Homeowners have a lot to deal with. Not only do they need to pay their home taxes and make sure their house is continuously updated to maintain its value, but they also need to worry about safety. If something happens on their property, they're liable for a lawsuit. Sometimes, actions like that seem unfair. But, being a homeowner is all about making sure your property isn't hazardous to someone else.
In return, the community should try to make sure they're being as respectful as possible. That's why it's always important to clean up after your dog and throw trash away in actual bins — not just on someone's lawn. But what happens when your lawn is used as a loud meeting ground for young kids and parents?
Redditor Automatic_Chip presented a similar problem recently. He was tired of the littering that occurred in the front of his home for months, so he took drastic action. He acknowledged that he knew there'd be a noise issue after buying a home across from the local elementary school. But, he didn't realize how much chaos it'd cause outside of school hours.
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He was also especially tired of one specific thing — all the bicycles that the kids kept leaving on his lawn. So, he came up with a plan.
"Once or so a week I'll find a bike on my lawn," they write. "Sometimes the owner is nearby: they'll drop their bike on my lawn to go chat with friends across the street. It's older kids, so probably grade 7 or 8, but definitely from the school as their uniforms suggest. Sometimes there's a bike but no owner in site. I don't know why someone would leave their bike in public, lest it get stolen, yeah? So why do it? Sometimes it is there overnight."
Overnight bikes definitely seem problematic. It's almost as if the kids feel like Automatic_Chip's lawn is a great place for storage. He tried everything to make the kids and their parents know that they weren't OK with this type of behavior. "I've confronted a few kids, repeat offenders, to please refrain from leaving your bike on my lawn," he wrote. "I usually get the 'sorry sir, won't happen again sir' but sometimes I'm flipped the bird when I'm not even coming across as mean or angry. I just request they not clutter my lawn."
Still, nothing changed. So, Automatic_Chip brought it up with the school. Surely that would solve the issues, right? Nope. "They made me aware that they sent out a letter with students to give to their parents that they've received complaints from homeowners in the area (just me, maybe others) about it," he wrote. "It stopped for a bit and then continued."
So, he took extreme action. "I put up a sign on my lawn that anything left on my lawn is to be destroyed without compensation. It's unsightly, sure, but doesn't pose an issue with me leaving my driveway for example. And the first time a bike appeared, I did just that: I took it out back, cut the frame into pieces, then returned it to my lawn to be collected. It wasn't there the following morning so I believe my message was received." He even posted a photo on Imgur as proof.
Other Redditors felt like cutting the bikes up was too cruel. Instead, he could have let the air out of the tires or done something less destructive that sent the message across. No child wants to waste the time continuously refilling their tires. But, it's still a bike that's on his lawn.
Other people suggested a fence. While fenced-in front yards are a thing in some areas, sometimes permits may not allow one. It's a good suggestion, but also an expensive solution. One Redditor even said that they knew someone in the same situation, and the kids just ended up leaning their bikes against the fence.
But as Redditor Bfsser said, "Why should this dude have to shell out a couple grand to get people to stop dumping bikes and litter on his property?" And that's a fair point. The argument should be, how do you get it across to these children that leaving bikes out for a prolonged period of time isn't the kindest way to treat your neighbor?
It's an issue regarding respect. Automatic_Chip really did everything he could before resorting to drastic measures. But obviously, something was lost in communication. After seeing the sign and the broken bike, surely parents would have finally gotten around to having that conversation with their kids. But, the action may also destroy Automatic_Chip's reputation in the neighborhood.
While people's feelings were mixed over whether or not he was in the wrong, one Redditor made it perfectly clear that Automatic_Chop crossed a line. This was part of the behavior he should have expected in moving close to the school. "You’ve started a war with children who have the freedom to roam the streets while on their bikes. You can bet by now EVERYONE knows what happened," they wrote.
Another person suggested giving the bikes away to a charity, which would have also been a nice (yet still somewhat harsh) solution. The child might learn a lesson about carelessly leaving their possessions where they shouldn't, but a child in need would be granted a bike to use. That said, it may not be legal. That's an important point to mention, as well.
By sharing the solution for the bikes, the neighbor has opened himself up for the possibility of a lawsuit. The parents may be silly to start something up based on the evidence present, but there've been many similar small lawsuits that have been settled in their favor.
Plenty of people commented that Automatic_Chip was actually bullying children, while others believe that it was just tough love. It's such a hard situation to navigate. But, he did everything he could to solve the problem in a harmless way — and nobody paid attention.
All in all, it's safe to say that Automatic_Chip's response was a little much. However, it's also easy to figure out why he came up with that solution. While he shouldn't need to move in order to rectify a situation like this, he should keep talking to the school to find a solution that actually sticks.
For parents out there, this may be a good story to talk about with your kids. Talk about the importance of respecting other people's property, and why they shouldn't leave their valuable items out for anyone to take. It's great for kids to still be interested in bikes, but they also need to learn how to take care of them.
These stories are based on posts found on Reddit. Reddit is a user-generated social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website where registered members submit content to the site and can up- or down-vote the content. The accuracy and authenticity of each story cannot be confirmed by our staff.
