July 12, 2010

Dealing with Annoying Neighbor Kids

Do you have some kids that live in your neighborhood that just leave a bad taste in your mouth?
We have these two neighbor kids that are the sort of obnoxious that you only usually see in sitcoms. Seriously. They whine, they pout, they are bossy and just plain mean. Somedays, they seem to wander the streets looking for someone to play with. I used to dread them coming by, but they were nice enough to my kids and I could keep an eye on them all while they were here.
Now, my own kids don't want to play with them anymore!
They were so bad the last time they came over that my 7YO actually FAKED AN INJURY to be able to come inside and escape them. She whipped up fake tears and everything to be able to come inside and lie down for some 'quiet time.'
I'm not really excited about the fact that she was able to do this, especially since I know she'll probably use it against ME at some point, but you have to give her credit for ingenuity!
This is fresh on my mind because they just knocked on the door. Yes, we are all home. Yes, we have nowhere we have to be anytime soon. Yes, we hid like it was some twisted game of hide-and-seek. Answering the door and explaining that the kids cannot play will produce the most horrific session of whining and crying. We've had this conversation time and time again. Usually though, we are actually getting ready to go somewhere and I can truthfully tell them that the girls can't play. But, I'm not that good of a liar and I'm afraid that the next time I answer the door it will be to tell them that my girls do not want to play with them.
I can't do that! After all, they're still just CHILDREN! It's not their fault that they're so unpleasant to be around! Is it? I can't fix them and I certainly can't fix their parents.
So, here we sit....blinds closed and doors locked on this hot summer day...praying that they don't come back. They gave up after ten minutes of knocking and trying to peer through the windows. I feel so bad about ignoring them, but I think I would feel so much worse if I answered that door. I'm a big chicken, I know.
What would you do? Do you have a situation like mine and how do you deal with it?

7 comments:

Trisha R said...

We have a little boy that is in AJ's class that lives next door. Most of the time it's cool, but sometimes Ben wears on even AJ's nerves. AJ is 8, and I told him that he is well within his rights to say, "Ben, I'm going to play inside by myself." And he has. The kid has to take some responsibility! :-)

Armando Codina said...

We have a lots of kids in our neighbor and they are ridiculous. The made me sick.

kathy said...

My neighbor kids are good. Very helpful and decent. Thanks God!

Megan said...

Well, I like kids even their so annoying. I just love watching them while playing around and thinking nothing but fun.

Pamela said...

I have a lot of neighbor kids and they are really disturbing my sleep in the morning. They are shouting and playing some games in the street. ggrrr..

The Innkeeper said...

I found your post by googling moms who were perhaps dealing with what I am. Yours sounds laughably familiar! I don't have any advice, just a "WOW I can relate!" My favorite part about our house is our huge front porch. We can't even be there like it belongs to us! I feel like I'm being bullied by a 5 year old! DUMB!

The Innkeeper said...
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