Weird kid up a tree(vanity)

vanity | 11/21/2005 | drawsing

[Drawsing]

Weird kid up a tree

I have seen people here come up with some good insights, so I thought I would take advantage of this forum to help me figure out the behavior of this weird kid.

Yesterday my two boys and I were getting ready to distribute our Boy Scout popcorn to the folks who had ordered it. We were still in the house and I heard the neighbor's dog barking and someone yelling "ShutUp!" very loud. It sounded like it was in my driveway, so I went out and looked, but saw nothing. A little bit later, one of my boys ran into the house and said, "Dad! There's a kid up in the magnolia tree spying on us. By the time I got out of the house this time, the kid was already out of the next door neighbor's magnolia tree and across the street. He was cutting across several neighbor's yards (we live in a subdivision) and looking back over his shoulder at me. I was surprised at his total disregard for property lines. I saw him peeking around the corner of one of my neighbor's houses at me. My younger 8 year old son said that he had tried talking to him, but the boy had pulled out a cell phone and started talking on it.

We loaded the popcorn into a wagon and went around the corner, but about five minutes later, we snuck back and sure enough, he was back up in the tree. I approached him from behind and spoke to him.

"Hey", I said.

"Hey" he said.

"What are you doing up there?" I said.

"Climbing a tree." he said.

"Do you live here?" I asked.

"Yes." he said.

"What are the people's names that live here?" I asked.

"Oh, Uh ....I don't mean I live right here. I live down the street in a cove." he said.

"Well", I said, "You shouldn't be climbing trees on other people's property."

"Uh huh." he said.

"What is your name?" I asked.

He told me his name.

"Well", I said, "I think you need to come on down and go home."

He climbed down slowly, then with a big attitude he shuffled down the street, again cutting directly through the neighbor's yards. All the while I had been talking with him, he did not look me in the eye, but was playing with some frilly rubber toy around his neck. We live in a decent neighborhood and he was dressed in clean, fairly nice clothes. He needed a haircut, but it was not too bad. He looked to be between 13 -15 years old. To summarize the weirdness: 1. Loud shouting while up in the tree. 2. Total disregard for property lines. 3. Returning to the same tree where he had been caught five minutes before. 5. Attempting a foolish lie about where he lived.

So what do you think? Should I expect some form of retaliation? Could I have handled this better? What is the matter with this kid?

Thanks.

[wideawake]

Well, that's the thing. Maybe it it seemed rude to some or hurt somebody's feelings, but your kids and their wellbeing come first or you're not doing your job as a parent.

Likewise, if it seems rude or "Ska8Nazi" to swear out a complaint about a teen you've never seen before in your life trespassing on your property twice, that's life.

I'd rather be safe than cool.

[teenyelliott]

These days, shifty teenagers give me the creeps. You gotta figure that any kid who is not embarrassed and respectful when approached by an adult when doing something questionable obviously is ill mannered, if not trouble.

Find his parents, and alert your neighbors to the fact that this kid is climbing their tree.

These days, if that kid gets hurt, your neighbor will probably be sued. Let them handle it, since it is their property.

[wideawake]

Teaching your daughter to hold herself to a high standard of conduct - excellent parenting.

[wideawake]

That's a good point. The same parents who will yell at you for complaining about their kid are the same people who would hire an ambulance chaser if their kid fell out of your tree.

[teenyelliott]

Sounds like my childhood.

But, sadly, things are not that way any more.

[ericthecurdog]

Scary.

[Fierce Allegiance]

You cut through your neighbors yard on your motorcycle with a .22 and an ax too? I sure miss those days. If a kid did that nowadays, they would be arrested and beaten severely.

[wideawake]

Thanks for the timely, well-argued post.

[teenyelliott]

It does cause her some angst every now and then, though. When her friends just run all over the place, and she won't go because it is someone else's property, she kinda feels like a stick in the mud. She worries about her friends getting mad, and me getting mad if I find out she did it, and the owners getting mad if she goes in their yard.

But in the end, she benefits, my neighbors think she is a great kid, and her friends learn a bit of respect.

She's not allowed to call adults by their first name, or use the words dumb, stupid, butt, fart, hate, etc., or call anyone names either. Shocking!!!

[teenyelliott]

I know it. It is one of the reasons I now live in the same neighborhood that I grew up in. I know many of my neighbors from way back when, so they love seeing my kids. It is also one of the big reasons we are buying that other bigger house down the street. It is on two and a half acres right by a creek on a dead end street. My kids will be able to run all over the place.

And the people who live there now are real jerks about the path along the creek, posting private property signs and stuff. I want to go back to the good old days, and let all my neighbors walk along it if they want.

The first thing I'm gonna do after we close is tear that private property sign down. I spent my whole childhood back there in the woods. I want others to enjoy it, too.

And no, I never ran around the neighborhood with an ax, psycho boy.

[bonfire]

My last day senior year in H.S., someone rode a motorcyle thru the front door all the way thru school and right out the back door.

The teachers just laughed. Ahh, for the good old days when all the kids in the neighborhood knew and played with eachother and no one freaked out over a ornery kid. When yards were just huge playgrounds for baseball, statue, jump rope, war, Spud, Capture the Flag, plays, hopscotch, bikes, bike trails, forts, etc. etc. See how far we've come?

[Fierce Allegiance]

I went back to my old neighborhood a while ago and I could still see where home plate was in our front lawn. My kids couldn't, though.

The woods I grew up in, a massive stand of white pines, is gone now and is a fancy subdivision. I was showing my kids where the pond was, the old bridge (gone for legal reasons) and where I used to shoot. It's someones front yard now.

If I could get through the fences, I'm sure I could find remnants of the 3-story log cabins I used to build back there.

We didn't have playstation, we had wiffle ball bats. It's amazing how many things a wiffleball bat can be with a little imagination.

[Fierce Allegiance]

I love your plan. Kids need a yard, not a new x-box game.

I'd love to live in the house I grew up in. It sure would be weird sleeping in the master bedroom, though.

[ericthecurdog]

No problem.

[bonfire]

My mom still lives in our house and not TOO much has changed. The woods are now thick and no trails in the backyards. The kids nowadays don't have time to explore and just "be". They are too busy with "activities" to keep them entertained every waking hour.

The worst thing we could do was come in and out of the house and open the refrigerator door! That, and continual wet socks and shoes from the creeks.

[bonfire]

"It sure would be weird sleeping in the master bedroom, though."

My husband and I did it once. Never again.

[Fierce Allegiance]

My husband and I did it once. Never again.

Sorry to hear that.

[teenyelliott]

I despise video games. Kids needs yards, dogs, bikes, and lots of dirt. And a stick or two. And maybe a Twinkie on their birthday.

I love living in my old neighborhood. It makes me feel safe, and it's a cozy treed cool neighborhood where all the yards are big, and all the houses are different. My parents still live here, too.

So now I will own part of the creek where my Barbies used to swim and I nearly killed myself on my American flag banana seat bike, and my kids can do the same. I am so excited!!!! And I am very lucky to have a husband who works his ass off so that we can afford to do this.

[Hatteras]

"1. Loud shouting while up in the tree. 2. Total disregard for property lines. 3. Returning to the same tree where he had been caught five minutes before. 5. Attempting a foolish lie about where he lived."

13 to 15 years old? Are you series?