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He's not taking the flowers to his mom, he's pulling them out of the ground by the roots and leaving them thrown around my yard. And, while I appreciate that he may have felt left out, it wasn't because I did anything to do so... the kids who did help came and asked me if they could when they saw me working. I didn't post a sign and then tell him no.
I don't really like the taking flowers to him idea. Mostly because I refuse to reward sociopathic behavior. Not saying anything to his parents, in my opinion, makes it okay. And what happens to a little kid who exhibits sociopathic behavior and isn't corrected? They grow up to be bigger ones who do bigger things.
Really, I know what I'm going to do at this point... as I said before, I'm going to talk to his parents. I am not going to be ugly, and if they get confrontational, I'm going to walk away. What I am worried about is what I can do afterward to keep this kid out of my yard. I don't want him near my property anymore. I like the idea of surveillance, but is there anything else?
He's not taking the flowers to his mom, he's pulling them out of the ground by the roots and leaving them thrown around my yard. And, while I appreciate that he may have felt left out, it wasn't because I did anything to do so... the kids who did help came and asked me if they could when they saw me working. I didn't post a sign and then tell him no.
I don't really like the taking flowers to him idea. Mostly because I refuse to reward sociopathic behavior. Not saying anything to his parents, in my opinion, makes it okay. And what happens to a little kid who exhibits sociopathic behavior and isn't corrected? They grow up to be bigger ones who do bigger things.
Really, I know what I'm going to do at this point... as I said before, I'm going to talk to his parents. I am not going to be ugly, and if they get confrontational, I'm going to walk away. What I am worried about is what I can do afterward to keep this kid out of my yard. I don't want him near my property anymore. I like the idea of surveillance, but is there anything else?
I called the police once when some kids kept cutting through our yard and they were NOT helpful. They told me to get a big dog and chain him in the backyard to scare the bejeezus out of them. So stupid.... so what I did do is this: I confronted the kids and told them that its fine for them to cut through my yard, but I want to know who they are, where they live, and to kindly not come around after 9pm, and to not step on any plants.
If you know where the kid lives, I'd definitely talk to his folks, and try not to be confrontational. If they are decent people, they'd fix the problem.0002
ok, so I re-read your post, it's not the same situation as mine. I'd be pretty ticked off if I were you.... good luck and let us know how it turned out.
He's not taking the flowers to his mom, he's pulling them out of the ground by the roots and leaving them thrown around my yard. And, while I appreciate that he may have felt left out, it wasn't because I did anything to do so... the kids who did help came and asked me if they could when they saw me working. I didn't post a sign and then tell him no.
I don't really like the taking flowers to him idea. Mostly because I refuse to reward sociopathic behavior. Not saying anything to his parents, in my opinion, makes it okay. And what happens to a little kid who exhibits sociopathic behavior and isn't corrected? They grow up to be bigger ones who do bigger things.
Really, I know what I'm going to do at this point... as I said before, I'm going to talk to his parents. I am not going to be ugly, and if they get confrontational, I'm going to walk away. What I am worried about is what I can do afterward to keep this kid out of my yard. I don't want him near my property anymore. I like the idea of surveillance, but is there anything else?
I think you may be over-reacting a little bit here. While I agree with you that what the kid is doing is not right and his behavior should not be condoned at all, he may be lashing out because of things that are happening to him at home. Maybe he's tearing up your flowers because he's being abused (either mentaly or physicaly) at home. Your flowers represent something of beauty and he wants to destroy that because of the crap going on at home. If that indeed is what is happening at home, going and talking to the parents could spark something to happen behind closed doors as a form of punishment. Just something to think about...
On the other hand he could just be acting like a teenager, and if that is the case then he deserves a good swift kick in the butt.
What about installing an electrified dog fence around the premieter of your garden area? I'm not saying something that would knock someone unconcious but definately something that would make someone think twice about going in there to mess with your flowers.
Just remember to turn it off before you go to work in it.
I think you may be over-reacting a little bit here. While I agree with you that what the kid is doing is not right and his behavior should not be condoned at all, he may be lashing out because of things that are happening to him at home. Maybe he's tearing up your flowers because he's being abused (either mentaly or physicaly) at home. Your flowers represent something of beauty and he wants to destroy that because of the crap going on at home. If that indeed is what is happening at home, going and talking to the parents could spark something to happen behind closed doors as a form of punishment. Just something to think about...
On the other hand he could just be acting like a teenager, and if that is the case then he deserves a good swift kick in the butt.
What about installing an electrified dog fence around the premieter of your garden area? I'm not saying something that would knock someone unconcious but definately something that would make someone think twice about going in there to mess with your flowers.
Just remember to turn it off before you go to work in it.
The electric fence seems like a costly solution and would likely open the OP up to damages in court (and all of this is after the technical hurdle of making it actually work).
I can appreciate the hypothetical of why he might be acting out, but at the end of the day the parents should still be notified. If it was once I would possibly let it go, but repetition spells a problem that only has the possibility of getting worse.
Unfortunately the parents of kids who act out inappropriately seem to have parents who do just the same. That shouldn't stop you from addressing the issue though. I think the OP has the right idea.
Seriously, this is not rocket science. Just walk over, nicely speak to the parents about it and talk to them about the best way to handle it. Then take it from there! It's possible they may be freaks, it's possible they won't believe you or become defensive, it's possible their kid is being abused and is taking it out on her garden. Whatever. The majority of us parents out there don't want our kids ripping out other people's flowers and the majority of parents will be embarrassed, apologetic and will take it seriously.
I totally disagree that kids who act inappropriately have parents who do too. Kids do dumb stuff sometimes, no matter how perfect of a parent you are! They're your neighbors. Just talk to them.
Good luck!
The electric fence seems like a costly solution and would likely open the OP up to damages in court (and all of this is after the technical hurdle of making it actually work).
I can appreciate the hypothetical of why he might be acting out, but at the end of the day the parents should still be notified. If it was once I would possibly let it go, but repetition spells a problem that only has the possibility of getting worse.
Unfortunately the parents of kids who act out inappropriately seem to have parents who do just the same. That shouldn't stop you from addressing the issue though. I think the OP has the right idea.
Just to clarify, I'm not talking about a prison grade electrified fence. When I was a kid we had this electric line that was placed at the bottom of our fence to keep the dog from digging out of the yard. As kids we used to dare each other to touch it. I was thinking about something like that. It gives you a jolt but it's not like taking a tazer to the neck......not that I have had that happen
Back to my hypothetical sceniaro...Ok the parents are informed. Then after the OP leaves the parent(s) yank the kid into his room and proceede to beat the living crap out of him for embarassing them like that.
I can't be the only one that has considered this an actual problem.
Perhaps the OP can shed some light on the kid in question and what OP knows about the kids family life.
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