Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Didn't read entire thread BUT. I wanted to chime in, I wouldn't even question if this is appropriate, it is decidedly NOT. When has it ever been okay to trespass willy nilly on someone else's property? I have a neighbor on the opposite end of the block with three very small children who constantly ride their bikes up into my driveway. It drives me nuts, mostly because they are so small (I worry I will back out and not see them, they are well below my line of sight if directly behind me) but also because as a parent, I would specifically tell my kids DO NOT DO THAT. I yelled (well, spoke sternly, to be most accurate) at them one time and now they make a practice of making a quick loop and leaving before I can get out to say something. They've also picked up my packages (as witnessed by a neighbor, thank goodness for her) and shaken them up - luckily it wasn't anything breakable! Anyways, my property = GET OFF MY LAWN.
ETA as for where they should ride their bikes, uh..not my/OP's problem? If they need a longer driveway/bigger yard/more play area that's on the family to provide that, not the entire neighborhood! Stick to the sidewalk. Besides, there are liability issues OP has to contend with, if the kids get injured on her property, etc.
I don't need, or want, your child-rearing advice. My own are young adults, and quite successful ones.
What you can't seem to grasp is that, in some areas, people are less concerned with manicured lawns than with child safety. I am not talking about riding through flower beds, or shrubbery, but grass berms alongside the road. It's a common practice in the Northeast and and the Atlantic coast. Now I realize in TX that may get somebody shot, but there's a reason why we choose to live where we do, and it's because children are recognized as children, and not trespassers.
Yeah I dont get the big deal if the kid just walks or rides on the berm. We have no sidewalks on our street and live down the street from a elementary school so common to see young kids walking on the grass in the front of the yard.... normal here. There is a difference between on the grass by the street vs on the grass right up near the house.
Didn't read entire thread BUT. I wanted to chime in, I wouldn't even question if this is appropriate, it is decidedly NOT. When has it ever been okay to trespass willy nilly on someone else's property? I have a neighbor on the opposite end of the block with three very small children who constantly ride their bikes up into my driveway. It drives me nuts, mostly because they are so small (I worry I will back out and not see them, they are well below my line of sight if directly behind me) but also because as a parent, I would specifically tell my kids DO NOT DO THAT. I yelled (well, spoke sternly, to be most accurate) at them one time and now they make a practice of making a quick loop and leaving before I can get out to say something. They've also picked up my packages (as witnessed by a neighbor, thank goodness for her) and shaken them up - luckily it wasn't anything breakable! Anyways, my property = GET OFF MY LAWN.
ETA as for where they should ride their bikes, uh..not my/OP's problem? If they need a longer driveway/bigger yard/more play area that's on the family to provide that, not the entire neighborhood! Stick to the sidewalk. Besides, there are liability issues OP has to contend with, if the kids get injured on her property, etc.
I agree with you on the driveway. Just like roadways, they are meant for cars, and are not often safe places for children to be. And, of course, no child should approach your home and pick up anything.
There are vast parts of this country that don't have sidewalks, and it seems people don't realize that. We've owned 5 homes, in three states, and only once did we have them. In our current state, even in areas that do have sidewalks (generally business districts, near schools, or urban areas), bikes are prohibited. Biking is only permitted on the roadways or multi-use trails.
What we did have were neighborhoods full of kids. If my own were on their bikes riding along the berm, they were riding to and from the houses of their friends, who would come to our house the same way. Why would parents complain when their own children did the same thing?
And to answer this "rep": often agree with you, but not here. if my kids are in danger riding bikes on the streets & we didn't have sidewalks i'd ban them from biking due to car danger. it's not RIGHT to trespass because you choose a neighborhood without sidewalks.
People choose neighborhoods based on what they consider to be quality of life issues. For that, we always looked for signs of children. The OP should have looked for signs there weren't any. I'd hate to see a day when kids couldn't ride bikes because a homeowner was more concerned about a strip of grass next to the road.
I agree with you on the driveway. Just like roadways, they are meant for cars, and are not often safe places for children to be. And, of course, no child should approach your home and pick up anything.
There are vast parts of this country that don't have sidewalks, and it seems people don't realize that. We've owned 5 homes, in three states, and only once did we have them. In our current state, even in areas that do have sidewalks (generally business districts, near schools, or urban areas), bikes are prohibited. Biking is only permitted on the roadways or multi-use trails.
What we did have were neighborhoods full of kids. If my own were on their bikes riding along the berm, they were riding to and from the houses of their friends, who would come to our house the same way. Why would parents complain when their own children did the same thing?
And to answer this "rep": often agree with you, but not here. if my kids are in danger riding bikes on the streets & we didn't have sidewalks i'd ban them from biking due to car danger. it's not RIGHT to trespass because you choose a neighborhood without sidewalks.
People choose neighborhoods based on what they consider to be quality of life issues. For that, we always looked for signs of children. The OP should have looked for signs there weren't any. I'd hate to see a day when kids couldn't ride bikes because a homeowner was more concerned about a strip of grass next to the road.
And at least in my area the berm is property of the city but you take care of it. The roughly 10 ft strip from the edge of the road into the property is the easement section -- what is called a berm in our area -- and is owned by the city but you take care of it. This means the city can come and do as they wish on that piece of land.... same in the back of our yard. We have a fenced yard....but the last 10 ft is not fenced ... and is easement property for underground utilities. We take care of it but city owns it and we cannot put anything on that 10 ft in the back.
Would people object at halloween that kids walking house to house go from your front porch and then instead of walking out back into the street just cut across the yard to the next house. I would hope not... but if someone did object we would honor them.
I don't need, or want, your child-rearing advice. My own are young adults, and quite successful ones.
What you can't seem to grasp is that, in some areas, people are less concerned with manicured lawns than with child safety. I am not talking about riding through flower beds, or shrubbery, but grass berms alongside the road. It's a common practice in the Northeast and and the Atlantic coast. Now I realize in TX that may get somebody shot, but there's a reason why we choose to live where we do, and it's because children are recognized as children, and not trespassers.
My lawns have pretty much been the opposite of manicured most of my (well, really all of my) life. And I have no problem with kids playing on them as long as they have prior permission. It's not about the grass, it's about respect for others and for the property of others, and it's something that is best taught at a young age - like I said, you don't let your two-year-old go up to another kid and take their toy away just because they want to play with it, do you? Or at least one certainly hopes not. Same thing.
Then, of course, in this day and age, your kid gets hurt on my lawn through no fault of mine and it doesn't matter one whit that you don't want to sue me, if your kid is hurt badly enough to need medical care, you've already, whether you know it or not, given your insurance company permission to sue me to recoup their loss by the simple act of using their insurance that you pay for. (Used to work in personal injury law, so I know this.) It's in the fine print that you don't even get to read.
That has nothing to do with Texas, by the way. But since it's now fine and dandy to be bigoted about Texas (or California, or Florida, or whatever state is your preferred target without knowing more than stereotypes) since the other targets have been taken away from those who feel the need for prejudice, by all means, feel free.
I don't need, or want, your child-rearing advice. My own are young adults, and quite successful ones.
I've said that myself a few times. In fact I've said that if I had a dollar for every time someone predicted my kids would be living under a bridge (figuratively anyway) because I disagreed with their parenting opinion, I could take us all out to lunch!
Then, of course, in this day and age, your kid gets hurt on my lawn through no fault of mine and it doesn't matter one whit that you don't want to sue me, if your kid is hurt badly enough to need medical care, you've already, whether you know it or not, given your insurance company permission to sue me to recoup their loss by the simple act of using their insurance that you pay for. (Used to work in personal injury law, so I know this.) It's in the fine print that you don't even get to read.
EXCELLENT point!!! We used to have the neighbor's kids sledding down a huge hill on our property after snowstorms. We didn't mind at all and the kids had a blast. One day my sister (who is a very experienced personal injury attorney) was visiting and saw this going on. She nearly had a stroke telling me all of the ways we, as homeowners, could get totally screwed 6 ways to Sunday if any of the kids ever got hurt.
. Do parents not teach their kids respect for their neighbors ? plus my husband is out working on the car and has it on a jack , what if the kid had run into the car and hurt my husband ? .
Tell your husband to put a block of wood under the truck....worries over.
Even when parents DO teach their kids manners, anyone with youngans knows they don't always do what we think they do when we're not watching them.
I can easily see a kid (even well mannered ones) cutting through a neighbors yard on a bike.
They're not always the saviest ones...for sure.
Once you've made it clear with them (the kids) that you don't want them coming through, they'll either hate you and cut across your yard more often, or they'll begrudgingly respect your wishes and keep off.
Good luck to you.
Could be. Regardless, she still shouldn't be looking down on the renters as if she's better than them. That's the part of her post that bugged me. She has an attitude as if she's superior to these kids' parents because they rent instead of own their homes, while freely admitting that she has never even bothered to get to know these people. Just because someone rents, that doesn't mean they "don't have a dime" (as she put it). Nor does it mean that they're all losers who don't care about maintaining the property they're renting. Her attitude is pretty negative and condescending. She just comes across as not being a very pleasant person to have as a neighbor.
Not saying all renters are bad, but
in my experiences, the worst neighbors have been renters.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
