roadswerenotbuiltforcars.com/ ]roads were not built for cars[/url].

Our streets, especially residential streets, should be for [i]people[/i] not for moving lumps of metal around at 30mph.

I look out for my neighbours kids I also look out for their cars and homes . I would step in to help a kid just like I would to deal with car crime or burglary.
Its not really a neighborhood or a society if we all just sit in brick or metal boxes saying its not my obligation to deal with someone else's stuff.

When my kids where that age we had to stop the car get out and move prams,scooters,go-karts and even football goals from the road before we could get up the driveways pita if you where in a hurry but the sound of kids playing and having fun made up for that.

That depends if you think allowing children to play on the street unsupervised constitutes lax parenting. I don't.

I don't either, but I think letting them play on what is described as a "busy through road" unsupervised without first teaching them elementary road safety is monumentally irresponsible.

Can't you see the difference here? I'm not suggesting that kids shouldn't play out, I'm saying that laking about in a busy road might not be the best place for them if they've not been taught how to look out for vehicles and cross roads safely.

roads were not built for cars.

Oh please. Just because horses pre-date roads doesn't mean that we're currently pumping gods know how much money into a road infrastructure so that Dobbin can clip-clip about the place and kids can play with tar and spark their clogs on the cobblestones. Roads might not have been built for cars back in the early 1900s but it's absolutely the primary reason that we're still building them. They're transport links for cars, horses, buses, cycles, people who are at point A and need to be at point B.

If there wasn't demand for vehicular access to your front door, do you reckon there'd still be a road there? I've an idea, why not speak to the other residents and petition to get the council to pedestrianise the estate? Oh, wait, because then you'd have to walk more than ten yards from your car to your front door. The problem here then is that what you really want to do is ban everyone who isn't you. This is a local road for local people.

Proper recreational areas, greenery and traffic-free sections are the solution here, that and teaching your kids to play safely, not demonising people who have the sheer audacity to drive a car on a road.

The worst thing about children misbehaving, are misbehaving parents acting like kids.

Just because they're permitted to be belligerent little ignoramuses at home doesn't entitle them to do so in public:ie the bus.

I enjoy reminding other people's kids to have some respect, or not to piss on the bench, particularly when the parents sanction such shitty behavior.

Kids can learn but the grown ups should already know!

Oh please. Just because horses pre-date roads doesn't mean that we're currently pumping gods know how much money into a road infrastructure so that Dobbin can clip-clip about the place and kids can play with tar and spark their clogs on the cobblestones. Roads might not have been built for cars back in the early 1900s but it's absolutely the primary reason that we're still building them. They're transport links for cars, horses, buses, cycles, people who are at point A and need to be at point B.

Most modern housing estates are being built with a design that limits speed to under 20mph, and hence have raised areas, chicanes, planting and diagonal parking. The "last hundred metres", on housing estates and non-arterial roads, should prioritise people, and limit car speeds.

The "last hundred metres", on housing estates and non-arterial roads, should prioritise people, and limit car speeds.

Sounds much safer than a main road.

The road described by the OP is an access road to 40 houses, which doesn't sound like a main road to me.

A road leading to 40 houses will have less traffic than government guidance for Home Zone streets allows.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_zone

The road described by the OP is an access road to 40 houses, which doesn't sound like a main road to me.

The road described described by the OP is, to quote, "[url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/unruly-kids#post-6314622 ]a busy through road[/url]," which sounds exactly like a main road to me.

That's a subjective statement - he gives the objective housing numbers in the OP, from which you can make your own assessment.

cul de sac on a residential estate extended to a further 40 houses .There are 66 houses on my quiet cul de sac. This Does not really sound like a main road . Main roads are arterial not residential estates.
Perhaps the op can enlighten.

Most depressing thread ever. Another small victory on the war on children.

This.

When I read 'unruly kids', I was expecting to read about them pulling wing mirrors off cars, tipping them over, stealing them, burning them out....that kind of thing.

Kids playing in the road, shouting CARR!!! when a car comes, and rushing to pick the goal posts up...that's what we did. Completely normal behaviour.

If you speak to anyone, speak to the residents about driving in the estate. Speak to the council and tell them you have concerns over the safety of children in the estate. If you speak to the kids, just tell them to be careful.

But if they throw stones, tell them you know where they live and you'll be having words with their dad. They'll be good as gold then.

The road described described by the OP blah blah blah

no no no Cougar 😆

The road [i]is described[/i] by the hysterical OP as a busy through road

As you mature you're meant to reminisce about the good old days when kids could play safely in the streets..
I bet you've got a lovely collection of unreturned footballs in your dingy basement

That "Home Zone" is a brilliant idea. Everyone's a winner.

I don't either, but I think letting them play on what is described as a "busy through road" unsupervised without first teaching them elementary road safety is monumentally irresponsible.

1) You've no idea what the kids have been taught and 2) an access road on an estate is not a "busy through road" despite what the OP might think.

Kids playing in the road, shouting CARR!!! when a car comes, and rushing to pick the goal posts up...that's what we did. Completely normal behaviour.