WWYD: Neighbor kids walking on top of 7ft fence
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Anonymous
Given that OP has a trampoline, I'm guessing she has her own kids. So, how would that work? |
Anonymous
| Oh for gods sake do nothing! They’re kids. This is how they learn. |
Anonymous
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I don't think it is a horrible thing to walk on top of a fence. It's much better than playing video games! Anyway, I would not want the responsibility of them possibly falling into MY yard. I would phrase it to the parents this way. They are entitled to walk on the fence in THEIR yard all they want.
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Anonymous
| How do the little ones get up there? 7 ft fence is a pretty high climb |
Anonymous
Its her fence. The parents should teach the kids to respect others property. |
Anonymous
Do they walk all the way around the fence on your yard or all the way around their yard, but use the shared portion of the fence? Tell them to stop, rinse repeat. |
Anonymous
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It actually sounds like it is a shared fence. OP did not build the fence and it was there before she moved in, so it could be that the neighbor or the previous homeowner on the neighbor side built it. So, she would seem a little unhinged to yell about kids on her fence only it is not her fence. (And before people go on about it has to be her fence because she knows the property line, she admitted she did not know who owned the shared part of the fence and plenty of times people have put up fences that slightly fall on one side or another side of the property line and when new people come in, rather than ripping out fences for a foot of property, they concede to the fence being the division).
“Hey - I am sure you noticed, but the kids have started playing a game where they climb the fence and walk across it. I worry because on my side of the fence there is a metal frame, a basement window well (which side note how close to the fence is your house that a basement window well is in the falling path...) and several large holly bushes with super painful thorns. I am just worried if they fall off the fence there is a lot that could hurt them worse then the fall. Is it possible to have them not play that game anymore?” It puts no ownership on the fence but asks nicely for them to stop. Also if you are in VA, it is a contributory negligence state so if the other party played a role in what led to an accident, they are also to blame and can be assigned blame on a percentage. So you having a “hazard” like a fence might make you 2% liable if a kid fell and got hurt but the family might be 98% liable for letting them climb the fence or failing to supervise |
Anonymous
| OP, you really need to figure out who owns the fence. When we bought our house (in VA) there was a survey that showed property lines and where fences were relative to those lines. So we know that we own the fence on the right side of our lot, but the fences in the back and left are outside our property lines. Any chance that you had a survey when you bought? To me this would be the difference between nicely telling the parents to please keep their kids off the fence (and potentially taking additional action if they refused) and simply making them aware of the situation and the hazards on my side (if the fence is theirs). Either way it really is a crappy situation, and I'm sorry you are dealing with it right now. Good luck finding a solution that gives you some peace of mind! |
Anonymous
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1. Tell parents tomorrow first thing. 2. Figure out where your property line is, because if they get injured on your property, I'm sure these dingbat parents will sue you. |
Anonymous
Seriously. Someone actually needs to be told this? How do people function in their lives? Holy crap, OP. |
Anonymous
If it can be turned on and off remotely, it could be on when the OP kids are in the house, and the neighbors kids are getting too close to the fence. It would probably only need to be turned on a few times for them to stay off the fence. |
Anonymous
 Then they can "learn" on their own property/their own fence. "Learning" not to trespass is something that needs to come back into fashion immediately.
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Anonymous
| No Way! Between danger and property damage, absolutely not. I'd talk to the parents once and after that call the cops. |
Anonymous
I posted earlier about liability. Thought the fence was yours, OP. I do agree with this PP that you need to find out who owns the fence. But I'd also be much more proactive about putting the parents on alert in writing that the climbing is dangerous. Some of the "let kids be kids" types of posters here are being naive about how litigious people can be. Even if the fence is the neighbor's, if a child falls onto your side and smashes into a window or onto that metal trampoline frame on YOUR property--you can end up being sued. Also: The older kids have seen you have a trampoline and they're clearly capable of scaling the fence. I'm betting you'll catch them on the trampoline sooner or later. Go to Wikipedia today and look up "attractive nuisance doctrine" to see why you can be legally liable if those kids get hurt in your trampoline even if they're trespassing to get to it. |
Anonymous
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I would calmly discuss with the parents your concerns. Since you don’t know if the fence really belongs to you or to them of to both of you, I would just tell them WHY you are concerned- make a list of all the possible catastrophic scenarios you told us.
Make it through email so you have it documented. |