I would invite them to wait on the porch, and it would be the easiest thing I've ever done that made me feel like a nice person.

Leave porn and empty alcohol bottles and ashtrays laying around on your porch. As soon as the mom figures it out, that will be the end of that.

I would not want the kids waiting on my porch either. Say no every time. Tell the parents no. Put up a sign and call the school.

Anonymous wrote:I am frankly stunned that even one DCUMer thinks its ok for kids to walk up the steps and sit on someone's porch, when it is clear that the parents dropping these kids off do NOT know the occupants of the house.

OP, if you really want to stop this, invite the kids in for peanut butter, white sugar, and non-organic grape sandwiches washed down with Bud Lite Lime.

Honestly. I take the bus. Is it ok if I sit on your porch, too?

I don't think anyone said it was ok to do this. People said that if they wee OP, they wouldn't mind it. Not that if they were the parents they would encourage it.

Anonymous wrote:I understand your frustration. I think it's pretty rude of the parents to assume this is ok without asking you. If you want them to be out of the rain, then wait with them in your car!

+1 that's what I've always done with my kids. I would be appalled if my kids just started to hang out on a neighbor's porch like that uninvited. It makes me wonder if the previous owner of your house used to allow this and the kids are just used to being able to do so.

Anonymous wrote:I may be in the minority, but if it's raining I wouldn't care if the kids waited on my porch...

Same here...I often look outside and see kids playing on our step, in the bushes, or at the side of the house playing hide and seek.

I am frankly stunned that even one DCUMer thinks its ok for kids to walk up the steps and sit on someone's porch, when it is clear that the parents dropping these kids off do NOT know the occupants of the house.

OP, if you really want to stop this, invite the kids in for peanut butter, white sugar, and non-organic grape sandwiches washed down with Bud Lite Lime.

Honestly. I take the bus. Is it ok if I sit on your porch, too?

Unbelievable! We're just talking about elementary school students trying not to get wet when it's 35 degrees and raining. I cannot believe how much animosity there is on this thread for some kids who just want to stay dry.

I would have absolutely no problem with this.

Kids you don't know hanging out on your porch, looking in your windows and trampling your plants? No thanks. I would talk to the school about the stop location or put up a gate/fence.

Anonymous wrote:9 yos walk or bike to school without parents in our neighborhood. It just depends on your area.

How close is the corner/stop from your porch? This seems crazy to me-who stands around on a strangers porch?!

+1 that sounds weird. You must be really close to the sidewalk because I can't imagine just walking up to someone's house and chillin on their porch every day.

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.

It probably is a liability issue. We used to have neighborhood kids skateboard on our driveway. I walked out and told them they weren't allowed because it was personal property. Call me an ogre but if they're doing dangerous stunts and break a leg on my driveway, I didn't want to be responsible...

We were in a similar situation, although we were the waiters. In previous years the nearby school bus stop was on a corner a few houses down. We spent 3 years waiting there with our oldest and it was fine. He moved schools, and now we have a younger child waiting at the same busstop. In the intervening years, it had some how migrated to a neighbor's driveway - despite the fact that the neighbor didn't have kids on the bus! It was ridiculous; the kids were sitting on their doorstep, playing football around their cars. I didn't particularly like it - my kid didn't care either since his sole focus in life is being the first kid in line for the school bus. So I was relieved when one of the moms announced we had to move back to the assigned spot. She'd gotten a call from the homeowners who asked her to spread the word quietly.

So that's what I'd do if I were you: find one of the parents who seems reasonable, and ask them to spread the word. Fwiw, the homeowners in our case had also called the school bus depot and asked them to instruct the parents to wait at the precise spot rather than on a driveway for safety's sake. I think any sane parent will understand that it's a little discomforting to find someone else's kid parked on your doorstep looking in your windows! But it's better to approach the parents directly, rather than shout out the door at the kids or at someone doing a drop-off!

Get a camera and ensure you can see the porch and walkway. They'll most likely not have a case regardless. Since you've already told them not to, they are technically trespassing.

9 yos walk or bike to school without parents in our neighborhood. It just depends on your area.

How close is the corner/stop from your porch? This seems crazy to me-who stands around on a strangers porch?!