'My neighbour's child keeps playing in my garden – but she's the one furious at me'

A man has been left gobsmacked after being scolded by his for not being more accommodating her child. He explained how he lives in a quiet neighbourhood with a "decent-sized backyard" - and spends hours maintaining it to his high standards. But one day, he returned home to see next door's child playing with his garden tools and running around on his lawn. He laughed it off and asked the child to ask him next time he wanted to play in his garden before continuing with his day like nothing happened.

However, this was just the start of his issues. He said on : "One day, I came home to find him and a few of his friends having a full-on water balloon fight in my yard—without permission!

When I approached them, they just laughed and said, 'It’s just a little fun!' I asked them to leave and explained that I didn’t want anyone in my yard without asking.

"The kid’s then came over, furious, saying I was being overly strict and that kids just want to play. I felt bad for putting her in a tough spot, but I also have boundaries!" Seeking advice, he admits he doesn't know handle this situation and doesn't want to create an issue out of the situation.

He said: "Now I’m at a point where I don’t know how to handle it without creating tension with my neighbours. Has anyone dealt with a similar situation? How did you set boundaries without coming off as the 'bad guy'?"

Commenting on his post, one user said: "Go sit in her backyard on a lawn chair. Just lounge for a while, listen to music, make some phone calls. It's just a little fun.

READ MORE:

"Yeah, it's an issue if one of them gets hurt, and they decide to sue you. Or if they break something of yours. What is it with people who don't understand the concept of private property. Also you're going to need cameras."

Another user added: "Good fences make good neighbours. I've shared this before so sorry if anyone remembers...

"When my husband and I moved into our new house there had never been a fence in this part of the neighborhood.

"My husband grew up in our neighbourhood and said to expect some push back when we went to put one up for our so they could run safely (both rescues and one with trauma from being beaten by a man).

"Once the survey was completed our back neighbour came over to ask me why we needed a fence, suggested the dog parks in the area and cited his tree a reason not to build a fence.

"I told him 'we love trees!' And eventually broke away from him. About two weeks after the fence went up in our yard, back neighbour had a big hullabaloo in his back yard. They didn't have enough "space" for their crowd.

"Makes sense why he was against the fence! This past summer it encouraged back neighbour to rebuild his porch. I say it's win-win now!"

A third user said: "Put up a fence. You can see where the kid gets his sense of entitlement from too. They can play in their own yard. Since the kid can't follow a simple rule of asking first, he blew it and now isn't allowed."