Can my Neighber keep toys

[geminigal]

What is the name of your state? mn

Our younger 2 year old daughter has put a couple of toys through the chain link fence and our neighbor will come right out and take them into her home? I asked her if she could hand them back over and she just ignores me. Is there anything I can do?

 

[rmet4nzkx]

What is the name of your state? mn

Our younger 2 year old daughter has put a couple of toys through the chain link fence and our neighbor will come right out and take them into her home? I asked her if she could hand them back over and she just ignores me. Is there anything I can do?

Supervise your daughter more closely or install some sort of screening on your side of the fence and hope she doesn't learn to throw things over the fence as she gets older.

 

[PghREA]

Supervise your daughter more closely or install some sort of screening on your side of the fence and hope she doesn't learn to throw things over the fence as she gets older.

This is the beginning steps of teaching your daughter to respect other peoples property.

 

[justalayman]

What is the name of your state? mn

Our younger 2 year old daughter has put a couple of toys through the chain link fence and our neighbor will come right out and take them into her home? I asked her if she could hand them back over and she just ignores me. Is there anything I can do?

It depends on how serious you want things to get with a next door neighbor. The neighbor has no right to keep the toys but your daughter has no right to place them in the neighbors yard.

If you really want things to get stupid serious, call the cops and tell them your neighbor is refusing to return the toys. This will get them pretty po'd for such a trivial matter but they will probably come out and tell the neighbor to return the toys. If the police won't respond, file a small claims action for the value of the toys. The judge will probably order the return of the toys or the value of the toys but will chastise you for not teaching your child to not do this.

Better suggestion;

invite the neighbor over for lunch or dinner (or better yet, take them to a decent restaurant) and speak with them about this situation. It is obvious the neighbor does not like the fact that kids will be kids. It would be good if you did what is necessary to prevent any further trespass by your daughter, including teaching her not to do this and making necessary improvements that would eliminate this from reoccurring.

Both you and your neighbor are wrong for what is happening, you for allowing the toys to pass over and the neighbor for not returning them. Make inprovments on your side to prevent this, then ask for the toys back. The neighbor is apparently attempting to make a point, although improperly in their actions in doing so.

 

[nextwife]

It's pretty lousy for any adult to "steal" from a two year old, no matter where the stuff accidentally ended up! Sure it's "wrong" for the two year old to place stuff through the fence, but no court anywhere has ever held (to my knowledge) that a two year old can be held responsible to know the difference between right and wrong.

I know when my kid was two (a post-institutionalized child) she was pre-verbal (had no language concept), had no idea what property was, did not have either a concept of self or of ownership, as she had never owned anything of her own before she came to us, and certainly would have had NO way to comprehend "respect other peoples property". That may be way beyond some two year olds.

I agree that your best bet is to place screening that will prevent the child repeating the acts that caused the problem.

 

[Caveman]

All these response are stupid. Please forgive me those I respect and those I do not. But go the hell over there and Go Mel on them Say [URL="http://www.thedudeblog.com/mel.jpg"]Yo! are these your toys??[/URL].

Only kidding, but where is your backbone kid? My good Goddess of the Bear. have people lost it in this mill?

 

[pojo2]

This is the beginning steps of teaching your daughter to respect other peoples property.

Unfortunately, or the lack thereof!

 

[Proejo]

Geminigal, You'd think from these replies that these people have never had children. Let me ask you a couple of questions. 1. Have you and the neighbor even been uncivil? If so, that explains a lot. If not, then her reaction is curious at best. 2. Is there any health reason that the neighbor wouldn't answer you? Hard of hearing, mental condition, etc.? 3. Have these toys caused any damage to flowers, shrubs, etc.? Is there any reason you couldn't go ring the neighbors doorbell and aplogize for your daughter just being a naturally curious and playful two-year child with some home made cupcakes that she helped you make? This would be a good time to exchange phone numbers and open up communications. You appear to have older children. Does your neighbor have kids, too? Are there rivalries? Different religious backgrounds? Racial animosities? Certainly, somewhere in the mix there is an expectation not being met and it may just be a good idea to try and learn what the expectations are on her side of the fence (and whether they are reasonable expectations). If they're reasonable, do your best to be a good neighbor. Good luck with the situation.

 

[bdancer]

I wonder just how frequently the 2-year old is pushing those toys thru the fence? Are these toys something that could be damaging to the neighbors pets or lawn mower -- or is the neighbor's yard one of those beautifully manicured landscapes?

Having been the mean neighbor who took the football/baseball/soccer balls (although the kid was 8 or 9), I just got tired of hearing those balls bounce off my house and garage and the kid expecting me to fetch them for him. I finally declared that any ball that fell in my yard became my dog's property. Told the same thing to his Mommy, his friends, and his friend's Mommy. Mommy called the police who told her it was a civil manner.

Moral of my little story: the kid learned not to kick his balls into my yard. Maybe the solution to the OP's problem is to teach the 2-year old NOT to stuff toys thru the fence.

 

[seniorjudge]

What is the name of your state? mn

Our younger 2 year old daughter has put a couple of toys through the chain link fence and our neighbor will come right out and take them into her home? I asked her if she could hand them back over and she just ignores me. Is there anything I can do?

Q: Is there anything I can do?

A: Yes. Put a big sign up with an arrow pointing to this idiot's house; it should say: THE GRINCH LIVES HERE!