neighbours children

[Joke]

My neighbours daughter spends most of the summer, with the children who live next door to her, kicking her football over our fence. She then constantly hammers on our door. What would be the best way of dealing with this situation (my own children were never allowed to be such a nuisance) as I am not prepared to spend another summer throwing her ball back or answering the door to her (not the politest of children) and my plants are at risk?

[bednobs]

te best thing to do is to speak to her parents ... they are probably not ogres! I dont think there is anything against the law about ths

[Whickerman]

keep an eye out for it, then throw it away, and when she knocks the door 'help' her look for it

[chadwin62]

" kill the kid's "

[chazza]

Accidently burst the ball with some garden shears or something. Either that or don't answer the door!

[innocenti]

Dont answer the door. I have the same with my neighbours kids, but we only have a small wire fence between the gardens so she could easily climb it. If my 6 year old can manage it then I am sure a 13 year old could. After getting the ball back 3 times at 9.00pm at night (disturbing my children who were in bed and my dogs) we stopped answering the door and they took the hint in the end.

[Joke]

I have tried ignoring the door, despite her persistency (she'll stand there for ages hammering and ringing) and there is no point in speaking to the parents as she is a typical spoilt only child of older, working patents who appear to think that she can do no wrong and allow her to speak to them like dirt. I have considered keeping the ball or puncturing it but as my grandchildren visit me there may possibly be an occasion at some point when their ball ends up in her garden, in which case I would like to retrieve it in tact. Looks like I'm stuck but thanks for your input. Maybe "kill the kid" is worth considering eh.

[Hammer]

This one worked for me:
Give it back once or twice but tell her to be more careful as you are getting fed up. Then next time, tell her this is the last time today. Any more and she can have it back tomorrow. That way, you both know where you stand and you can�t be accused of �stealing� the ball because she gets it back, just not now. She�ll soon get the message.