My kids giving neighbors a hard time

[Liahona]

Today the kids were playing in our yard. difficult child 2's toy goes flying into the middle of the road and he runs after it; right in front of our neighbor trying to get home. He was very lucky she didn't hit him with her car. He had to stay the rest of the day inside and he was very upset by it. A few days before that difficult child 2 wanted to jump on a different neighbors trampoline. Normally that is ok what they were working in the yard and had stuff on it. He was told to stay out of their yard and he could bounce on it after they were done. A bit later he comes running in tears saying "I just wanted to help." I couldn't get anything else out of him, so I go over to see if he had broken something. My neighbor told me that they had been inside taking a break and difficult child 2 had gotten hurt stepping barefoot on a thorn bush. Her husband had gotten upset with difficult child 2. I don't blame him at all for being upset with difficult child 2. On my way back home I notice that they had even blockaded the entrance to their yard with stuff to try to keep difficult child 2 out. He had to spend the rest of the day inside. So far he hasn't gone over their again without permission, but he keeps asking. The day before that Buster figured out how to go out the front door and was in the street. A different neighbor almost run him over. Right now I'd really like this house to have a big fence.

Just so you know all my neighbors are very aware of my kids issues and have even been called in as part of the crises team for difficult child 1. They are great neighbors.

difficult child 2 seems intent on pushing his boundaries lately. Trying to use knives, pick up the baby, help neighbors with yard work. But I still have a fight on my hands if I want him to do his regular work.

 

[HaoZi]

You certainly have your hands full!

 

[TerryJ2]

Argh! Dennis the Menace!
I like the idea of a huge fence.
Would he just open the latch and run out, though?

 

[buddy]

You are in a county that doesn't provide much, right? There's a family here with five kids, all with special needs. The oldest has aspergers and is violent. The rest are varied on the spectrum. They have four PCA,'s with 40hours each. That's crazy even for here. ( they may have had cps support))
The county built me a fence when Q was little.
As your kids get older you may need more help. Have you found a new church? Any way to find volunteers. Maybe high school kids who have to do service hours to graduate? Any school programs near you for child development or sp.ed. or daycare cert.? They'd learn alot with your background.

 

[IT1967]

The thing that makes me feel so sad is the fact that the neighbors blockaded the entrance to their yard. I'm sorry you're going through this.

 

[Liahona]

No new church. Our neighbor, the one with the trampoline, helps us get to church every Sunday and sits with us. I wouldn't be able to go without her. My support group I've found here are my neighbors. they are awsome. (The barricade came down after the yard work was finished. They can still go over and jump on the trampoline.) So no church volunteers.

Our county has a therapist come once a month for the little kids. I'll ask her to do some teaching and I do some teaching. What needs to happen is difficult child 2 learning to stay out of the street. no matter how many volunteers there are to watch him eventually he'll be in a situation alone where he needs to know about cars. I thought we had already mastered this a few years ago. I guess not.

Anyone building a fence (with a lock) is just a dream.

 

[DaisyFace]

Wow - scary on many levels!

Do the neighbors have kids who use the trampoline? Is that the only temptation they have in their yard?

I'm just thinking in terms of liability issues. If difficult child 2 gets hurt on the neighbor's property (even if difficult child 2 is at fault) the neighbors will still be liable for his injuries. That's a tough spot to be in!

 

[DDD]

Sending hugs from one who has been there done that. GFGmom just could not be contained. She never had evil intent but she was just so hyperkinetic and curious and, and, and that literally the two easy child's on bikes and me in the car spent countless hours just rying to locate her. She would slip out after dark, knock on doors and politely ask "can I play here?" and the parents almost always said "Sure." I still can't believe that not one neighbor ever telephoned me. She also darted from one side of the street to the other with-o a care. Oh my. I don't envy you, Liahona. The Serenity Prayer helped me alot and seems quite fitting for your difficult child#2, lol. DDD