Mom bans 5, 7, and 13-year-old neighbors from her lawn after they repeatedly threw things at her house, friend accuses her of taking away their place to play: 'They don't have much of a yard'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor
Apr 19, 2025 4:00 PM EDT

Nobody wants to become a caricature of an old man, yelling at kids to get off his lawn. So many neighborhoods are hostile to children playing that they just don't anymore, opting to stay inside and play on their iPads instead of getting the cops called on them for riding their bikes, .2 miles away from their houses. Kids don't want to be confined to only the small bit of green space in their yard, but they do need some boundaries about what they can and can't do while in and around other people's houses. Playing on a neighbor's yard is largely harmless, if only a little annoying to the homeowner. But playing on other people's property can damage it in just 2 seconds. One foul ball in a cul-de-sac baseball game can break a window, making such games a thing of the past for the kid's parents, who don't want to foot the bill. 

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  • The mom in this story does not want to foot the bill for property damage to her house caused by the rowdy kids in her neighborhood. After they kept throwing things at her house when she repeatedly asked them not to, she took matters to that state.

  • 01
    ODDING ALGEG To HAPPEN
    via Max Titov

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 02

    AITA for buying my kid a "playground" after "denying" the neighbor kids a place to play

    This seems ridiculous to me and I'm pretty confident I'm in the right but here goes.
    via u/Bitter_Remote_5213
  • 03
    Cheezburger Image 10495639808
    via Brian Wangenheim

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 04
    For the last year my neighbors kids have been running amuck on my driveway. At first I was empathetic as they don't have much of a yard and we don't live on a culdasac. (They have their own driveway though).
    via u/Bitter_Remote_5213
  • 05
    Over the last year I've nicely requested they stop doing something when it threatened my home or car, for example throwing b lls/Frisbee and repeatedly hitting my windows. When things like this would happen I would go outside, calmly, and ask them to not play directly in front of my house or on my driveway.
    via u/Bitter_Remote_5213
  • 06
    They became increasingly more confident, and reckless. Breaking large rocks on my driveway with a hammer and throwing the chunks at my walls. So finally, I called the cops and had them trespassed because the parents knew but didn't care as long as their kids are outside and not bugging them.
    via u/Bitter_Remote_5213
  • 07
    This has coincided with my daughters mobility reaching the point where she wants to climb and play outside, and the weather's nice so I want to put up a swingset/slide playhouse for her in the backyard. I babysit so I'm getting one that can support two or three little kids weight.
    via u/Bitter_Remote_5213
  • 08
    Cheezburger Image 10495634432
    via Chaewon Lee

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 09
    A friend told me that I was an AH because I had "eliminated" their space to play and now I was going to "flaunt" my "wealth" by putting up a "playground" in my backyard that they would get to stare at from their house windows.
    via u/Bitter_Remote_5213
  • 10
    The worst part is I probably would have let the neighbor kids come over and use it if they hadn't been such turds this year.
    via u/Bitter_Remote_5213
  • 11
    phunkmunkie Your friend is an idiot.
    via u/phunkmunkie
  • 12
    ALostAmphibian Truth. OP is gonna get sued if something happens to one of those neighbor kids on her property.
    via u/ALostAmphibian
  • 13
    iowanawoi Give the kids your friends address and send them over there
    via u/iowanawoi
  • 14
    SweetDiva69 Right? If they're so worried about the kids having a place to play, they can host the neighborhood chaos themselves.
    via u/SweetDiva69_
  • 15
    MellowDramaticAngel Sounds like those neighbor kids need to learn some manners and respect for other people's property. Maybe they can get their own playground in their own backyard oh wait, they don't have one because their parents didn't want to invest in it. Don't let them guilt trip you, you have every right to put a playground in your own backyard for your daughter.
    via u/MellowDramaticAngel
  • 16
    CarmenSweet your yard isn't a public park, and you don't owe anyone access to your property, especially not kids who've disrespected it. Do what's best for your child and ignore the guilt trips; you're not flaunting anything, you're parenting.
    via u/CarmenSweet
  • 17
    Acaliah Wolfsong I would suggest putting up security cameras and signage saying private property or something like that. I can see the parents encouraging the kids to go play Op's back yard play set. Especially since they have been trespassed by the police already.
    via u/AcaliahWolfsong
  • 18
    Tralfamadorians_go Especially because if they hurt themselves trying to break into the backyard or on the equipment, they don't want to be liable in any way. I hope for the OP's sake this "friend" is more of an opinionated acquaintance that can be disregarded easily for his peace of mind.
    via u/Tralfamadorians_go
  • 19
    Mandyissogrimm A fence if they don't already have one
    via u/Mandyissogrimm
  • 20
    Mysterious-System680 OP should check what they need to do in terms of fencing their yard and securing the play equipment, in case one of the kids breaks into the backyard, hurts themselves, and the parents try to claim that the play equipment is an "attractive nuisance" and Bratleigh couldn't resist it.
    via u/Mysterious-System680
  • 21
    Fuzzy Laugh_1117 And I'd rethink that so-called friend. That's a weird thing to say when they must know the lengths OP had to go to until now. Sheesh. OP is NTA but those neighbours and OPs friend are very close to the AH edge.
    via u/Fuzzy_Laugh_1117
  • 22
    Apprehensive Ruin692 ΝΤΑ They are completely unrelated
    via u/Apprehensive_Ruin692
  • 23
    Bleu5EJ Exactly! Two different issues. Disregard your friend's input.
    via u/Bleu5EJ
  • 24
    unimpressed-one So people can't have nice things because that is flaunting your wealth, lol. Your friend is nuts.
    via u/unimpressed-one
  • 25
    No-Diet-4797 You're not allowed to give your kid something if the neighbor can't or won't provide the same for their kids. Simple entitlement math.
    via u/No-Diet-4797

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neighbors neighborhood drama kids neighborhood mother neighborhood-drama neighborhood-stories terrible neighbors little kids Bad Neighbor mom children
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