WIBTA If I Intentionally Blocked a Kid’s View Into My Yard and Dogs?

A homeowner without kids is losing her mind because her neighbor’s 3-year-old keeps breaking the rules by doing things like drawing on her car and giving her dogs unsafe food through the fence. Even though she has been nice to the parents, they have ignored her worries by saying “he’s just a kid.” She is now ready to put up trellises and a second fence to make it look like she is gardening, but her real goal is to keep the child out. Still, she asks herself, “Would I be the jerk for making this move when I know the kid will enjoy it and might be ignored at home?”

There is a heated argument going on about property rights, kids who aren’t cared for, and the thin line between keeping the peace and ‘being the bigger person’. It makes you think about how far you should go to keep the peace in your neighbourhood when a child’s behaviour and the parent’s silence go too far into long-term disrespect and danger.

Some neighbors bring over cookies, others bring over a child with boundary issues and a permanent marker

One woman plans to build a fence to block her neighbor’s unruly kid from feeding her dogs toxic food and throwing trash in her yard

One complicated question lies at the heart of this problem: When is it cruel to keep a child out of your space, and when is it just a good way to set limits?

The person who posted the original message (OP) lives next door to a family whose 3-year-old son constantly jumps lines, both literally and figuratively. The kid has thrown trash, toys, jewellery, and even things that aren’t safe into her garden. He tries to feed her dogs through the fence, which is unsafe, and he gets into her front yard without being watched. He has also damaged her property by drawing with permanent pen on her house and car and breaking a planter.

The parents, especially the stay-at-home mom, have talked about it several times but haven’t done anything useful. They say it was because they were “just a kid,” as if that let them off the hook. According to OP, the father sometimes tries to help but is mostly away during the day.

This behaviour and the dismissive reaction from the parent would be hard for anyone, but it would be especially hard for an adult without kids who wants to enjoy her home and take safe care of her dogs. OP feels sorry for the child because she thinks he’s been ignored and left to play alone for long periods of time, but her compassion can only go so far, especially when her home and animals are in danger.

Property Rights vs. Drama in the Neighbourhood

OP has every legal and moral right to make any changes to her property that make it safer, more secure, or more peaceful. To keep the child from getting to her dogs or into the property, she could add a trellis, plant thick shrubs, or put up a second fence. This is normal gardening behaviour, and doing it under the guise of making it look better is not dishonest; it’s smart.

Many homes have the same problem when their shared or partial fences don’t make it clear where the lines are or where the gaps are, letting unwanted people in. The answer is the same whether it’s a child, a neighbor’s dog, or people walking along a nearby path: keep your borders safe.

The constant safety risk makes OP’s case stronger. The kid isn’t just waving at the dogs; he’s also giving them dangerous things to eat. If a dog is frightened or gets possessive over food, this could make them sick, poison them, or bite someone. In the worst case, OP could be sued if one of her dogs attacked and hurt the child, even though she wasn’t at fault.

This isn’t being paranoid; it’s just lowering the risk.

The “But He’s Only a Kid” Defence

“Just being a kid” is something that parents often say when their child does something like this. But being a child doesn’t mean you don’t have any rules, and it doesn’t mean your neighbours have to deal with the problems your parents don’t fix.

Child development experts at HealthyChildren.org say that toddlers need structure and constant guidance to learn what the rules are. When those limits aren’t there, their behaviour isn’t just a sign of getting older; it’s also a sign of being ignored.

The post then goes into more depth here. The original poster (OP) says she thinks the mother is stressed out and maybe even depressed, and that the child may be emotionally neglected, which is a form of abuse as many comments pointed out. OP is not responsible for the child just because they care about them. But it does make the behaviour stand out more.

Being kind and protecting yourself at the same time is hard to do. It’s important to remember, though, that letting the child keep access to her dogs and garden doesn’t help the child or the problem.

Is it mean to block the view?

This was the OP’s first worry. Would it be cruel to keep the kid from seeing the dogs? From looking through the fence to say hello from behind it?

In a few words, no. It is not mean to stop people from touching animals on private land without permission or while watching them, especially if the touching has already been shown to be unsafe and not being watched.

It’s not out of spite. The goal is to make sure that OP and her pets are safe and stress-free, and to make it clear to the neighbours that this behaviour is no longer okay.

Taking Steps

In her update, OP said she was going to use a vine and a post to block the whole fence line and close a small gap where the child often plays with the dogs. She also wants to put a security camera in the front (the back already has one) and will think about telling the right people about the carelessness if it keeps happening or gets worse.

This is a smart way to escalate the situation, not an exaggeration. She is taking reasonable, proactive steps to protect her animals, her property, and her peace of mind. At the same time, she is aware of how the family works as a whole and the child may need mental or structural support.

Netizens side with the woman, saying she is not a jerk for blocking the child’s access to her pups and yard

Not that jerk

Setting limits is not a weakness; it’s a skill that helps you stay alive. OP is right to want to feel safe in her home and yard. That girl isn’t wrong when she doesn’t like the forced exchanges or when a child keeps coming into her space.

The fact that she paused at all shows that she does care, even if she’s no longer ready to give up her comfort to deal with bad parenting.