[SchmennaLeigh]

Okay, preface: I grew up in the country on 89 acres. I've never had this problem. So I need advice.

How the HELL do I keep kids out of my yard? We allow them to cross our back yard to get to their friend's yard who lives diagonally from our own back yard. That's fine. Okay. Today, i went out to clean up apples because the neighbor kids were climbing the apple tree yesterday (JDFLKGHJFH!) and I knew that would knock down more apples. I told Josh, "It's a liability for them to be climbing our tree. We shouldn't let them do it." He responded with something to the sort of "they're kids."

Well, I'm about THISCLOSE to CREAMING those kids.

On one of the branches of our apple tree, I have a hanging basket, of course, hanging. It's a begonia that my great-grandmother gave me this summer. I almost killed it but then nursed it back to BEAUTIFUL health. It took me ALL summer until just this past week to get it look beautiful again.

I'm under the tree. I see dirt on the ground. I look up, I see the dirt has shifted. So, they knocked it over. No problem, right? WRONG. Begonias are VERY fragile. They broke off the BIGGEST part of the stem and body of the flower. I've tried transplanting it back in but most likely most of the flower will now die. I was so happy that I had nursed it and planned on bringing it inside so that great-grandma could see it next month for Nick's birthday.

SO MAD.

How do I keep kids out of our yard and off our tree? Short of buying a fence which we have discussed for next year. (Not this year because we have some leveling of our backyard left to do.)

I'm mad, angry and I want to spit. I wish one of those little brats had knocked on our door and freaking apologized. I've never thought of them as brats until today but, DARN IT, I WORKED SO HARD ON THAT FLOWER. And it was from my GREAT-GRANDMOTHER.

I work so hard on EVERYTHING in our yard. I'm tired of worrying about it. (They killed a set of black eyed susans I was attempting to transplant this summer already.)

akljdsg;jghj.. mad.

[HBV]

You either go outside next time you see them and speak very directly to the kids about it or you go to their parents, NOW, and tell them what's happened.

We had this happen w/ some neighbor kids---they were throwing TP and stuff over the fence while we were having a cocktail party on our patio. One of the guests just yanked a length of rope over the fence out of their hands when they threw it. I took the rope next door the following day and told the dad what happened, prefaced with "You seem like the kind of involved parents that would want to know about this." 30 minutes later I had an embarrassed teenager at the front door w/ an apology.

[arkansas parent]

I agree with HBV. The next time they come in your yard make it very clear they are not welcome. We have also had this problem. I even had one little boy try to steal some yard oniments (sp?). I yelled at him to put them down and stay out of my yard. You can try talking to their parents, but they might not care. Some people dont think it is important to teach their children to stay out of neighbors yards.

[SchmennaLeigh]

I'm kind of sucky at confrontations (ha!) so I think I will leave it at this: the next time they're in my yard, I'll say something to them. If I either get attitude or something else gets broken, I'll go to their parents.

What do you say to parents? What if the parents don't care?

This makes me want to cry.

[mommamarci]

My vote: send Josh to say something!! My husband gets stuck with those jobs because I am too much of a wimp.

[HBV]

You say to the kids: Look, I don't mind if you cross the yard to see your friends, but you need to stay out of the tree and be careful of my plants or you're not going to be allowed to do it anymore. Use your mom voice.

You say to the parents: We are neighbors, and you seem like good parents that would want to know about this---we don't mind little Jimmy cutting through the yard to see his friends, but I have to ask that he stays out of the trees. I'm concerned that he'll get hurt, and also I'm a little unhappy about what has happened to my garden." It doesn't really have to be that confrontational, and I think you want to assume that the parents DO care. You'd care if Nick did something like that, right?

If we are all afraid to say anything about a neighbor kid's behavior, we're just adding to the problem.

[SchmennaLeigh]

Okay. That sounds good. HBV, good words. I'll write them down and recite them over and over. LOL.

Marci; hmm, sending Josh would be good. Then again, he's the one who said, "They're just kids."

*kicks Josh* LOL!

[ajjhmf]

I think you are getting good advice. I would first speak to the kids the next time you see them, but I would also speak to their parents today. We have 22 kids on our court nad all the parents have made it pretty clear to the kids what is allowed nad not allowed in yards. Some families are okay with tree climbing, others are not. Speak to the parents adn the kids, make you wishes known and go from there.

And of the parents don't care, just keep talking to the kids in your mom voice. That's what I do with the familiy on my street like that.

Sorry about your flower. I know how hard that is.

Blessings,
Jenny

[HongKongMomma2B]

I, too, have had this problem in the past. Our first set of neighbors had a few grandkids who would come over to there house to visit. Instead of visiting their grandparents, they would spend their time on our swing set in the front yard. My mother said something to them once, but didn't want to have a confrontation. They kept coming back so I took it upon myself to go outside and tell them they were not allowed to play on it (they would climb on top of the monkey bars and sit and talk). It was a little different when I told them because I was only a few years older than they were so they DEFINITELY did not listen to me until I walked outside one day and told them we did not want to see them in our yard again and if we did we would go to their parents and grandparents. We never saw them on our swing set again.

[InionGrinn]

Make sure to tell the kids that THIS TREE IS BOOBY TRAPPED. Make a little sign with a skull and crossbones on it.

[Emster]

Funny, I just read this post for the first time today. Reminds me of the time I noticed the next door neighbor standing around my back yard tree a few years ago...curious, popped my head out the back window and said, "whatcha doin' guys?" Their reply, "shootin' birds".

ACK--

I had to ask them not to shoot the birds in my tree--if they flew into their own yard, fine, but as long as they were in MY tree they were MY birds and please don't shoot at them. I'm sure I was the mean neighbor lady for a long time after that. Those kids would shoot at anything.

Thankfully, they have grown out of it...

[mom2justynsarah]

When I was growing up, my house was very close to the elementary school. The house on the corner was the house where EVERYBODY cut through. To make things worse, we all cut through their front & back lawn (cringe).

To make a long story short, the owners finally figured out a way to keep us off their grass. They would stand outside with broom sticks. The husband would be waiting in the back, the wife in the front.

When anyone of us would start to cut through, they would start swinging the broomsticks at us.

Nowadays, they would probably be arressted for child endangerment/abuse. But 20-30 years ago, things were quite different. At least they found a way to keep us off their grass! lol!

[Mandy4President]

You are getting some awesome advice, however, I am like you and can not say anything to anyone (that's why I ahve a mil who walks all over me.) My advice, put up a fence if you can't find yourself saying anything. No, seriously, I'm not being sarcastic at all. We're going to be going to put one up next year because we have a neighbor dog that comes over three times a day and craps in our yard. Next year, fence. I am too much of wimp to say anything.

[SchmennaLeigh]

Okay, funny that this post was revived. I had an issue just yesterday.

Nick and I were playing in the living room and I heard kids.... in my yard. I stand up to look out the front window. Neighbor kids, in my yard, picking apples off the ground and throwing them at each other. Okay, no real harm. I need to clean the last bit of apples up anyway, right? But what if they throw one back and it goes through our downstairs window? Yeah, not having it. So, I stand there. Oldest girl finally sees me. I shake my head no. She gives me a dirty look but walks away and apparently makes the other kids understand that I said no.

My Husband comes home five minutes later from Home Depot with a friend. Theyr'e unloading stuff. Now, the neighbor girls think my Husband is cute and they think that they have him wrapped around their finger. so they're walking next to him, talking... and the youngest girl then goes back into the yard, as I'm standing there, and picks up and apple.

So, I say, no, put the apple down. And pelase leave my yard.

She did. But Josh gave me a hard time for being a meanie head. But really, just no. Don't touch my freaking apple tree.

That said, we are cutting it down after it blooms this spring (sigh) because it did get diseased (we had a tree guy come out and check it) and is basically not able to be saved. BUT BUT BUT. We'll be planting a (pink) flowering dogwood in its place. Now to keep the kids from breaking it in half while it grows. Sigh.

[HBV]

Yay, Jenna!

Sorry about the apple tree, though.

When my dh and I were dating, he lived in a little house on a street w/ a bunch of kids who weren't supervised very closely. One day when I was at his house, one of them, about 7 yrs old, came to the door and wanted to borrow a ladder. I asked why. He said they'd thrown a ball onto dh's roof and wanted to climb up and get it down. I said "Can you spell indemnify?" He said no. I said "Then you can't have a ladder" and closed the door. They never bugged him again. I think they just thought we were weird.