Why does every single solitary neighbor kid

[fleabones3]

End up at MY house???? It never ends. All day everyday more and more kids seem to end up at my house. We even moved across town to cut down the amount of kids and lo and behold, kids are starting to pile up here already!!
I know I have a lot of kids to play with (5) to be exact, but still..

My kids range in age from 10 to 17 and so I have quite the variety of kids popping up, but you would think we were the only house in town to have cable tv, air conditioning, and food. I dont mind 1 or 2 kids now and then, but not all day every day. They eat up my food, make a mess, make noise and just dont go home until you become dang near rude.

Its getting to the point that they just start walking on it. I told one boy the other day that he is not classified as a family member so he needs to learn to use the doorbell or knock. There are a few kids who have grown up with mine that I dont mind coming over, but this is getting ridiculous. I dont want to be mean or rude or hurt someones feelings, but dang.. I am tired of being the neighborhood hangout.

[Pepsi4me]

Tell then straight up to knock or ring the doorbell. That is just rude.

[andreame70]

That is really rude! Maybe write a big sign to put on the door:

IF YOUR LAST NAME IS ________ AND YOU LIVE HERE, THEN PLEASE COME ON IN. ALL OTHERS MUST CALL FIRST OR BE PERSONALLY INVITED BEFORE ENTERING. IF YOU ENTER WITHOUT KNOCKING, YOU WILL BE CONSIDERED A TRESPASSER!

Kind of harsh I know, but enough is enough of that! Good luck!

[rivercats1]

Been there done that..still doing that. It is great that these kids feel at home at your house...as long as they don't abuse it. They all know around here, if I tell them they don't have to knock, they dont..walk right in. It is the best feeling when those friends start calling you mom. You sound like you make them feel welcome. Good for you. Better then them being out on the street. If you don't want them around tell them so, but by all means if you would rather the kids be surpervised under your roof, keep doing what your doing. You are a great mom.

[fleabones3]

Thanks.. Yeah all the kids tell me they think i am cool, and I like the fact that my kids are here, but dh is tired of coming home and seeing 4 , 5 or 6 other kids here, and its hard enough to feed my crew, let alone other kids that I know have homes. Some of them I just dont like, and there are some I really do, but, why always MY house?? I cant go anywhere sometimes, cuz I dont want all these kids here when I am gone. SOme parents will leave for HOURS so I cant send their kids home.

[rivercats1]

Yep I feel for you. I am glad these kids feel comfortable coming to your home. Have you had one really open up to you about problems at home. even though their parents werent in the wrong it is great for them to have another adult to open up too, to give them advice. Your kids are lucky you open up your home. So many parent wont.

[msmom79]

i have been where you are-it was nothing to have 20 boys at my house all day long,even in the middle of the night i would get up to go to work and i would have to step over body's everywhere,i didnt mind though,cause i always knew where my sons were-but you are right about the not knocking-that is rude,maybe you should sit them all down and tell them,your rules,like they must knock,give them a time limit-and then tell them its time for all of them to hang out at another house-this will be hard for you,cause you are considered a cool mom.so i will tell ya they dont listen very good,cause they are kids. you may just have to say-hey guys i like ya,but its time to go home now.

[Quaker_Parrots]

I have a rule(it may sound mean). They can come over to play, but they arent allowed in my house, outside only in the front yard (this is a new rule since the little boy down the street was told to stay out of the wooded area and and went in anyway got poison ivy, and ticked his mom off).

I dont want someone elses kid in my home. I am not their momma, their babysitter or the lunch lady. It really saves for alot of trouble. There are 2 little boys in particular I dont want to come in, mainly because they really get on my nerves and are always asking to be given stuff, for instance, a speaker DH had sittting on the porch he was working on and a few other things like that.

My kids are 9 & 10 and I wouldnt want them going into someone elses house either. You never know who your neighbor really is until you see their story plastered on the news.

[Mom2-3boys]

I have a rule(it may sound mean). They can come over to play, but they arent allowed in my house, outside only in the front yard (this is a new rule since the little boy down the street was told to stay out of the wooded area and and went in anyway got poison ivy, and ticked his mom off).

I dont want someone elses kid in my home. I am not their momma, their babysitter or the lunch lady. It really saves for alot of trouble. There are 2 little boys in particular I dont want to come in, mainly because they really get on my nerves and are always asking to be given stuff, for instance, a speaker DH had sittting on the porch he was working on and a few other things like that.

My kids are 9 & 10 and I wouldnt want them going into someone elses house either. You never know who your neighbor really is until you see their story plastered on the news.

Well at least I'm not the only "mean" one lol I seldom let kids come in my house either. We don't have a big house and when you add extra kids well it gets to be too much...if they play a game or are doing something quiet fine but when they get to rough housing no way time to go. They all congregate in our yard, well that's getting frustrating because they leave pop bottles and all of their other trash thrown all over, I have teenagers trying to ride yard toys and bikes that are meant for my 5 y/o. It doesn't seem to matter what I say to them it always happens.

[DAVESBABYDOLL]

Ob boy, feeling your pain. When my boys were pre teens/teens, our house was "the koolaid house" We had boys in the backyard all day wrestling on an old matress (WWF style LMAO) paintballing battles in the woods and just hanging out,evenings they would light the tickie tourches and fire pit and just BS,but for me,I looked at it like this,they are at my house and I knew they weren't out getting in trouble.BUT,they also knew their manners as "mom" wasn't putting up with rudeness,they knocked before entering,heck they even asked to use the rest room lol.

Jaimie just graduated but again this was the "it" house all the cheerleaders were here practicing, making the cakes/cupcakes for their bake sales,getting ready for the dances and proms and staying the night,but again,I knew where they were and out of trouble.

Dawson is 6 and my gawd is she a social butterfly with lots of friends,she's usually at the neighbors house,but I know in time,our house will again be the place to go.

You need to lay ground rules from the word GO,let them know they are welcome and it's a safe place,but also let them know the rules.Snacks are fine (I always kept chips etc.) but don't abuse the snack fest.

You can also lock your door,or hang a small sign "Knock First"

[sheila_361]

My house was always the place all the kids wanted to hang out.. keep the doors locked that way they can't just come in unannounced...

[DAVESBABYDOLL]

Thanks.. Yeah all the kids tell me they think i am cool, and I like the fact that my kids are here, but dh is tired of coming home and seeing 4 , 5 or 6 other kids here, and its hard enough to feed my crew, let alone other kids that I know have homes. Some of them I just dont like, and there are some I really do, but, why always MY house?? I cant go anywhere sometimes, cuz I dont want all these kids here when I am gone. SOme parents will leave for HOURS so I cant send their kids home.


Set time limits (tell your kids also) by such and such time EVERYONE who doesn't live here needs to get home.

You are NOT the babysitter,so if you have things to do,send them home,lock the doors and tell your kids "under no condition" is anyone to be here while I am gone,if they are,there will be punishment (ie: no friends allowed for a week)

[iluvmybaby]

End up at MY house???? It never ends. All day everyday more and more kids seem to end up at my house. We even moved across town to cut down the amount of kids and lo and behold, kids are starting to pile up here already!!
I know I have a lot of kids to play with (5) to be exact, but still..

My kids range in age from 10 to 17 and so I have quite the variety of kids popping up, but you would think we were the only house in town to have cable tv, air conditioning, and food. I dont mind 1 or 2 kids now and then, but not all day every day. They eat up my food, make a mess, make noise and just dont go home until you become dang near rude.

Its getting to the point that they just start walking on it. I told one boy the other day that he is not classified as a family member so he needs to learn to use the doorbell or knock. There are a few kids who have grown up with mine that I dont mind coming over, but this is getting ridiculous. I dont want to be mean or rude or hurt someones feelings, but dang.. I am tired of being the neighborhood hangout.

Keep your doors locked, and when they show up, tell them to leave

[G'maDebbie]

This reminds me of the time when my son's friend came into our home without knocking. He actaully scared the living bejesus out of me because I wasn't expecting anyone to come walking out from that part of the house.
I politely walked him back out of the house and told him the next time he needs to knock, I then shut the door on him. The next thing I know, he was knocking on the door wanting to come in to play.
I loved it when my chidlrens friends came around, it kpet me up to date on who they were associating with and if I listened close enough, I could find out ALL that was going on. (You know kids don't realize that you can hear them even when you are in the next room!)
Other than this one incident, I never had any problems, they all knew they had to have respect and follow my rules or they would not be allowed over again. You are gonna miss the days when you have kids all over your house, so enjoy them while you can, but don't take any crap from them. Make them all aware of your rules and stick to them.

[Freebeemom]

You know what, I know it is probably difficult, but for all the mothers out there that haven't said it ... THANK YOU. My kids are still small, and don't wander and desire to go out. But THANK YOU for keeping all those kids safe. Thank you for allowing them to come to your home. I KNOW it is probably difficult, and very annoying, but perhpaps this is just a sign. The kids trust you, and that means SO MUCH. Sure, they could be rude, and annoying...but perhaps you could start asking them to bring over their own snacks? Like...you can come but you have to bring something....even if it is a case of pop. They should start contributing. Do you have a space in your house that is off limits?

Wow....I know you are probably just wanting some peace and quite....but hang in there!

[YankeeMary]

I have a house like this...lol. But I do have one rule and I never ever bend on it. Other rules maybe this one no way. There is to be no one in our house when I am not home! No ands ifs or buts. NO! And knock on wood, I have never busted anyone inside. I think my boys know I would freak out on them. I am very strict with this rule. To much can happen. Kids need adult supervision. Other than that our door is open, and you better shut it behind you because Pluto will run...haha. Then you have to go catch him, and that is so not fun.

[kidzpca]

End up at MY house???? It never ends. All day everyday more and more kids seem to end up at my house. We even moved across town to cut down the amount of kids and lo and behold, kids are starting to pile up here already!!
I know I have a lot of kids to play with (5) to be exact, but still..

My kids range in age from 10 to 17 and so I have quite the variety of kids popping up, but you would think we were the only house in town to have cable tv, air conditioning, and food. I dont mind 1 or 2 kids now and then, but not all day every day. They eat up my food, make a mess, make noise and just dont go home until you become dang near rude.

Its getting to the point that they just start walking on it. I told one boy the other day that he is not classified as a family member so he needs to learn to use the doorbell or knock. There are a few kids who have grown up with mine that I dont mind coming over, but this is getting ridiculous. I dont want to be mean or rude or hurt someones feelings, but dang.. I am tired of being the neighborhood hangout.

Welcome to my world.

This sort of thing has been going on at my house for over a year. It they aren't at my house the phone rings off the hook and often it is the kid that just left my house 5 minutes earlier...and 99% of the time the calls are for my 14yo son.

[jedmatters]

Been there; done that.
Started wearing my night shirt and robe more: less children came around.

[gonnascream]

On any given day here I have inbetween 5-10 kids here. Mostly it's kids from my DD's softball leauge. But on the upside I treat every kid like it's my own. if your going to hang at my house, then your going to help in the garden, the chores, laundry, cooking, helping DH in the taxidermy shop, Helping me make soap, sorting clothes, going shopping, ect...I also love on & punish them the same too. All the parents know how I am and I let them know that if they have a problem with it to not let thier kid come over.

I feel better knowing where all the kids are and that they aren't in trouble or doing drugs or getting pregnant. Plus I teaching them a couple of skills

[catdance]

I have the same problem with ADULTS, everyone comes to my house..so I do have a sign on the door...KNOCK, please...and in our window we have an old stop light, it is "green" for come on in, (knock first)..'yellow" for proceed with caution ( knock first), and RED for NO...it works for us.
We are a fun unit me and the BF so we have alot of friends but there are days/nights that we don't want ANY COMPANY at all...so I feel for the OP.

[hotwheelstx]

When our neices and nephews are over and want to have friends over they can only have one. If they want more than that they have to stay in their rooms, go outside, garage, yard.

I do not feed, clothe, bathe, tote your child around. If they start bothering me I send them home.

[newwiccan]

My house is the house where most of the neighborhood kids want to play because we have a Wii. It was great when we first moved here but it turned into all the kids coming ONLY for the Wii and when I would tell them it was time to turn it off, they would all go to someone elses house to play video games and not include my son.

[LuvBigRip]

My house is the same way, except I have a printed set of rules that each kid gets and they, along with their parent signs. The rules range from ring the doorbell only one time, we will answer it, if we want to. To no drugs of any kind.

I was amazed at how many kids felt free to raid cupboards, refrigerators and freezers. I nipped that in the bud.

At our house we have an electronic basketball game (fullsize) an air hocky table and a Wii and my kids range from 9-16.

[rivercats1]

My house is the house where most of the neighborhood kids want to play because we have a Wii. It was great when we first moved here but it turned into all the kids coming ONLY for the Wii and when I would tell them it was time to turn it off, they would all go to someone elses house to play video games and not include my son.


That's just wrong for them not to include your son. I would put a stop to them coming over.

[newwiccan]

That's just wrong for them not to include your son. I would put a stop to them coming over.


I did. They are allowed to play in the front yard but that's it. I even had one parent tell me they hadn't bought a Wii because her sons could play it at my house!

[sandooch]

I used to have one of those houses where kids hung out at when I was married to my second husband. Between the two of us we had 5 kids, so it was not uncommon to have anywhere from 10-15 kids (sometimes more) inside the house at the same time. My sister still tells me she didn't know how I put up with that. Well, I had rules, too, and those who did not follow them had to leave. I didn't mind feeding them a snack once in a while, but more often than not I would say something like, "Okay, it's time for me to feed my kids their lunch, so you guys need to go home and have your mom fix your lunch." They got used to me doing this.

My kids also knew that they had to be on their best behavior when they were at their friends houses. They never asked for food or if they could sleep over (another vice of mine).

My sister used to have one of the neighborhood kids come to her house and actually go into her fridge when he was hungry, which was often. The first time that happened she was just floored and ran to call me about it. I told her she'd better put a stop to that immediately. That was a big kid and he ate constantly. She did and he ended up just going back and forth from her house to his to go get snacks all day long. Geesh!

[bears984]

I have never had one of those houses, I think it is because I have always told my children do not bring your friends to our house. I love my kids but for the most part kids get on my nerves real fast and if they are not mine even faster. I guess really I am one of those parents that believe kids should play out side for the exercise and when they need to come in fine come in and rest and eat use the bathroom do what you need to do but let your friends do those things at there house.

[fleabones3]

My dh is always telling all the kids that his house isnt the hangout, and why cant they go somewhere else. My ds really ticked us off the other nite.. he left his 3 friends here and went to his g/f house for hours. Granted, one of the boys mama's was supposed to pick them up ( she never did, they called her 6 times AFTER she said she was on her way) Now these kids are 17 yrs old so they could have walked home but still.
I have told the kids repeatedly that while dh is at work they can come over but they need to leave before he gets home.

[fleabones3]

You know what, I know it is probably difficult, but for all the mothers out there that haven't said it ... THANK YOU. My kids are still small, and don't wander and desire to go out. But THANK YOU for keeping all those kids safe. Thank you for allowing them to come to your home. I KNOW it is probably difficult, and very annoying, but perhpaps this is just a sign. The kids trust you, and that means SO MUCH. Sure, they could be rude, and annoying...but perhaps you could start asking them to bring over their own snacks? Like...you can come but you have to bring something....even if it is a case of pop. They should start contributing. Do you have a space in your house that is off limits?

Wow....I know you are probably just wanting some peace and quite....but hang in there!

My house is good sized, and yes my room is off limits most of the time, unless I let them in . They talk to me, and for the most part they are all good kids. They just dont understand even tho we have told them that we have raised 7 kids and we still have 5 at home, and the last thing dh wants to do after working all day long in the heat ( he is a carpenter) is come home to a house full of kids and then be expected to feed them. ( most of the time i dont feed them dinner). The worst of the bunch is my oldest son. If you see him, he has his 3 stooges following him. If it was just 1 kid it wouldnt be so bad i guess

[jedmatters]

The worst of the bunch is my oldest son. If you see him, he has his 3 stooges following him. If it was just 1 kid it wouldnt be so bad i guess

Hello... I am Larry, this is my brother, Darrell, and my other brother, Darrell!

[buttrfli]

SOme parents will leave for HOURS so I cant send their kids home.

No way in hell I would let that go on. that pisses me off just reading it. The first time that happened to me, I would refuse to let that child come back again, you are not a daycare.

When I was growing up, my house was the hangout. There was just my sister and I but we both had friends over all the time. The only rules were, no one over while the parents were gone and no one eats any of the food. My mom was ALWAYS (and still is) the 'cool mom'.

My kids don't have their friends over. I don't mind anoccasional sleepover (within limits) but my house is my haven and I don't want to have to worry about who's doing what and where they are. My little dog bites and I have a pool and a trampoline, and those are off limits to the friends. When we are home, we are relaxing. If the girls want to see their friends, we can meet them at the park, but I won't let them get dumped on me.

I guess I am just a big witch, but my kids don't complain because its the only way they know lol

[fleabones3]

To me, its just irritating.. If having a buttload of kids over wasnt a everyday thing it wouldnt be so bad. If each kid has 1 friend over, then thats 10 kids in my home. I get tired of it real fast and now that school will be here in a month, I am looking forward to some peace and quiet

[jedmatters]

I get tired of it real fast and now that school will be here in a month, I am looking forward to some peace and quiet


*giggle* *giggle* *giggle*
School starts Monday!