A lot of these comments are getting out of hand. There are also broader issues to be taken into account.
I live on an estate in Swords, County Dublin. I would never allow my children to use someone else's gate pillars or posts as goalposts. However, I do let them use our own driveway. Other parents of other kids also allow their driveways to be used. The only stipulation is that they don't play near the other neighbours' cars and that they (we parents!) will be liable for damage done to other neighbour's cars and houses.
What I do find extraordinary is that certain neighbours even object to kids kicking a ball outide the kids own houses! They also object to them using the green spaces for football, hurling, cricket etc all because a couple of neighbours have taken a decision to plant daffodils on this green space! When I was growing up, it was accepted that the "greens" on Dublin housing estates were used for football etc.
One neighbour who bullies the kids sees no problem in his dog, sometimes wandering the cul de sac without a lead, soiling the footpaths and gardens where children of all ages play. He also uses foul language and issues physical threats when giving out to children.
An increasing amount of people (most don't have any children or are investor landlords) don't want children playing on paths and roads or on green spaces anymore. This decrease in physical activity is contributing to the deterioration of child health, childhood obesity and social behaviour problems.
Play is an important element of childhood.
Some of the newer housing estates in Swords, e.g. Waterside on the Malahide-Swords Road and Holywell in Kinsealy have few play areas for children and are dominated by car parking. A contributory factor may be the lack of front gardens, more compact houses and the narrower roads. Foxwood residents on Drynam Road, similar to what is happening on other estates in Dublin, have been campaigning against plans to build more houses on long established green spaces!
Is childhood to be spent looking at TV or in boxrooms in front of Playstations and XBoxes?
I live on an estate in Swords, County Dublin. I would never allow my children to use someone else's gate pillars or posts as goalposts. However, I do let them use our own driveway. Other parents of other kids also allow their driveways to be used. The only stipulation is that they don't play near the other neighbours' cars and that they (we parents!) will be liable for damage done to other neighbour's cars and houses.
What I do find extraordinary is that certain neighbours even object to kids kicking a ball outide the kids own houses! They also object to them using the green spaces for football, hurling, cricket etc all because a couple of neighbours have taken a decision to plant daffodils on this green space! When I was growing up, it was accepted that the "greens" on Dublin housing estates were used for football etc.
One neighbour who bullies the kids sees no problem in his dog, sometimes wandering the cul de sac without a lead, soiling the footpaths and gardens where children of all ages play. He also uses foul language and issues physical threats when giving out to children.
An increasing amount of people (most don't have any children or are investor landlords) don't want children playing on paths and roads or on green spaces anymore. This decrease in physical activity is contributing to the deterioration of child health, childhood obesity and social behaviour problems.
Play is an important element of childhood.
Some of the newer housing estates in Swords, e.g. Waterside on the Malahide-Swords Road and Holywell in Kinsealy have few play areas for children and are dominated by car parking. A contributory factor may be the lack of front gardens, more compact houses and the narrower roads. Foxwood residents on Drynam Road, similar to what is happening on other estates in Dublin, have been campaigning against plans to build more houses on long established green spaces!
Is childhood to be spent looking at TV or in boxrooms in front of Playstations and XBoxes?
