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If he isn't talking to anyone or on the phone, I would assume it is something like tourette syn or autism. If that is the case there may be not much they can do but ask him to come inside. There is the chance they send him outside to get a break from it themselves...
You can go next door & tell your neighbor you overheard him in the backyard & wonder if he's okay. I like that idea best.
It sounds more to me like it's parents you see pretty frequently who are afraid to discipline in any way. The threat to not take him to the park makes it sound like they discipline using threats and nothing effective. He sounds angry and bored, begging for attention.
Why would an 8 year old child be outside all alone like that for hours? It sounds like another lame form of discipline, send him outdoors alone, he seems rather like a dog left in a backyard that barks non-stop trying to get some attention. I should really hope he's not some disabled child that is being thrown into the backyard to be all alone. That would really be abuse.
Do the parents ever come outdoors to sit with him and talk with him and play with him? He may be so poorly disciplined that they can't stand to have him around or in the house with them, so they make him go outside where they can just ignore him and tune him out.
If you've talked to him once..... I'd talk to him again.
"Hey. How's your skateboarding? Got any new stunts? Blah, blah... " And once he's comfortable (and if he doesn't start shouting obscenities) I'd say, "So how come you stand outside and cuss so much?" If he feels comfortable with you he'll probably tell you.
My first guess is he's cussing out his mother. He does something she doesn't like and her punishment is to toss him outside. She may lock him out. And he's an 8-year old with no recourse but to shout, "F you" until she lets him back in. I've learned all sorts of things from kids just by giving them a chance to talk. He may be a great kid in a horribly dysfunctional family.
An otherwise normal-acting kid (no facial tics, not spasmodic, etc.) screaming the same thing over and over does not sound like Tourette's.
OP, I'd go next door and just find out what's up. "I don't really know how to broach this, but your son stands outside screaming profanities for long periods of time. I understand that kids make noise when they play outside, but listening to that language is really difficult." She may be apologetic or defensive.
There's no reason to be "sensitive to their needs." If the child has a genuine disorder where he is compelled to scream obscenities, he can go in the house and scream inside. I understand wanting to be a kind neighbor, but don't be a pushover.
This is excellent advice. There is no reason to assume he has some sort of developmental issue and if he cannot control this, the parents shouldn't be letting him stand outside and swear his head off! I'd bet he gets mad at mom and dad an starts swearing at them, so they toss him outside.
I would say put up a high fence, as high as your development allows, with shrubs in front of it. I wouldn't say anything to the parents and try to ignore it as much as possible.
While Julias advice was also good, some parents get a little 'funny" we=hen it comes to their childres, so that can go either way...
the other advice about talking to the child about skateboarding bla bla was good also, then get to the real punch, "yo man, why you be cursing all the time?????", just a little parent humor... LOL
People with Tourette's can't stop in order to go to the park and a mother with a child with Tourette's would know that she isn't supposed to acknowledge tics in any way. Not to even mention that the obsenity screaming brand of Tourettes is extremely rare. I'd bet that this is not Tourette's.
Talk to your neighbor and find out what's going on. Then I'd go to the garden hose. Finally check your town laws.
This child is eight. I sincerely hope the suggestions to use a garden hose on him were lame attempts at humor.
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