This question was submitted to our community via our Facebook page and/or our Answers forum. Responses are also taken from the community. If you have your own parenting or relationship question you would like answers to, submit on Facebook or Answers.
QUESTION:
"Okay I need to know If I am in the wrong or not. My house seems to be the house that has all the neighborhood kids at it. My yard is the yard they will literally play in alllllll day. All I ask is that they clean up their drink/food wrappers and take their belongings home with them at the end of the day. Well they have started leaving their stuff in my yard (socks, skates, shoes, small toys/trinkets) and i reminded my kids to remind them that they need to take their stuff home, a week went by and even i said something to the kids so i was like screw this, and i threw it all away. my new rule is if something gets left in my yard it will be in the trash the next day. i dont mind havin the kids over because i know where my kids are at all times but i am tired of my yard being trashed…am i in the wrong for throwin things away because my kids told their friends what i did and now i have an angry parent mad about a stuffed animal and her kids socks…that have been sitting outside for an entire week. i feel it isnt my job to track down what goes to who and i dont want it at my house either. i already provide their kids a place to play and feed all of them…"
RELATED: Thoughtful Gifts for Neighbors Who Always Have Your Back
TOP ANSWERS (AS SELECTED BY MODERATOR):
The following top answers have been selected by a moderator from hundreds of responses to the original question.
"Not in the wrong clearly the sock and stuffy weren’t that important if they were left there for an entire week even after being told to pick up their crap"
"If you have warned them, and they continue to leave stuff in your yard, toss it all!"
"Yah I think it’s pretty rude to throw out a kids skates because they left them at your house. Maybe tell them to play elsewhere or remind them before they leave to get their things"
"I wouldn’t personally Chuck things no, kids play in our back garden, as mine do in others, kids are kids they tend to leave their stuff everywhere and be careless about it. I just get my kids to take the other kids stuff back to their house, same as other parents do if If my kids leave stuff there. It’s annoying yeah but they are just being kids x"
"If it bothers you that much just hand it back to the parents I’d be pretty annoyed if someone chucked my kids stuff away, as I’m sure you would be too if it was the other way around"
"I wouldn’t throw a kids things away. Who knows if something you threw away had meaning. I’d just keep it in a box and if they look for it, they can find it. Also, I’d have went to the parents. Honestly though, I hope I’m that house. I want to be able to have kids comfortable and friendly with my kids. One day you’ll look at an empty yard when your kids are grown and gone and miss that stuff."
"Maybe get a box and put it in there for lost things instead of throwing it away…"
"I would start a lost box , if child needs to look in it they have to help clean up yard."
"I don’t blame you at all, but maybe you could get like a laundry basket or something to sit out of your way to put things in that you collect like a lost and found and dump it once a month"
"Nope. Id put it in a bin. Lost a found. Have a week to get it if it’s not claimed it’s trash"
Have a response to this question? Leave it below to help a mama out! Or leave your own question and get responses from real moms!
READ ALL ANSWERS BELOW: