Our Neighbor is a Witch!

[DVC-Don]

Same here, I do not like kids in or going through our back yard when our kids are not out. We have an inground pool that is fenced in. We are considering fencing the whole back yard off. You would not believe the kids who wind up in our back yard "wanting to swim or to see what's going on". "Fair weather friends" is what we call them. Getting so we can not enjoy a family swim without some kid showing up in his swim suit uninvited and standing in our yard just staring at us. I send them packing.

 

[disykat]

I also think the neighbor is not a witch and does not deserve to be called one - it is her property and it's not like she's standing on her porch with a rifle. I teach my children they should not be in anybody's yard without express permission or unless they are playing with the children at that house. The neighbor is clearly trying to establish some boundries - she has every right to do that. I think she was trying to find a polite way to let you know that she was uncomfortable with the kids running through her yard.

 

[GEM]

Sorry, but I gotta agree. Our house is in between a huge apartment complex and a park. We have hundreds of kids running through our back yard to and from the park all day long. It drives me nuts. They trample our yard, leave trash, stop to play right outside our window, etc. If I'm outside and I see them coming I always tell them to go around front on the sidewalk. That doesn't stop them from running through a million times a day, though. I have to agree that I wouldn't let my own kids do that and I wouldn't have been allowed to do it when I was a kid. I think if he is going to his friend's house to play you should walk him there yourself on the sidewalk. That's what my mom always did with us. I don't mean to be mean, but I could see why it irritates her.

 

[Pin Wizard]

I could understand being annoyed by it if it's a continuous thing. It would irritate me. Jeez...just once would irritate me. But our neighborhood doesn't have many kids, so I'm not used to that type of thing. However, we have a lake behind us and we've got aluminum fencing. A couple times AN ADULT decided to sit back there and let his dog fetch the ball from the lake. I wanted to screem! Lucky for me one of the board members lives next to us and with the next month's mailing sent out a "generic" notice that no one is to be walking dogs, fishing, or swimming in or at the lake.

 

[Poly Pal]

Wow, such a hot topic!

Of course our neighbor has a right to privacy and control over who is in her yard. Actually we won't let our older son cut through any neighbors' yards since he's old enough to negotiate the street and cul-de-sac by himself.

We are not talking about hordes of children playing in the neighbor's yard. Just a 35 lb. 4 year old who maybe dashes the 30 yards or so across our neighbor's lawn once or twice a week to avoid having to walk in the street where there is no sidewalk. There is no stopping to play and it would be a physical impossibility for him to peek in windows. If this woman was out on her patio, my 4 year old would ask if he could cross the lawn.
He even plays with her children (ran through the sprinkler, played t-ball, had a picnic lunch, etc.) in our yard and their yard. Now suddenly her lawn is sacred ground? Weird!

She yells at her own children (6 and 2) horribly (calls them names like "stupid") and other neighbors have commented how they feel bad for those kids.

I just had to vent over her being mean spirited. Most of the families chose this new subdivision because of the number of similarly aged children and the child-safe security that the closeness of the houses affords. Heck, she should have chosen to build on a 2 acre lot in the exurbs! Her kids play in our yard as well as other neighbors (and none of us have a problem with that).

Phew! I'm over it now!