Neighborhood Kids

[Blue Collar Guy]

Have you talked to them as they start to cut through?

If not, you should. Politely asking kids is often the simplest way to change their behavior.

Even if on crutches, you could sit outside and get friendly with neighborhood kids.

I have politely told people , that if they continue to beat their wife, they would have a negative consequence. Many times they didnt listen to that either. You got to be lucky when dealing with people of any age.

 

[MRG]

Have you talked to them as they start to cut through?

If not, you should. Politely asking kids is often the simplest way to change their behavior.

Even if on crutches, you could sit outside and get friendly with neighborhood kids.

Catching more flies with honey always works. More work perhaps but way more rewarding.

I have seen it go poorly when other approaches are used. I'm probably a bit over the top in my views.
As a kid(13) I remember riding minibikes up in the hills. Some moron hung an unmarked cable and killed one of my buddies. Wasn't marked as private property....... Should have never happened.

 

[Act2]

Smile and wave at them. Often.

 

[Jerry1]

Have you talked to them as they start to cut through?

If not, you should. Politely asking kids is often the simplest way to change their behavior.

Even if on crutches, you could sit outside and get friendly with neighborhood kids.

Catching more flies with honey always works. More work perhaps but way more rewarding.

I have seen it go poorly when other approaches are used.

Talking to them and making sure they know you is the best option. Maybe at the very least, you can guide them in a way that works best for you.

As a kid, our house backed up to a field. I can't tell you the aggravation my mom went through. We had a fence and it did no good. My mom was a single mother and so there was no weight behind her demands for it to stop. Worse, she let some people cut through (friends) so it was the path to the field.

I remember being a hood kid and adults that were friendly were definitely treated better than those who were not. Try to get to know them.

 

[Koolau]

Yeah, this is one of those situations where you might win the battle and lose the war. If the kids are being destructive or otherwise a constant nuisance, you may have to deal with it. Otherwise, it's probably better to get to know the kids - at least by sight. If they know you know who they are, they may just appreciate the short cut and not mess around on your property.

The folks who bug me are the adults that go through a gate and leave it open on their "shortcut." Worse, we woke up one night, maybe 12:30 AM and there was a woman in our back yard with half a dozen grocery sacks, harvesting apples from our tree. People that callous to the normal neighborly niceties (hows that for alliteration?) just can not be helped.

At some point, you may just decide that you aren't the "home owner" type and go for a condo or apartment. Hopefully, you will find a way to adapt and not only have good neighbors but be looked upon as a great neighbor. YMMV

 

[brucethebroker]

I know how (as teens) we dealt with grouchy "old men" who told us to stay off their lawns....they became the favorite houses to TP, or try the "paper bag burning on the front porch" trick.

Be careful out there.........

 

[marko]

Smile and wave at them. Often.

The first thing I'd worry about is liability of them being on your property.

In my neck of the woods it's a common concern and the courts tend to side against the homeowner regardless. Even if someone is hurt breaking into your house the court here once ruled that the homeowner was liable for a defective deck floor when the robber was hurt.

Some states also have an "open and notorious use" law where, if trespassing occurs regularly and you acknowledge it and do nothing, you open yourself up to right-of-way issues. IOW, once the right of way is established you cannot stop them even if you want to and, neither can the new owner should you ever sell the property, reducing your property's value.

In my state, 20 years of people taking a short-cut through private property (doesn't have to be the same people)--with you "smiling and waving", constitutes a right of way for everyone.

 

[John Galt III]

Not a solution, just an anecdote: I had kids cutting through my front yard, which really annoyed me. I put up a fence. Even had to take out a loan to do it. A nice-looking split rail fence, with plastic-coated chicken wire added strategically so they couldn't crawl between the rails. Been very happy with the fence. The chicken wire is brown so doesn't look awful.

 

[ponyboy]

Catching more flies with honey always works. More work perhaps but way more rewarding.

I have seen it go poorly when other approaches are used. I'm probably a bit over the top in my views.
As a kid(13) I remember riding minibikes up in the hills. Some moron hung an unmarked cable and killed one of my buddies. Wasn't marked as private property....... Should have never happened.

lol...unless you own the land it is owned by someone else. Even land you think you "own" is simply being rented...case in point...stop paying property tax and see how long you "own" your property.

Unless the property is in your name or someones name you know...its something you should stay off it. If there are no signs granting access...stay out!