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J. Lewis of Aurora writes:

After the rash of children run over in front of their homes this year, I had to make a comment. My heart goes out to the families of these children.
However, in my neighborhood, which is full of dead end cul de sacs, we have a serious problem.
Children running amok up and down the street with virtually no supervision, leaving their bikes, trikes, toys anywhere, including in other people’s driveways. They have a portable basketball net set up at the top of the cul de sac and they refuse to move when someone drives in. They will stand in front of your car and dare you to hit them. This is their parents’ fault. Public streets are not playgrounds for children. I recall some ruckus a year or two ago down in Highlands Ranch about a couple battling a whole cul de sac over the same thing. When did the safety of children become a stranger’s problem and not a lesson in upbringing for them and their parents? When did children start running our world and every adult in it become their victims? I cannot assume this was the case in all of these situations this summer. But, when children are allowed to play in the streets unsupervised, one can expect bad drivers to hit and run and good drivers to become the villains, when they accidentally run over children, who have no fear of cars or do not understand the terrible consequences of being left to run the street like urchins.
Parents watch your children and have them play in playgrounds and their backyards - not in the streets.

This letter has not been edited.

READER COMMENTS

You got to be kidding right? If it only helps one poor child to play in the middle of the street then it has to be good. How dare you expect these poor kids to have responsible thinking when they are told they have rights todo whatever they want. From smoking pot in the classroom (California school district), telling the teachers they are wrong when it comes to dicipline.

You want them to learn not to leave thier toys in your driveway? Then when they leave them there you go out and throw it in the trash. They want to leave litter in your yard, go bag it up and place it in front of thier parents front door.

I used to have a group of brats and their parents who decided my yard was a public right away. I fixed that. I put up a fence and electrified it. The parents complained but when I showed them the law about trespassing on private property and the fact I was willing to not only prosecute but sue. Well hitting them in thier pocket books gets their attention.

Some of the teenage boys in our Aurora hood will be run down for playing the part of the matador whenever cars come down the street. They won't use the sidewalk, flip you off, swear at you, and their parents say, its none of your business. Bring up a lack of respect and they laugh at you and the whole group threatens to kick your ass. Of course they are renters too. That must be the real problem, not enough cash. lol

Angry Parent: You *electrified* a fence? You throw away toys left in your yard? Gosh, I'd so love to have you as a neighbor.

What you're describing is annoying, but hardly worth the anger you're giving it. You're going to have a heart attack.

Tim , if you were a shtty parent like angry parent describes and allowed your brat kids to run amok on my yard not only would I confiscate everything left on my yard, i would donate them to the local toys for tots kid drive leaving a note on your door thanking you and your brat kids for their contribution.

Oh, poo. I'll submit that perhaps, just perhaps, there's a teensy bit of exaggerating going on. If they're NOT exaggerating I'd be frustrated also.

But, uh, in your defense of the above writers I notice you didn't mention the electric fence...

If somebody putting up an electric fence doesn't clue you in that they just might be a tad bit unstable, I don't know what to tell you.

Do you notice it's 99% Hispanic kids who are being run down in the streets? If their pregnant mothers would get off their cell phones or lazy butts and watch their kids, it would might save a life. What the heck, they can make a new kid at any time... so why watch the other 4 or 5 that they have.

I disagree with Disgusted on his percentages. I think that 115% of them are Hispanics and another 115% of them are black, in addition to which another 115% of them belong to a different religion that I do.

it is not society's fault but the fault of parents... if you have children it is your responsiblity to care for them...

Disgusted,
Quit knocking those women up then!

There comes an age when children need to venture out into the big, bad world. Expecting a 10 year old to play in the backyard is silly. Forcing them to ride their bikes, scooters and skateboards on the sidewalk presents far more danger to younger children and pedestrians. Most busy parents cannot take their children to the park or playground for hours each day.

I grew up (decades ago) on a wonderful, kid-friendly street where we rode our bikes in the street and neighbors watched out for one another. (There were always the neighborhood grouches and we learned to avoid their property, but I don't remember anyone electrifying anything.)

By all means, teach your children as much about street safety as you can and supervise them as much as possible. Coddling and overprotecting them isn't going to prepare them to survive in the real world.

With the frightening rise in child obesity, we should be grateful that they are outside playing instead of vegetating in front of the television.

I live in a cul-de-sac. I think it's great.My kids are always riding bike and scooters with the other children.They know to look out for everyone and someone yells, car ! when a car comes in.I draw a line from my house to the neighbor's across the street so thekids don't go passed that line and cars coming in can see the children ,because I have a bush on the corner of my property.I live in the 1st house on the corner.The children have always been respectful and do not leave toys,bikes etc... out in the street.

This was true until 2 mexican families move in.They are in the right end of the cul-de-sac.
Their children leave bikes and toys out in the street.Run around unsupervised and now they are blocking part of the cul-de-sac so their kids can play but other kids can't play or go by their houses. They are blocking it with alot of cars, about 1/2 of the cul-de-sac.They are also blocking the sidewalks,so now the little kids can't ride their bikes and scooter on the sidewalk.

I guess they are doing this so they don't have to be out there watching their little kids.

It used to be a nice place for the kids to play. Now the little ones have to ride in the street and 2 of the drivers from the mexican houses speed into the court without looking for kids.

There goes the neighborhood.

I have nothing against Hispanic people.

However, I paid more than $250,000 for my house, and I take pride in keeping it looking nice.

Since THREE Hispanic families moved into the house next door, they have never watered or mowed the lawn. Broken beer bottles and cigarette butts litter the street in front of their house, and dozens of loud cars and motorcycles come and go at all hours of the day and night.

With neighbors like these, I can see how one can quickly develop a bad impression of Hispanic people in general.

There should be a law against renting homes in established residential areas. It reduces the quality of life for everyone in the neighborhood when people move in and don't give a damn about their property of their neighbors.

Republican Guy, Most cities and towns have ordinances against not keeping property up. I suggest you try to get the town or city where you live to enforce the ordinances.

I once had to call the city where I live to get a next door neighbor to cut down the 8 ft. weeds in his backyard. They sent him a notice and it was done within a couple days.They gave him a certain time frame and if not done they were going to do it and charge him.

Never had that problem again. The neighbors are a white well educated couple.

127th Way in Thornton is pretty well known as a dump.

Dan, I wouldn't be able to get past the stench and the sharpie shaped eyebrows!

You go right ahead and get the job done she just had her 5th kid and she's in heat again!

Republican Guy,
Do you have an HOA? Check with them. Our HOA says no more than 1 family (Mother, Father, and children of those two) can live in a house in our neighborhood. Also, the HOA may have rules regarding aesthetics and you can actually sue the homeowner for damages, including loss of value to your home.

+I don't blame angry parent for being angry.
If anything p***** me off is bratty kids. I won't even watch Daddy daycare or are we there yet..

I always had my children in the backyard,
fenced. Or they couldn't get off the stoop, or they couldn't pass on crack of the sidewalk, to the other. And I sat and watched. We had a cul-de-sac, could only ride bikes no, baseball for that..I took time to take them to the park,
to run and play all they wanted. I still was there. I got neighbors next door, from puerto rico that drove me nuts. Kids never used the sidewalk, walked across the lawn, etc. One day we came home and those kids, an adult lady..and her kids..were in our huge..pool.
Did my daughter give her a tongue lashing!
I moved eventually. That neighborhood now has" roosters".

And this is what we have to look forward to in our new country Mexica....they have no respect for our culture or our way of life. Seems interesting that the kids being run over are Mexicans and the kids running them over are Mexicans....and let's not mention the poor, innocent, little Neveah sexually abused by her "Padre" and Mommy ignoring the whole thing.....WTF is going on here????
We, Americans, need to step up. Start lobbying for immigration enforcement, get the fence built,send their a~~es back to fricking Mexico where they can live in the conditions they are trying to make in our country. Come on, Americans, grow some cojones and start representing.
And the kids and adults of a certain race seem to always walk in the streets...what's up with that?

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