SERIOUSLY, Start Watching Your Children!!!

 So, we live in the burbs. But, it's "the projects" in the burbs. I'm pretty sure I've posted about this before...but I feel the need to repeat that as it pertains to the story I'm going to tell. It's a nice place to live, honestly. Our neighbor keeps stealing our trash can and I'm pretty sure his twenty something loser kids are smoking pot in their garage (if not them, someone else certainly is...I haven't found a skunk anywhere to make me think otherwise) and our upstairs neighbors can be loud as hell...but aside from that, I've been happy here.

 Some of you may recall my post from June, about Fiona being injured at the playground. That situation was resolved...and I have become friends with the child's mother. Well, since then, several things have happened that center around the park and I am to the point where I don't think we can live here past our lease.

 A HUGE problem here, is that a vast majority of the parents don't supervise their children at the park. I've seen a 2 year old out here being "watched" by his 6 year old cousin. People let their children go for hours and hours and don't so much as check up on them to make sure they haven't been kidnapped. The problem here isn't kidnapping, thankfully. It's that their children are little hoodlums. Not all of them, of course, but, when the cat's away, the mice will play. Know what I'm saying? The kids are always fighting with each other and it's been getting physical. Some of the parents are even condoning their children fighting. It's disgusting and disturbing. If I am at the playground when something happens, I lay down the law and tell them to knock it off and go home or go play. I will not tolerate bullying.

 Now, although the park is directly across the private street from our apartment, we do NOT let our kids play there by themselves. One or both of us are out there with them. A few months ago, my 14 year old nephew was watching Fiona and Eoghan at the park while I dropped Lily at a birthday party down the road. It literally took 10 minutes. When I got home, Fi was crying and my nephew told me that another boy (4/5) at the park beat Fiona up!! He hit her and BIT her while the mom allowed it to happen and when Fiona told the boy she hated him, the mom said "DOn't say that to him!" Needless to say, since then, this mother has been on my shit list for a bit. Yesterday, the same little boy (who is a little monster) attached Eoghan because he wanted Eo's toy. He punched him in the nose! I wanted to push the little effer down. But instead, I sent him home and told him to tell his parents what he did. A few minutes later, the mom comes out looking for the toy that her kid left at the park. Clearly, she was not going to talk to me. I went up to her and said "Hey, I sent him home because he attacked my son." She said "Oh, thanks." WTF!? Did I just step into the freaking "Twilight Zone"? She gave me the wrong freaking response. The correct one would have been something along the lines of "OMG! I'm so sorry! I will have a talk with him and watch my little brat from here on out. Again, I'm sorry!" It was all I could do to not go Jerry Springer on her. (I just had surgery, I am in no condition for this crap!)

 

 On labor day, I was with the kids playing there and one of the boys in the complex, a severely autistic 13 year old boy, came to play too. Usually, he's accompanied by his grandmother. This time, he was alone. He's a pretty happy kid...swings on the swings and laughs hysterically. His mother came to check on him and we chatted a bit and she told me about his condition and how he's a good boy and she wants him to have a normal life. She doesn't agree with her mother keeping him under her thumb all the time. Um, ok. Well, what I didn't tell her is that just before she got there, her very large son just about ripped my dog's arm off when I wouldn't let him pick the pooch up. Whatever. Mom went home and left the boy to play. Bad idea. He went into the woods and drug out a very large branch...grabbed a big stick off of it and hit Lily in the side and on her shoulder, very hard. I was freaked out and hurried to collect our things to go inside, and told him to go home. He started following us and then throwing rocks at parked cars on the street. I went in and contacted a friend to ask what I should do. Do I call the cops or let it go? I decided to let it go because he's differently abled. Bad move on my part. The next day, the same boy was alone at the park again and took that branch from the day prior and hit another boy in the head with it 3 times. I ended up calling and making a police report about Lily and another mom made one about the other boy. The boy is now no longer allowed to be unsupervised at all at the park. Clearly, that is a no brainer.

 The kids have been known to go into the woods and collect wood and other pieces of debris to make forts against trees in the commons area. It's an eye sore and it's just plain dangerous. Last week, a few of the usual suspects built a fort complete with fire ring and started the fort on fire. Now, the lack of parental supervision has become extremely dangerous! Just yesterday some kids had been in the woods again and brought out not only large branches and small logs but metal siding to play with/build a fort. WTF!? I told them to get away from it all and stop bringing crap out where people could be hurt. (they were swinging the metal around!!!)

 

 Last night I emailed our landlord and told him that if something wasn't done and parents weren't supervising their children, I would be forced to call the police any time something happens there. Our kids love to play at the park with the other kids...but it's getting way out of hand and dangerous to be there. I'm hoping that when our lease is up, they will let us either go month to month or sign a 6 month lease so we can move in warmer weather. Better yet...I'm hoping the problems are resolved and we're able to stay. Ugh. Dying to find out what kind of crap will happen TODAY!! :eye roll: