Housing/neighbour issue

Buzzybee90

jackyann wrote: »

I can only think you are winding people up! Or possibly you live in a sparsely populated area with low house prices and a local authority that values open space and play areas!
A lot of very expensive, new, houses, in areas of high density, don't have large gardens at all.
Very few areas have good accessible "playing fields" that are open to the public. A lot of parks with play equipment are quite small, and the few playing fields left are often fenced off and unavailable for general play.
In our area, the local council has community officers who will come out to deal with these kind of disputes, make sure that parents know the law, and children know where play is acceptable & safe.

Can I also add that sometimes in these situations, the elderly person is in the early stages of dementia? Very difficult to spot, but worth bearing in mind.

There is an abundance of playing fields in both my homes (parents and my own) and they're are in completely different areas. Plus the OP says there is a park nearby.

I actually live in one of the most densely populated areas of the UK.

purpleshoes_2

Buzzybee90 wrote: »

There is no need whatsoever for children to be playing in the road. In areas where people have big gardens there are those, in less privileged areas there are playing fields, parent need to not be so lazy.

The OP says that her son is being accused of being a nuisance when they were hundreds of miles away, this isnt just about playing fields or lack of playing fields. Its about the attitude of the neighbour as well.

I live in an area thats certainly not wealthy and theres one very small swing park. There are fields but I wouldnt describe them as playing fields. Where my mum lives, shes in a better area, theres another small swing park and a large patch of grass that separates some of the houses from the others, but I wouldnt describe that as a playing field.

Just because your area has certain facilities, you really cant speak for every area in the UK.

Calling someone lazy when they are clearly upset really isnt on either.

duchy

You claim to be a single parent ......so where do YOUR children play? (Or do you not actually have children of an age to play?)

Your attitude is far more that of a childless elderly woman than someone who has actually raised children tbh. Looking back at your posts you however are not long out of uni. Lots of mentions of a boyfriend but none of your supposed children. Perhaps you just keep them locked away so they don't mess up your car !

jumpingjackd

Im astounded at some of the replies on here. Theyre children and need somewhere to play close at hand and the mothers can feel safe that they know they are around. Would you rather they were out rampaging and trashing property and cars etc.

We are fortunate to live in a village that has a park and an "empty Park" that the boys played football in, there was never a lot of noise and we knew they were safe, however one neighbour used to kick up because her dog went mental when they were playing there and used to come out with some foul language and chase them......... changed days as they and their grandchildren are now playing football there!

jumpingjackd

Buzzybee90 wrote: »

There is an abundance of playing fields in both my homes (parents and my own) and they're are in completely different areas. Plus the OP says there is a park nearby.

I actually live in one of the most densely populated areas of the UK.

Youre very fortunate!!

pollypenny

I live on a small close of 8 houses, all built for families. Most of the time it's do quiet, but I love seeing the grandchildren playing when they come home from school and are waiting to be picked up.

Do the complainers really expect children to take themselves off to a park or adults to be able to drop everything in order to do so?

springdreams

duchy wrote: »

You claim to be a single parent ......so where do YOUR children play? (Or do you not actually have children of an age to play?)

Your attitude is far more that of a childless elderly woman than someone who has actually raised children tbh. Looking back at your posts you however are not long out of uni. Lots of mentions of a boyfriend but none of your supposed children. Perhaps you just keep them locked away so they don't mess up your car !

I'm guessing you are addressing me since mine is the last post that mentions being a single parent??

You obviously have not been reading my posts very well then ....

None of my 900+ posts mentions a boyfriend since I don't have one, and have been a single parent for over 8 years now. And a great many of my posts mention my DS. I think you are mixing me up with another poster or two.

I am 44, and recently finished my second law degree whilst working full time and bringing in an income to support myself and my son without having to rely on any benefits. Education is not only for the young you know :cool:

I didn't study engineering, so no do not know that a hard leather football being kicked with force against a double glazed window will not damage it. Of course, I still don't believe that a window will escape unscathed given how hard a leather football is, and how hard teenage boys kick them ...

I take the time and effort to take my son to the local park when he is not playing football for his local football club. He also has bike and a scooter, both of which he uses to also take himself down to one of the 3 parks that are local to us. And he makes good use of his trampoline with a special basketball hoop in the our back garden.

My son has been brought up to respect the property of other people. He therefore does not play with footballs in the street. The one and only time he did so I punctured and threw away the ball ... lesson learnt.

As I said, it is not the playing outside that I have issues with - it is the kicking of footballs. Surely playing does not automatically entail a football?? It is possible to play without involving a football. I'm guessing from your defence of the street football players that your children / grandchildren do or have played football in the streets.

And yes, both my privately owned car and my privately owned home are precious to me. I have worked long and hard to pay for them and care for them. Others do not have a right to damage them, including children playing out.

And yes, when I look to move from the home I have lived in for the past 13 years with my DS, I will indeed be looking for a home that has off street parking or a garage. I didn't think to do that with my current home, because in South Africa children in built up areas do not play in the streets, so this would never have been an issue, and therefore not something I would have known I should take into consideration when looking for a home.

The reason I mentioned my degrees and single parent status is because the OP also included such information in her opening post, so I thought I would give a view point from someone in a similar position to the OP.

P.S. Everyone is entitled to a typo now and again .... no-one is perfect, as is evidenced by your own typo in this post:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=66181209&postcount=27