Unsupervised Kid-Related Damage

**njwilk** · 10-21-2009,07:09 PM

So I got home from work today and found that my new flying crank ghost which I installed on my front porch last week is hanging from one arm, the crank pulled away from the shaft and the lines tangled together. My partner was home and said that two different groups of kids came by the yard to check out the display, both groups came up on to the porch, despite our looney dogs barking their heads off in the window. I figure they yanked on the FCG trying to make it move or maybe just stepped on the cloth and pulled it down that way.
The kids had adults with them, but I guess they didn't think it necessary to tell the girls that it wasn't polite to tromp all over the flower beds and walk up onto someone's front porch and nose around. Can you tell I'm a little ticked off? I know it's because my schedule for the next week is pretty tight and I'm feeling a little stressed and I hadn't really planned on re-attaching and leveling the crank, restringing and re-draping the ghost.
Still.
Anyone else have trouble with unsupervised visitors during your set-up period? How do you deal with it?

**Crazytrain83** · 10-21-2009,07:22 PM

What!?

You actually expect parents to... um, parent?

Good Luck with that.

**the_great_gazoo** · 10-21-2009,07:27 PM

I am dreading seting up on saturday while everyone is off work and schoo lI always set up the day of usually everyone is at school and work and I am able to have everythin g set up while they are away and not have the stress of the pulling, tugging and bugging till the night of.

**Ghost of Spookie** · 10-22-2009,12:26 AM

Electrified fences are the answer.

Sorry about the extra work. Hope you get it working again for all the other better behaved kids and adults.

**BevAnn** · 10-22-2009,05:04 AM

oohhh, don't get me going!! LOL I'm right there with you!!

ONE WORD: CONSIDERATION

It's not a difficult concept folks. Observe it and teach it!!

That's what I want to tell people like that!

**Mikon** · 10-22-2009,05:27 AM

I'm so right there with you. Before I had my fences in place last year a mom and her two stopped by while I was setting up. The one not in a stroller took off on a dead (hee hee) run through my cemetery. I barely started to say STOP when he tripped on an electrical cord and crushed a new gravestone. Luckily he wasn't impaled by the stake on the back. With the fences I set everything back out of reach and that helps a lot. I did have to shoo some 5th graders out the other day though. I was watching from inside and I guess the temptation was too much and sure enough one stepped over the caution tape to go in for a closer look. That's about when the scary guy that lives in the house came out.....

**Yubney** · 10-22-2009,05:35 AM

I see these type of parents all the time is it the norm nowadays? I've seen 12 year olds throwing fits like infants and the parents just walking along like nothing happens. My kiddo NEVER acted like I see even when he was an infant... I wouldn't allow it. It's called discipline and seems more and more these kids don't get it because it "breaks their spirit"? Heck they don't seem to even be taught to say thank you and please.

Then one day the real world slaps them in the face when their older when someone finally tells them no they don't know how to react. Then they are in prison but they have "spirit".

**ghostluva** · 10-22-2009,06:53 AM

As a parent of two young boys, I get so angry when I see this. My kids are not perfect but even at their ages they understand that they can't just go onto other people's property and help themselves to whatever they please. Be it just to pick a pretty flower or to play with someone's display. What happened to all parents teaching their kids respect for themselves and others? When my children see this lack of parenting with other children it undermines my parenting as well. I shouldn't have to explain why Jimmy can touch the neighbor's decorations, but you can't! My 2 year old may throw a fit from time to time and I remove him from the situation, but i'll be damned if my 7 year old acted the same way. He knows better. I am the parent, therefor their behavior is MY responsibility!

**Brimstonewitch** · 10-22-2009,06:57 AM

I know how you all feel. I've started putting my items out and because I spent tons of time making and working on them this year, I feel super stressed that someone might steal or damage any of it. I even asked one of the officers I work with to give it a little extra patrol over the next 2 weeks but even that didn't alleviate the stress I felt at work tonight being unable to "monitor" it myself. 4 nights in a row now I've asked my son to remember to bring in the severed head hanging in the tree but he has forgotten each night. *sigh*...I guess that's part of the pain involved with my love for Halloween

**Frankie's Girl** · 10-22-2009,07:27 AM

Yuck. I'd be so mad about the damage, even if it was fixable.

I've got a kid in our neighborhood who I try to be really nice to because he gets so excited to see the Halloween stuff, but he was obviously never taught that you don't go into people's houses and paw through their stuff without being invited. I have had him walk right into our garage and start pulling stuff out of boxes, off of shelves.... I'm nice because he's so into Halloween. (but he is a bit of a pest

)

I seriously don't get parents these days - the kids have no respect for other people's property at all.