I have lived alone most of my adult life.
I had a house in Los Angeles—1966 to 1995.
I had gladiolas planted between sidewalk & curb.
Came outside to find kid from 3 doors down hacking at the plants/stalks of blooms with a flat stick-—destroying them.
I walked up to him-—I KNEW the family-—& I picked him halfway off the ground by his shirt collar—like a cat—and marched him down to his parents.
She was AGHAST-—I walked them both back to see the damage he had done. THEN she was furious at HIM-—and VERY THANKFUL I had grabbed him & frog marched him to her house.
HE had to clean up the mess he made-—and I NEVER had any more trouble from him.
That’s what my mom would have done. I don’t have any neighbor hood kids due to where I live out in the country, but if I did and one of them did something like that, I would do the same thing!