Who can I tell about children that dont go to school?

Question

For 2 years I have 3 young children, one that screams constantly playing outside my house all and EVERY afternoon always with broken broomsticks, plastic knives and swords they run around slashing everything insight until 6pm when they are allowed back inside, I have heard on grapevine they are homeschooled but no-one has heard or seen any evidence of this. I have an elderly mother I care for and hearing all this screaming and watching this destruction every afternoon is getting too much for us both, I dont want to cause any trouble for the mother but surely this isnt right? Shouldnt they be able to play with other children, for their social development

Answer 1

Sorry that children disgust you so.  They are living in the states where both playing and homeschooling are legal.  And as much as it pains you, they are allowed to breath your air on your street too.  

I would suggest you close your blinds on that side of the house, and go look out the windows on the other side of your house now to snoop on those neighbors.  It will be a whole new exciting adventure to patrol on and complain about.

I will advise you that making false reports on homeschoolers is illegal, harassment, and you can be sued. HSLDA would already have proof of your involvement by the IP addressed used to post this question. It might simply be better to choose a new target for your ire.

Answer 2

I really do not think someone who has seemingly put up with noise and bad behaviour over several years should be chastised for being nosey!  In the news to-day a neighbourhood near Vienna is wondering how on earth no-one became curious about the poor lady who had been imprisoned for 24 years and had 7 children during that time!

Children do have a right to be educated and if there is a strong suspicion that it is not happening it does need to be addressed as it will possibly blight their whole lives.

It seems to me there are two issues; are the children being educated and the constancy of the noise and the nuisance it is causing.  If there is a worry about their education, then social services, education authorities or possibly police should be given the opportunity to check up.

On the noise issue, I think perhaps an attempt to explain about your mother - perhaps to ask whether it would be possible for the children to be away from the area where disturbance is greatest for a part of the day would be a constructive conversation.  Perhaps these neighbours might find some mutal benefit - perhaps the children can find out about childhood in a different era; perhaps they would be able to pop letters to the collection box in return.  Certainly there are guidelines about the nuisance caused by noise where I live.  So it is either the council or the policewho would be contacted.  My local council has a web site http://www.buckscc.gov.uk/bcc/

We pity those in 3rd world countries desperate for education in difficult circumstances.  Young children in modern can be countries denied the same thing.  I am not against HomeEd, on balance possibly the opposite.  But the rules about how it is monitored are there for the good of the children.

Answer 3

Some of the answerers have given you a hard time with this question.

They seem to forget that not every parent involved in home schooling does it well.

Contact the local education authority, through your local council.

If the home schoolers are doing their task in a satisfactory manner, they have nothing to worry about when the education authority visits.

If, on the other hand, the education offered, involves messing around with broken broomsticks etc. then they can have the joy of explaining the educational value of these activities.

Answer 4

You say you don't want to cause trouble for the mother, why not?

She seems to have no influence or control over her children.

If you think it is bad now, then the horizon of your worst nightmares is not even in site. Think of them as teenagers!!

Phone the social services, school authority, police. They are causing you problems, you start causing them problems

Answer 5

Contact the LOCAL EDUCATION AUTHORITY (LEA.) Usually the address is at your county council county hall. If it is a London LEA write to Education Authority at the Town Hall

Answer 6

You are the exact reason why old people do not have kids, they can't handle the noise, the energy, the whole experience.  If you're looking for a way to degrade homeschoolers, you'll not find it here.  Whether or not they do so is irrelevant.

Who are you to judge what is going on in the household next to yours unless you see blatant physical or verbal abuse.  Playing is normal childhood behavior of all age of children in its various forms.  Perhaps they play there because they live there too. Perhaps you could start reading to them or teaching them to play chess, etc..   Just spending some quality time with your neighbors, your fellow kind, to enlighten, to share, and grow as a person would benefit everyone.  Maybe they won't like you and avoid you, which you can be content with.  Just use common decency and talk to them about a compromise to their high level of noise and activity so near your window in order to reach an amicable compromise with common sense instead of trying to call in the government authorities to mettle where they don't belong and no one is in need of jail, fines, and the sort.  What if they called the authorities on your elderly mother for peeping on them, scaring them, or worse.  There are always at least two sides to every story.  

We have a loud, abrasive young boy on our street that lacks manners and apparently an inside voice, but we don't ostracize him, we have him over for brief periods of time in order to teach him how we behave so that he can at least have a few more good role models.  It also shows my kids that they weren't born with manners, we actually taught them to call upon people before they visit, to ask for things and not just take them, to share, to take turns, etc....

Answer 7

Yes you can call the Child Protective Services and it is your duty as an upstanding citizen to protect children that you see being neglected and this is clearly neglect if they are put out all day and not let back into the house til the evening.

Call. You don't have to leave a number or name. Let them know you want to be left out of it.

You owe it to those children to call. They don't deserve to be neglected.

Answer 8

It can be annoying to hear children screaming outside your house, believe me, I have a few neighbor kids who did it.  So, I get your point.  

I doubt you would see any evidence of kids being homeschooled, other than the fact that they are out during school hours.  Of course, you say they are young children, personally I only refer to young children as under 5, but that's just me.  

If there are 3 kids, aren't they interacting with each other?  Social development is really difficult to measure, and generally not an issue for homeschoolers and more than traditional schoolers.  

You only see them in the afternoon which means they have other things going on in their life mornings and evenings.  There is no way you can know what is going on during those hours.  

You have no cause to report this family to any authority.  Playing outside in the afternoons is what kids do, it's a great way for them to grow and learn.  Creating fun out of found objects is very creative.  

Either move to a child free area, or learn to live with kids (even the screamers, ugh).  

:D

Answer 9

If they have been destructive for two years, may I ask what their parents said when you complained?  Or what the police did when you reported the destruction or property damage?

When you spoke to the parents about the noise disturbing your mother, what did they say?  

I agree, if children are abused or neglected, by all means this should be reported to your child protection agency.  But......if they are really as destructive as you say, or as neglected, why did you wait 2 yrs. to be concerned?  I cannot believe that you have not spoken to this neighbor in 2 yrs, so that you do not even know whether they are homeschooled or not.

And you say that others in the neighborhood have taken the time to gather and gossip about these folks, but no one took the initiative to ask the parents about the kids, the noise, the concerns?  If you feel truly concerned, please do something before you wait another 2 yrs, but this makes me so grateful that I have good neighbors that we actually TALK to.  

Also, consider your question from a different persective:



who can I tell about an elderly woman who never seems to be out of her daughter's house?  I have heard through the grapevine that she cares, in the home, for her elderly mother, but I have never seen evidence of it.  She is never sitting on the porch, never walks down the street.  The daughter isolates herself and does not interact with neighbors.  Shouldn't the mother be in a retirement village where she can socialize with people her own age.  She is TOO quiet.  I've been thinking about this for 2 yrs. and it just seems that I should have seen her at least once.    I don't want to cause trouble for the daughter but surely this isn't right!

Answer 10

when they r seen by police they will go to the parents house and now they out parents in prison

Answer 11

They most likely are. Homeschoolers tend to lead very active social lives outside their own families. ANd unless you expect your neighbor to come over every day and show you her child's school books and work and lesson pans if they use those then you most likely wont get "evidence'. It's not your right nor your business to see "evidence" of the kids' schooling anyway, it's the state's (in most cases). And most young children play with toy knives and swords at some point, especially boys. Nothing wrong with it if the parents are okay with it. It's possible that they do their schooling in the evening because the mother works and the child has a babysitter , and couldurring the day, or that there are older siblings inside doing school or being driven around to homeschool activities durring the day and the younger ones do their school at night after supper. If the noise and rough play bother you, have a polite talk with the child's mother. Calmly say that you have an elderly relative in the house and could she maybe please ask her children to play a bit more quietly at certain hours of the day, or save their rough noisy games for homeschool park days or something. It shouldn't be a problem.

Answer 12

Home education can take place at any time and does not have to be tied to school hours and terms etc.  

If the children are annoying you, perhaps you could have a word with their parents.  If this does not work, then you can complain to your local authority, especially if they are causing damage.

What does concern me is that you say the children are not allowed back inside until 6pm.  If that is the case, then there is something wrong and it does need looking into.

Answer 13

Contact the Education Department of your local council (Home Schooled Children MUST be registered with them), the Social Services Department AND the local police (as they are a danger to themselves and other, going by the description you have given us of what they are doing).

Answer 14

You're upset because there are kids playing outside?!  Am I reading that correctly?  Good for their mother for sending them outside instead of cooping them up in the house all day.  Parents in the neighborhood where I grew up could not their kids in the house.  We went outside to play almost every afternoon and we loved it! Kids like playing outside.

If they are really that much of a disturbance then talk to the mom.  Let her know what's going on.  Otherwise, if there are no signs of abuse (and sending your kids outside is not neglect) what does it matter?  If you can't talk to her after two years you have no one to blame but yourself.

Answer 15

If there playing with things  that are broken in your neighborhood then you may want to think about setting up a "neighborhood clean-up day". If they're taking things out of the trash that needs to be brought to the attention of the parent. You said young kids but you never said how young. Some states don't even require you to register (if at all) until 8. If they are getting called in at 6 pm everyday it sounds like kids that enjoy outsides and reluctantly have to go in for dinner. Now if you here the mom telling them they can't come in till six you may ask why it's still none of your business. Should they play with other kids? depends who are these other kids and what are there motive? How old are the kids? will the other kids play with them? believe it or not some public school kids will not play with home school kids solely because they are home schooled.

Answer 16

I would contact the local school and ask for their guidance.

Answer 17

ask at your local police station.

Answer 18

How long do you think they need to be in school? Home schoolers only need a couple of hours a day. We're done already and it's not quite 1:00 here. We started at about 10:00 this morning.

Does she need to prove to you that they are home schooled? Not legally. Does she care about your opinion on how she should raise her kids? Not likely!

I have 3 kids where are they now? My oldest is visiting her Grandma who just had surgery just because she wants to help her. My middle is outside playing with a bamboo pole he is pretending is a sword. Why because he can and we just finished a story with a sword fight. My youngest is napping. Should they be playing with kids their age? Maybe but they are all in school and when they get home they will have 4 hours of homework that my neighbor has to teach them because they didn't learn it in school. The funny thing is that after seeing how my kids are she's ready to follow suit and pull her kids. She has even come over and spent a day watching us go through our school day because she wanted to know how it worked.

Do you have a problem with little boys playing with plastic swords and knives? Obviously you have never been around little boys. That's how they play! If they are damaging property then you need to do something. But if it's innocent play and no one is getting hurt or things aren't getting destroyed then BUTT OUT!!!!

If you don't like my answer tough then give me a thumbs down but remember you asked the question and home schoolers stick up for one another!

Answer 19

No one has stated the obvious.

If you give the local education authority a ring they will know exactly what to do about the children not going to school. You will have to know a surname though. If they think there is cause for concern( which there obviously is) they will also contact social services with regard to the children not being allowed back into the house until 6.00pm. I would do this annonymously though, as you don't know what reprisals you may get.

I wonder what the mother is doing every day until 6.00pm ??

Answer 20

If they are outside playing in the afternoons it is more than likely that they are doing their studies in the mornings, otherwise they'd be outside ALL day wouldn't they? Their mother probably thinks that playing outside in the fresh air is good for them, and it certainly sounds like they have lots of energy to burn off. Don't we hear endlessly about how children spend too much time in front of the TV or computer and don't get enough exercise?

So your real problem is that you don't like the noise of small children playing outside your house. Please don't pretend you're motivated by genuine concern for their welfare. You SAY you don't want to cause trouble but rushing off and filing a baseless accusation about the quality of their education IS causing trouble and don't you think they'll guess it was you?

Have you considered TALKING to your neighbours first?

You're very unlikely to get anyone to stop them being home educated because that is their parents RIGHT in law and very likely to make enemies out of your neighbours and get you a reputation as a mean old lady if you start calling the authorities on them.

As for social development at school. A good argument can be made for the dreadful behaviour of so many young people in this country being BECAUSE they are socialized by other children rather than learning appropriate behaviour from adults.

p.s. Home Educated children do NOT have to be registered with the LA. See the link below.

Answer 21

Report the family to Children Services.  The number is easy to find in the phone book.  They will verify whether or not they are being homeschooled, and if the parents are in compliance with state laws as far as educational concerns.  They are also allowed to enter a home, and see if other concerns are being met.  If the children spend most of the day outside unsupervised, their parents may be neglecting needs other than education.  Children services can provide guidance and parenting classes for them family if needed.  If the children spend most if not all day outside unattened, you are doing the family a favor by reporting them because no child deserves to be so neglected.  Children need supervision and deserve the loving attention of their parents, and it doesn't sound like their parents enjoy spending time with them.  Not all parents who homeschool, do so through official channels or guidelines.  Many just keep the children at home, and do little or nothing.  I have seen both responsible homeschool parents, and I've seen irresponsible ones.  If you believe that these are abusing the priviledge, report it for investigation.

Answer 22

Why dont you mind your own business!

Bet they are loving you for a neighbour - NOT!

Answer 23

Just phone your local social services office and give them the address of where these children live. Express your concerns to them and they will check it out thoroughly without you ever being revealed as the 'complainer'.

Answer 24

Young children only require 2 to 3 hours a day to complete their school work on most homeschooling programs.   Most homeschool kids can have their days work done by noon if they get at it, that's the beauty of homeschool.   I know one boy who gets up early and has his days lessons completed before his mom gets out of bed.

Active play outside is good for children, and last time I checked, kids were still noisy at active play.   And last time I checked nobody has ever been required to explain their child's educational plan to their neighbors.

I was angry and smiling when I read your concern.  It reminded me of one of the reasons why schools were started.  When they introduced  the child labor laws the cities were flooded with out of work children.   The populace were aghast as you are with the annoyance of children; so the decision was made to institutionalize the little buggers to get them off the streets.  They called the institutions school.  It was a great tool for civilizing the population and turning out happy little working drones and obedient soldiers.  A really great social innovation.

If you REALLY think these children are being neglected or abused you could report it to social services; but please, if you are just irritated with loud neighbors please just knock on their door and politely ask them to tone it down a little if your elderly mother is having a nap.   Not everybody likes their neighbors.  It is difficult if they have different habits and values than you do.  But that is not really a crime.