Neighbor lets kids swim in his pool, parents upset for banning them after they cross one boundary too many: ' I just do not want my property treated like a public pool'

Author image for Isabella Penn
Isabella Penn
Sep 6, 2025 8:00 PM EDT

When I was a kid, summers meant finding someone (literally anyone) who had a pool. My friends and I didn't have one, so we'd all cross our fingers that the one lucky family in the neighborhood would invite us over. If they did, it felt like winning the lottery. If they didn't, well, it was back to running through sprinklers or begging our parents for a trip to the public pool. That scarcity made a backyard pool feel like the ultimate luxury, and if you got access, you treated it with respect.

In this story, one man decided to be the "cool neighbor" and open his above-ground pool to the kids next door. At first, it was wholesome and he liked the idea of being a good neighbor and giving them a fun summer memory. But the kindness quickly got taken for granted. The parents stopped asking permission and started sending the kids over daily, even when he wasn't home. Things escalated when he discovered juice spilled into the pool and broken floats left behind.

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  • So he did the reasonable thing and he shut it down. No more pool privileges. Instead of gratitude, he got called uptight. Some neighbors even accused him of being selfish.

  • Cheezburger Image 10550993408
    via Brandon Hoogenboom For Unsplash+

  • "AITA for not letting my neighbor’s kids use my backyard pool anymore?"

    I live in a duplex with a decent-sized backyard. When I moved in last year, I installed one of those above- ground pools.
    via Crazy_Story999
  • It is not huge, but it is enough to cool off in during the summer. My neighbors have two kids under 10, and when they saw the pool last summer, they asked if their kids could come over sometimes to swim.
    via Crazy_Story999
  • I agreed, because I figured it would be nice for them and I liked the idea of being a good neighbor. At first, it was fine.
    via Crazy_Story999
  • But gradually it turned into them expecting to use the pool almost every day. The parents stopped even asking me if it was okay and would just send the kids over and tell them to "knock on my door."
    via Crazy_Story999
  • Sometimes I would come home from work and the kids were already in my yard because their parents told them it was fine.
    via Crazy_Story999
  • Cheezburger Image 10550993920
    via kevin laminto For Unsplash+

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.


     

  • The final straw was last week when I went outside and saw one of the kids had spilled juice into the pool, and the other had broken one of the pool floats.
    via Crazy_Story999
  • I told the parents politely that I was not comfortable with them using it anymore. They got defensive and said I was being uptight and unfair to their kids.
    via Crazy_Story999
  • Especially since it is "just water" and I do not even have children of my own who would use it. Now I feel like the mean neighbor.
    via Crazy_Story999
  • They barely talk to me when we pass each other, and another neighbor implied that I am "not very community-minded" for shutting the kids out.
    via Crazy_Story999
  • am not trying to be ride, I just do not want my property treated like a public pool.
    via Crazy_Story999
  • AITA for banning my neighbor's kids from my pool after they kept crossing boundaries?
    via Crazy_Story999
  • gemmygem86 Nope out a fence if there's not one and lock it. Install cameras too
    via gemmygem86
  • Ok_Childhood_9774 NTA, and having unsupervised kids in your pool is a huge liability. Fence it in, put up 'no trespassing" signs, and make sure everyone knows the pool is invitation only from now on.
    via Ok_Childhood_9774
  • FarAd2318 Clearly no one ever taught the parents that they're not entitled to an amenity that someone else owns. You were generous enough to let their kids swim in the pool until they started abusing the privilege.
    via FarAd2318
  • Boomer_boy59 Kids were unsupervised in your pool?? My neighbor asked if his kids could use our pool and I said sure, but you have to supervise YOUR kids. No way was I allowing the kids to use the pool unsupervised and I sure wasn't going to be the one watching them.
    via Boomer_boy59
  • Veylarine NTA, dude. It's ur property and u got every right to say no if they aren't respecting it. Kids need to learn stuff ain't free and boundaries exist. There's a diff between being a good neighbor and being taken advantage of. Stand ur ground!
    via Veylarine
  • taint_odour You need a fence that locks. See attractive nuisance
    via taint_odour

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