Kids waiting for school bus on my porch

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The previous owners likely allowed it. I would too in inclement weather. But you can do whatever you want, just be aware how you may now be viewed by the neighbors.

Right. I hope your kids are big and/or well liked

[Anonymous]

I would block off the porch, put up a sign and contact the school.

It's actually a huge liability issue. If she slips on your porch, her mother can sue you. And even if you didn't give her permission to be there, you'd still be liable.

Your house isn't a public bus stop. If the mother doesn't want her child to wait in the rain, then she can wait with her kid and let the kid wait in the car. Or buy an umbrella.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Big difference between what that mother did and saying "I am so sorry , Larla lost her umbrella and I didn't know it was going to rain this hard . Would you mind if she stood on your porch for a minute ?"
And then prompted Effuse and multiple thank yous from Larla

Well, that's the thing.

I don't think much of somebody who would make a kid go stand out in the rain instead of letting the kid wait on the porch. But I also don't think much of somebody who would tell their kid to go stand on a porch without asking the resident if it's ok.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would block off the porch, put up a sign and contact the school.

It's actually a huge liability issue. If she slips on your porch, her mother can sue you. And even if you didn't give her permission to be there, you'd still be liable.

Your house isn't a public bus stop. If the mother doesn't want her child to wait in the rain, then she can wait with her kid and let the kid wait in the car. Or buy an umbrella.

What a reputation that will give OP in OP's new neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your porch is your personal property. Just because some say they wouldn't care doesn't mean you're not allowed to care. Continue to tell them no and move them along. It would bug me too.

This. Let's just put the whole liability issue aside for a minute. It's your house, your property, and if you don't want random strangers just chillin' on your porch or in your yard, you are more than within your rights to tell them to buzz off, children or not.

What I want to know is, who are these people who are encouraging their children to sit on a stranger's porch completely unsupervised? Not only rude, but doesn't sound very smart from a safety perspective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:the liability issues is so dumb, do you not allow the mail man on your property? the fed ex guy, ups? how about trick or treaters?

lawyers ruin everything. Why not put up a gate on your porch or better yet build a mote.

Adults making deliveries is different than unattended kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel a bit like the neighborhood ogre, but I don't want kids waiting for the school bus on my porch. I wanted to post here to see if I am being reasonable or making a big deal over nothing. I just moved into a corner house in new neighborhood. The house has a school bus stop in front of it. My kids go to another school so don't ride the school bus. As I walked outside to get the paper one raining morning I saw two kids on my porch peering in the front door stained glass window. You can't see inside unless you put your face up to the door. I told them to go wait on the corner and they ran off the porch. As I was picking up the newspaper a car pulled up and a girl around 9 ran out of the car and started walking up to my porch. I called out and told her to wait on the corner. Her mom rolled down and the window and said she was only going to be there a minute until the school bus came. I am not sure if she had said this in nicer tone I would have let it go but the entitled attitude tone she said it in pissed me off. I told her kid again in a louder voice to go wait on the corner and the mom drove off. A few days later the same girl stood on my porch and when I went outside she said her mom said it was OK because it was raining. I again told her to go wait on the corner and she was not allowed on my porch no matter what the weather was like. I feel like it is a slippery slope, that if I am not consistent I will have kids on my porch every morning then in the afternoon waiting for their parents. As it is I pick up a lot of food wrappers on the corner and my plants there all get trampled. I figure that is not a big deal but the porch is. Any thoughts?

Who the fuck drives a child to a neighborhood school bus stop? Have we become THAT lazy of a society?

yes, we have. I've seen it in my neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

That's a liability. One slip and you are sued.

Our houses is by a cut through to path to the ES, and kids would always play hide and seek on my front porch and bushes. Even if a mom was walking with them - no respect, just entitlement!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here- The responses are pretty divided into two camps. I will have to think some more about this. I don't want to be the neighborhood meany, but don't want to be a sap. I don't want to live my life in fear of getting sued, but financially I can't afford to be sued or to have my home owner' insurance increase. I wouldn't ever let my kids go up on someone's porch to wait for the school bus so it annoys me. I don't think the previous owners invited kids to go up on the porch. The place looked a little creepy before we bought it. The porch had junk on it, the paint was peeling, there was no furniture outside. We painted the house, the porch, put some cute patio furniture out there, have lots of plants, etc.

i too live by the mantra, if i would never do that to someone else i dont like it when it's done to me. those kids should politely asking and not ever hanging out on your front door just for the heck of it. yuck. my kids would never do that!

can you sit out there and see if they are respectful at all? then do the appropriate thing - tell school, put up stuff, allow it only in rainy days. if they are all a bunch of jerks then i wodnt trust them on my oorch with maill, packages, plants, furniture, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The mother may not be able to wait it out for the school bus because she may have to get to work.

I may be in the minority, but if it were raining I would let the kids stay on my porch. I would just feel bad sending children to wait for a bus in the pouring rain when I could instead offer them some cover on my porch.

But I have a bit more empathy than most people...So I have been told.

If it really bothers you however, it is your right and your property so you have the right to say no.

See, the problem is that it's not going to be just in the rain. If OP allows this in the rain, soon enough kids will be hanging out on her porch waiting for the bus in any weather, because they think it's fine, and it's more comfortable to sit on the steps or her furniture than stand on the sidewalk. I guess some people wouldn't mind, but I think (and this thread shows) that many do. To make OP's question about denying a poor child shelter from the rain is really missing the point of the issue, which is that likely she will have random kids on her porch frequently and regardless of weather. I think it is really unfair that someone should be seen as the "neighborhood ogre" for something that would surely bother many perfectly nice people.

[Anonymous]

Are you still liable for injury if you didn't give permission? Are you liable for trespassers who injure themselves?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a parent I cannot imagine telling me kid(s) to go stand on someone else's porch, especially after the homeowner indicated it isn't okay.

That's nice. It's not your roof. I don't like kids that much, especially when they're not mine.

??

[Anonymous]

20:50 here. I was saying that I disagreed with the Mother.

ANYWAY.

OP can you be out there when the kids arrive? I would stand out there and re-direct all of them to the bus stop. As many times as necessary to get it through.

Can you put a gate across the top of the stairs or something?

It's YOUR porch. Sure it might be nice to let them wait there if it's really crappy out but it certainly isn't necessary, and there is nothing wrong with not wanting stranger's kids on your porch.

[Anonymous]

I'm also stuck on waiting on a strangers porch is okay. I can't even imagine telling my kid to do this.

If you knew the neighbors, if your kids were friends with these kids, if anything indicated you were friendly with these kids parents I would change my opinion. Otherwise, those kids should not be waiting on a strangers porch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The mother may not be able to wait it out for the school bus because she may have to get to work.

I may be in the minority, but if it were raining I would let the kids stay on my porch. I would just feel bad sending children to wait for a bus in the pouring rain when I could instead offer them some cover on my porch.

But I have a bit more empathy than most people...So I have been told.

If it really bothers you however, it is your right and your property so you have the right to say no.

See, the problem is that it's not going to be just in the rain. If OP allows this in the rain, soon enough kids will be hanging out on her porch waiting for the bus in any weather, because they think it's fine, and it's more comfortable to sit on the steps or her furniture than stand on the sidewalk. I guess some people wouldn't mind, but I think (and this thread shows) that many do. To make OP's question about denying a poor child shelter from the rain is really missing the point of the issue, which is that likely she will have random kids on her porch frequently and regardless of weather. I think it is really unfair that someone should be seen as the "neighborhood ogre" for something that would surely bother many perfectly nice people.

That's is absolutely the case. It is not going to just happen in the rain. And, consider this. The OP will have to deal with this five days a week. I sympathize with the OP. If the parents are not approachable, contact the school district and see if they can help with the problem.