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Not MM-related: neighbor kids

hoffsehoffse member
Sixth Anniversary 2500 Comments 500 Love Its Name Dropper
edited March 2015 in Money Matters
Hey,

So I thought I would post this and see if anybody has ideas about how to handle this situation.  Our house is on a corner lot.  Our neighbors to the back of us have a couple of teenage boys who - unsurprisingly - act like teenage boys.  They have dirt bikes, they play with firecrackers, etc.  They're usually well-behaved during the week, but they start to act up many weekends when the weather is nice out.  As I understand it from other neighbors, their dad has custody of them and he uses the weekends as an opportunity to escape to go fishing, figuring his kids are fine at their age at home.

We have noticed certain things turning up on our property: some firecracker butts near our mailbox (about 10 feet from where H parks his car that's only a year old)... a hole through one of our windows that looks like it was created with a BB-gun.... a long stripe of dirt (that previously had grass on it) through part of our backyard that's unfenced, where it seems like they were burning rubber with their dirt bikes.

We haven't caught them doing any of it, but it's almost certainly them.  We see them playing with all of these toys OFF our property most weekends we are home.  We aren't the only ones either: one of our other neighbors has called the cops on them twice since we've moved in.  

What would MM do?  Would you say something to their dad?  We could always pull the lawyer card on them if we have to, but we don't really like doing that unless things are really getting out of hand.

Thoughts?
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Re: Not MM-related: neighbor kids

  •  If I had the courage, I would talk to the dad about everything (especially the BB gun hole). Our neighbors are very close and they have 3 tween/teenage boys and a girl. They have hit our house and windows several times with footballs, basketballs, you name it.. we have triple tracks over the windows so it hasn't broken anything yet, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time. I've never said anything to the parents but I would if there was actual damage. Can you fence the remaining part of your yard? At least keep their bikes off the property? It's a delicate balance with neighbors for sure.
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  • I would talk to the dad first, and see if things improve.  If no one ever told him of what is happening on the weekends when he is gone, he might not be aware of any issues that he needs to talk to the boys about.

    Good luck. 

  • cbee817 said:

     If I had the courage, I would talk to the dad about everything (especially the BB gun hole). Our neighbors are very close and they have 3 tween/teenage boys and a girl. They have hit our house and windows several times with footballs, basketballs, you name it.. we have triple tracks over the windows so it hasn't broken anything yet, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time. I've never said anything to the parents but I would if there was actual damage. Can you fence the remaining part of your yard? At least keep their bikes off the property? It's a delicate balance with neighbors for sure

    cbee817 said:

    We can't fence off the remaining part without removing most of the fence that's already there.  This is a strip of grass between the current fence and the street.  I'd be sort of nervous to fence right up to the street, because it's fairly narrow - only room for one car at a time - I think the fence would risk getting hit by cars trying to drive by if we got that close.

    cbee817 said:

    Yes I probably need to say something to the dad.  Sigh.  I hate conflict, but we can't let this continue.

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  • Another vote for talking to the dad. I'm very non-confrontational so that would be hard for me, but in this case I would definitely bring it up and see what the dad says. Good luck!
  • I would talk to the dad first and see what he says and if it continues I would put up a fence if that would be an option for you. If all fails, I would call the cops cuz I'm a b*tch like that
  • We have a fairly unique neighborhood in that we know the names of everyone on our block and generally have a real community feel. If there was a kid on our street causing trouble, I would talk to the kid directly and, in most cases, also let the parents know that I had done so. Ideally, I would catch the kids in the act of doing something and go directly out at that time to let them know I didn't want that (or similar things) happening on my property. The next time I had a chance to talk to their parent, I would follow-up with him/her.
  • I would had a conversation with their Dad First and foremost. If he does not handle the situation then I would take things a step further.

  • I would take everything you've found and if you can, talk to the dad. Chances are he isn't aware of what his kids are doing when he is gone. Probably figures, my house & yard look fine & I haven't heard any compliants, so it's all good. If after talking to the dad, things don't improve, then anytime you find any damage to your property, I would file a police report for property damage and let the police then deal with the kids.
  • Another vote for talking to the dad.  And certainly in a cordial, friendly, neighborly tone.  Not that I would picture you having this conversation any differently :).

    Is it possible to put a cheap video camera that would record the area near where your husband keeps his car?  That is the area I would be the most concerned about potential damage, because of the newer car.

  • Another vote for talking to dad first. 
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