How far can one justify the actions of a neighbor? And, how far should one allow their neighbor to dictate their lives? Recently, a r/AITA post came up which spoke about a woman who was facing problems from her neighbor. Apparently, the neighbor’s kids wanted to play in her private pool- something she didn’t want. As it turns out, the neighbor went pretty mad about the whole thing (Karen alert!).
Now, should the woman have allowed the kids to encroach upon her private property? Or was she correct in not allowing them? It is also important to note that OP, a 32-year-old woman, and her wife had finally purchased a home rather than renting. So, one can assume that they were even more careful about everything that they owned. The pool that came with the house was a lifelong dream of OP- and to have it used so frequently by others definitely struck a chord.
Reddit OP Doesn’t Want Neighbor’s Kids To Encroach On Public Property
“The issue is our next-door neighbors. I keep finding their kids using our pool having hopped our fence and I keep getting them to leave. I’ve spoken to their parents about this issue and they have told me that the elderly couple we bought the house from would let the kids use the pool in exchange for cleaning it so they’re just used to being able to use it. I told them that was fine when it was the last neighbor but it’s something my wife and I are simply not comfortable with as we don’t know them well enough plus if the kids were hurt we’d feel awful about it. They insisted their kids wouldn’t get hurt and asked if it’d be okay if the kids used it whenever we weren’t as they’re just kids and spoke about how it’s getting hotter now. I was getting annoyed at this point and told them they should get their own pool then and I’d already told them we weren’t comfortable with this.”
-Reddit
Ever since she had a conversion with the neighbor, OP had to constantly chase their kids away. She also received dirty looks from them. Incidentally, she had also put up a sign that stated that this was a private pool- and could be used only with the permission of OP. Despite that, the problems kept recurring. This led to OP wondering if she was making a mountain out of a molehill or not.
r/AITA States That OP Is NTA
The r/AITA community was pretty quick to decide that OP was definitely not the problematic party. u/whatsmypassword73 commented,
“You know those parents would sue you into the next century if the kids got so much as a scrape.”
To this, u/AggravatingOne3960 stated,
“You need to have your pool totally fenced off with a locking gate. I would also report the kids to the police as trespassing if only to put the parents on notice.”
u/RulerOfTheRest also reiterated the sentiment, stating,
“If the kids were to get hurt, they could easily sue you for injuries incurred, regardless of them currently saying. Plus, it’s your pool, so you and your wife have the ultimate say on who gets to use it, and because of that, you are NTA.”
u/JadieJang was pretty upfront about their opinion.
“But that’s not the real issue. The real issue is that when they’re at your house, they’re your problems, not the parents’, and don’t have to be listened to or handled. Just call the cops the next time you catch them there.”
u/57hz went on to state,
“Get full fencing around the pool. Get cameras. Send them letters in writing that the kids are NOT welcome to use the pool. They will 100% sue you if anything goes wrong in the pool.”
u/Etenial was more careful about the whole situation.
“Tell them if you find their kids in your pool again you are going to file trespassing against them with the police. They are not entitled to use your pool whenever they want plain and simple and yes I would also be worried that if something bad did happen they would blame you so it’s just not worth it for you.”
u/kirakiraluna simply stated what we were all thinking.
“I’m not American and that’s baffling. If a property is fully enclosed, even by a 50 cm wall anyone caught inside is automatically trespassing, sign, or no sign. If someone accidentally kills themselves when trespassing that’s only on them. I honestly don’t get the concept of attractive nuisance. If a thing is not yours, you don’t use it. If you do, you pay the consequences.”
What do you think? Was it a case of the neighbors being too nosy or were they in their rights?
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Sources
- “AITA for not letting the neighbours kids use my pool?” Reddit. May 2022.
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