Dealing with children

It's the East End of Glasgow.

I'd definitely not take out a knife and slash anyone's ball in that case.

Best of luck!   

Agreed.

Possession of an offensive weapon.

Acting in a threatening manner.

Criminal damage.

Lying to the police.



Vicky

Didn't say the OP had to do it...just thats what I would do.

Possesion of your own kitchen knife on your own property...hard not to own knives in your house really..and they are the ones tresspassing.  Not threatening anyone...popping a ball ( even if you choose to do it out of their sight ) and handing it back after they tried to break your windows with it, seems reasonable, protecting your own property / land.  Criminal damage to what?? they deny its their ball.  Lying to the police about what?? your telling them the truth, they are tresspassing, trying to intimidate and yelling abuse..nope...no lying there.

Its just how I would do it...I understand not everyone is as bulshy as me...but then again..I have eradicated scally youngsters from invading my life...

It's not about being bolshy. I'm not exactly a shrinking violet!!! But in my opinion, one of the reasons that kids in places like the East End of Glasgow end up getting in trouble and using knives is that the see their elders use them in an agressive way.  And  bursting a ball in front of someone is aggressive.

These are kids, they are only 11.  Yes, they need to realise that they are behaving badly, but there is in my opinion a right and a wrong way of doing this.  No grown up should be being 'bolshy' towards an 11 year old.

Besides, you don't know if his parents are the kind who would call the police on you or would just make sure your house 'went on fire'.

Vicky

In some cases, phoning the police can actually make things worse but you might want to consider seeking advice from the community officer assigned to your area.  You can do that anonymously by phone or even by email.  I think the trick is NOT to draw attention to the fact that you've phoned the police, that's a non-starter.  The police have community patrols so they might just up their visits to your area for a short time at strategic times and that might do the trick?

Its just how I would do it...I understand not everyone is as bulshy as me...but then again..I have eradicated scally youngsters from invading my life...

Or...alternatively, invite LuckyCuz up for the weekend...

Seriously though, consider the option of moving.  In the East End of Glasgow once you're a target it's only going to get worse.

Or...alternatively, invite LuckyCuz up for the weekend...

Good coffee and a selection of biccys is all I charge! 

Or...alternatively, invite LuckyCuz up for the weekend...

Good coffee and a selection of biccys is all I charge! 

Well I will be sure to invite Lucky round for tea if this ever happens to us! 

Not sure how I would handle it (besides calling Lucky over, of course!) If I had already tried talking to them, then I had tried threatening them with the police, then I suppose I would take Teuchtar's advice and contact the community officer to see if they can patrol more often. Since you say you know most of your neighbours and they are friendly to you, I would first ask if they know who the kids are, and whether or not they are bothering them, as well. If you are all bothered by them, then you have allies, and you can all put your heads together and figure out what to do, or at least you will have them to back you up if you do have to get the police involved. Also, maybe the neighbours would know the parents and would know whether they would be receptive to you addressing the issue, or whether approaching them might cause more trouble. Best of luck to you!

In the East End of Glasgow once you're a target it's only going to get worse.

I'm afraid this is my opinion as well. 

I grew up on some of the worst streets in New Orleans when it more murders per capita than any city in the US (yes, it even beat Detroit).  I saw police chases begin (and sometimes end) on my block (not just my neighborhood) weekly.  The East End of Glasgow has nothing on that.  Further, it's rather silly to blame everything on geographic or socioeconomic statuses.  After all, this isn't a large majority of our neighborhood, but two boys who could just as easily be related to one another.  Saying "oh it's because it's the East End of Glasgow" is, in my opinion, yet another cop-out.  Forgive me if I sound defensive (or offensive), but I've heard this stuff all my life and it's not really beneficial, helpful, informative, etc.

Impleri

You sound as tho you have tried all the proper routes.

I can feel the frustration in your post    Its a pain in the ars* when a few neighbours cause such problems. It certainly needs nipping in the bud.  Do it however you can.  Just be carefull how.  When I was younger..disorderly kids in the street would get a clout from whoever they pissed off..adults or kids...but obviously in this day and age its not possible to do that anymore...

I had a elderly neighbour chase some unruly kids with a rechargeable chainsaw  not one of my plans..but hey..they stop bothering him after they cried their eyes out  Not advising this at all of course...

Problem is..kids are not frightened about being in trouble anymore because their parents wipe their butt and overprotect them...They need a good scare to clear them off.  Of course..this is my politically incorrect opinion..

I grew up on some of the worst streets in New Orleans when it more murders per capita than any city in the US (yes, it even beat Detroit).  I saw police chases begin (and sometimes end) on my block (not just my neighborhood) weekly.  The East End of Glasgow has nothing on that.  Further, it's rather silly to blame everything on geographic or socioeconomic statuses.  After all, this isn't a large majority of our neighborhood, but two boys who could just as easily be related to one another.  Saying "oh it's because it's the East End of Glasgow" is, in my opinion, yet another cop-out.  Forgive me if I sound defensive (or offensive), but I've heard this stuff all my life and it's not really beneficial, helpful, informative, etc.

Hey, your call.

Grew up all over Latin America.  Been mugged at gunpoint twice.  Been kidnapped for ransom once in S. America.  Called 911 when I was 14 with yet another escapee trying to get into my house in Houston and me with a full magazine pointed right at him (he went two doors down and met the German Shepherd who fried my dad's right arm for life).  Had to run away from our flat in a taxi in Lyon in 1992 after petrol-bomb through the letter box and 'American Whores' on our door a week after we got that as UT exchange students.  New Orleans in 1987 apparently full of crack was a big cakewalk compared to Sao Paolo in the early-mid 80s.

Wound up on the estate that Irvine Welsh based his novel 'Trainspotting' on and where it was partially filmed.

So yeah, go for it!  I'm the big cop out.  Go on and name and shame.  It's called MUIRHOUSE/PILTON and it's in Edinburgh.  Ian Rankin did it the courtesy of renaming it Pilmuir in his books but same diff. 

Want to go there?  Be my guest!

But don't come up and say anyone who suggests otherwise is weak or tweaked because someo others chose differently and expressed as much when all was doing was telling you what we thought but I bought the tshirt, burned it, never looked back and got the scars to prove it.  It's not a part of my life I look back on and think, 'Yeah, EIS, that was a cool idea,' but it was what it was.

Or go ahead and do, difference of opinion and live and let live and chacun a son gout and all my other tattoos. 

But I begged, stole and borrowed to get out once I had kids and was there a few years.

So you chose otherwise?  That makes me and mine some kind of cop out?  Whatever, bro!

I'm here to tell you now it's a different world there only because I was there a while but if you want to believe otherwise then like I said, knock yourself out and more power to you.

Was trying to help, didn't know your background and all that, but it's your life, you got no kids, just as it's my life (well, my kids', too) and a little of what hangs and you go your way and everyone goes their's is good all around.

I live out here for a reason, bro.  I pay the price and I pay it because that's how things stand and my kids got one chance and I gotta give it to 'em and I'm not going to go like my mother and make 'em growing up like it's all their fault.

So you think otherwise, before you jump up and say people are coping out because they don't chose to go there.  Well good on you before you jump up and say everyone else just copped out because they felt differently and they got fed up with all that and they found elsewhere.  Was all about live and let live and stuff.

Best of luck with your neighbours and those kids and that. 

I grew up on some of the worst streets in New Orleans when it more murders per capita than any city in the US (yes, it even beat Detroit).  I saw police chases begin (and sometimes end) on my block (not just my neighborhood) weekly.  The East End of Glasgow has nothing on that.  Further, it's rather silly to blame everything on geographic or socioeconomic statuses.  After all, this isn't a large majority of our neighborhood, but two boys who could just as easily be related to one another.  Saying "oh it's because it's the East End of Glasgow" is, in my opinion, yet another cop-out.  Forgive me if I sound defensive (or offensive), but I've heard this stuff all my life and it's not really beneficial, helpful, informative, etc.

Okay, hard man! 
You and your partner are forever telling this forum that we're not helpful or beneficial, so perhaps one of these days people will just stop bothering to try to help / offer advice/ give our opinions.

Good luck... you're obviously braver than I am in where you choose to live, and how you choose to interact with your neighbours.  I've had that experience, but you know better, so... all the best! 

Expat - damn, lady, you have been through some sh*t!!!  Respect. I'm not taking the piss when I say that I genuinely think you should write a book about your life. I can see why you took what the OP said personally, but I don't think it was meant as a personal attack. It seems that the OP is just a bit frustrated in this situation, and for him or her, moving and/or ignoring the obviously isn't an option to consider.

I agree with Lucky that there was a time when adults could feel free to straighten troubled children out without all the red tape there is today. And because of the fear to discipline children (yes, even those who aren't your own but might need a helping hand to become good citizens - this means teachers and neighbours, too) has permeated society, therefore more kids act like the ones in this post - rude and disrespectful of others. There was a time when you would get your butt whupped for that kind of behaviour, now everyone has to ring their hands and say "What should we do?" It's very frustrating. Most anyone on this forum would say that they never would've dreamed of acting like those kids when they were their age because of the fear of consequences - and now kids have no fear and do whatever they want. I'm not saying everyone's kids are like this, btw. There were a few bullies when I was growing up, too, but nothing like it is today, from what I can see. A lot of kids today even bully adults, which is evident from this thread.

Having said that, though, I have lived in some VERY rough neighbourhoods in Dallas, and in those neighbourhoods, I might have found it was best to ignore the kids, just for my own personal safety. In this small village I live in now, I wouldn't hesitate to tell an obnoxious kid to buggar off. I watched DH corner a kid who was out late one night and he asked him who his father was (and of course, he knew him), then asked if his father knew he was out so late, and when the kid starting shuffling his feet and avoiding the questions, DH told him to go home and he did! (He's also been known to use that intimidation tactic for fun, then give the kid a quid for being a good sport. Everyone around here takes responsibility for the young'uns and rewards or reprimands them at times.)

So much depends on the community around you. Just be careful in whatever action you choose to take. Good luck.

ASBO. Get 'em an asbo.

ASBO. Get 'em an asbo.

The problem with an ASBO is that so many children regard it as a badge of honor!!!

So you chose otherwise?  That makes me and mine some kind of cop out?  Whatever, bro!

Please chill out.  If I had your experiences, I'd completely agree with you.  Those are bad experiences and I wouldn't want to stay around long enough for something like that to happen again.  However, as I said, the neighborhood I'm in isn't like that....at all.  2 out of 15 or so kids (that I see on a near daily basis outside) isn't enough.  For me, leaving because of two kids just seems a bit drastic.  There are other options that have been suggested and very helpful which seem to fit the problem a bit better.  The cop-out, as I saw it, was doing something well beyond what the situation seems to merit (it'd be the same if I had taken a weapon with me and bullied these boys into a wall and started reciting lines from Dirty Harry).  It may come to us needing to move, but that's the last option right now, not the first.  If I offended you, please forgive me.

You and your partner are forever telling this forum that we're not helpful or beneficial, so perhaps one of these days people will just stop bothering to try to help / offer advice/ give our opinions.

WTF?  We've asked numerous questions for advice and have said that a total of two options out of the many listed weren't the most helpful.  I know that I may be blunt, but it seems that some people get too sensitive when they're told "Sorry, I don't think that one works at the moment."
This also seems pretty biased towards this sentiment.  I went back and looked at all the topics my wife and I started.  The numbers that I've seen don't really support this opinion.  In the last topic (the only other one I could find) which she somehow offended someone, she apologized for doing so.  It seems to me that you're making us out to be troublemakers who ask a bunch of questions and ignore all the answers, but I'm calling bull on this.

Good luck... you're obviously braver than I am in where you choose to live, and how you choose to interact with your neighbours.  I've had that experience, but you know better, so... all the best! 

It's got nothing to do with bravery.  I'm living in what I see as a normal neighborhood, similar to ones that I've lived in for many years.  Your only response was "Oh, it's the East End.  No wonder."  That's not a real helpful response....try telling someone in NYC "Oh, it's Queens/Bronx/Upper East Side/Harlem/NYC. No wonder."  At least others suggested we move, but I think some of the other suggestions were more fitting.

Also, so nobody feels left out, I do want to thank everyone in this thread who offered suggestions and their experiences.