The Mean Lady

Growing up, my friends and I would frequently play around our neighborhood. I've always grown up in a typical suburban subdivision. While playing, we'd always try to steer clear of the "mean people's house." What do I mean by this? You know, the people who would yell at you to get off of their property, and were just scary.

Well, I fear that I have become the "mean lady" in our neighborhood. Our home is located on a corner lot, and it's become the neighborhood kid's meet up spot on a daily basis. They play in our yard, in our side yard, around our cars, and I've even caught them on our front porch. Once, I was trying to nap, and the kids were playing in our side yard (which is secluded from the road, much like a deep trench), and I asked them to leave. I just don't want to be responsible if someone were to get hurt...and they were playing with scissors as if it were a sword! Well, yesterday, one of the kids was playing a pellet gun and shooting it at out our for sale sign. I had had enough...and went out and told him to stop shooting our sign.

Sigh. Growing up, I was allowed to roam free in our neighborhood, as long as I was home by a certain time. However, my parents did not allow me to play in random people's yards. Certainly, times have changed. Or have they? Where are the parents? I've never once seen any of the parents watching their children play in the neighborhood. Even at night when they are playing in the street. Gosh, I don't even know where the kids live...they aren't our neighbors, that's for sure. I wasn't aware that parents were so lax nowadays about their kiddos. But, maybe I'm being hypersensitive and overprotective? When I was a child, you didn't hear about many abductions, rapes, etc. But...it's plastered all over the news now.

So, what is the appropriate way to supervise your children? Keep an eye casually on your child as they play? Be a helicopter parent? Or, just unsupervised?