My neighbors have two small boys ages 3 and 7 (and an older boy who I believe lives there part time). The 7 year old gets along great with my 8 yr old daughter who doesn't have any friends her age in the neighborhood.
When they moved in, the dad would sit outside and watch the boys play. The dad and I would talk about our dogs sometimes, but I never formally introduced myself. I am an introvert and don't really go out of my way to make friends. I saw the mom once a few months ago. I approached her and introduced myself and made some awkward small talk but I don't remember her name.
I never see the dad or mom any more. I think they are in school. I suppose he trusted the neighbors after a while and started letting the boys go by themselves to the neighbor's house across the street. The neighbor has a 1 yr old and 3 year old. The boys were over there every day until recently (maybe the family with the 1 and 3 yr old are on vacation). My daughter would go play with them sometimes too. I trust those neighbors (the ones with the 1 and 3 yr old) because I have known them a while.
There is also a 12 year old girl across the street who plays with them too. I trust her parents as well, as we know them pretty well. I let my daughter go there sometimes. The problem is that they never want to play over there. For the past few weeks, the girl and the two young boys come over every day after I get home.
They are extremely active little boys. They always get wild and play rough. When they leave, the playroom and bedrooms are upside down. They are on high volume at all times. The 3 year old loves to play with my dog, but sometimes I see him getting too rough with her.
I am always making weird rules when they are here to keep them under control or to get them away from me...like "play upstairs or downstairs but not both" or "you can play outside but not inside until after I am done working" when I am not even working...I just need a few minutes to relax when I get home. I do tell them to play outside at times but it is very hot here right now so they always come right back inside.
They keep asking to go swimming and I keep saying no. Our pool is the size of a larger hot tub. It is 4.5 feet deep. It is not meant for more than a few people or for active kids who want to play rough and jump in, etc...My daughter and the older boy did fine in the pool once after I banned back flips, but now they keep asking to go in again, along with the girl across the street and the 3 year old who can't swim. That would mean constant supervision which I don't have time for. I feel like if the neighbors hear that I don't let more than 2 or 3 kids in my pool they will think I am a weirdo, but I am really not comfortable with it any longer.
I am not comfortable with my daughter going to the boys' house to play so that is not an option either. I never see them have friends over, so they may not be allowed to play there anyway. I don't know the parents well, and it seems they are never home any more. I often hear yelling, screaming and cursing coming from their house, from the older brother. The boys call him the meanie. I suspect that the older brother kicks the boys out every day because they are too much work...so they come here.
I feel like I am a bit overwhelmed with what I already have on my plate in my personal life and now it's like I have three extra kids every afternoon when I get home from work....but I also feel like a grouch for being so annoyed that they are here, especially because my daughter gets along with the one boy.
Would you approach the girl and/or parents of the girl and see if they know what the deal is? Perhaps she is their unofficial babysitter? Would you talk to the parents of the boys? Perhaps they don't realize their boys are not home all day??
When they moved in, the dad would sit outside and watch the boys play. The dad and I would talk about our dogs sometimes, but I never formally introduced myself. I am an introvert and don't really go out of my way to make friends. I saw the mom once a few months ago. I approached her and introduced myself and made some awkward small talk but I don't remember her name.
I never see the dad or mom any more. I think they are in school. I suppose he trusted the neighbors after a while and started letting the boys go by themselves to the neighbor's house across the street. The neighbor has a 1 yr old and 3 year old. The boys were over there every day until recently (maybe the family with the 1 and 3 yr old are on vacation). My daughter would go play with them sometimes too. I trust those neighbors (the ones with the 1 and 3 yr old) because I have known them a while.
There is also a 12 year old girl across the street who plays with them too. I trust her parents as well, as we know them pretty well. I let my daughter go there sometimes. The problem is that they never want to play over there. For the past few weeks, the girl and the two young boys come over every day after I get home.
They are extremely active little boys. They always get wild and play rough. When they leave, the playroom and bedrooms are upside down. They are on high volume at all times. The 3 year old loves to play with my dog, but sometimes I see him getting too rough with her.
I am always making weird rules when they are here to keep them under control or to get them away from me...like "play upstairs or downstairs but not both" or "you can play outside but not inside until after I am done working" when I am not even working...I just need a few minutes to relax when I get home. I do tell them to play outside at times but it is very hot here right now so they always come right back inside.
They keep asking to go swimming and I keep saying no. Our pool is the size of a larger hot tub. It is 4.5 feet deep. It is not meant for more than a few people or for active kids who want to play rough and jump in, etc...My daughter and the older boy did fine in the pool once after I banned back flips, but now they keep asking to go in again, along with the girl across the street and the 3 year old who can't swim. That would mean constant supervision which I don't have time for. I feel like if the neighbors hear that I don't let more than 2 or 3 kids in my pool they will think I am a weirdo, but I am really not comfortable with it any longer.
I am not comfortable with my daughter going to the boys' house to play so that is not an option either. I never see them have friends over, so they may not be allowed to play there anyway. I don't know the parents well, and it seems they are never home any more. I often hear yelling, screaming and cursing coming from their house, from the older brother. The boys call him the meanie. I suspect that the older brother kicks the boys out every day because they are too much work...so they come here.
I feel like I am a bit overwhelmed with what I already have on my plate in my personal life and now it's like I have three extra kids every afternoon when I get home from work....but I also feel like a grouch for being so annoyed that they are here, especially because my daughter gets along with the one boy.
Would you approach the girl and/or parents of the girl and see if they know what the deal is? Perhaps she is their unofficial babysitter? Would you talk to the parents of the boys? Perhaps they don't realize their boys are not home all day??