Hey Pandas, AITA For Contacting The Police Over Concerns About Children Playing In The Street?

We played in the street all the time as kids. The oldest was in charge of yelling "CAR!" and we'd all scatter.

There are kids who play basketball in the street where I live. They usually clear out as soon as they hear a car, so it doesn't bother me. However, if the kids just keep playing like no one was there, then that would be a huge issue.

I am always amazed at the lack of self-preservation by people standing in the street with traffic coming at them.

Nta I was allowed to play in the street but was taught to move out of the way the cars

Mom is an AH, kids are being trained to be AHs, and the municipality may or may not need to provide more recreational spaces for kids and adults. And there’s a whole lot of assuming and projecting going on in the comments.

Kids have played in streets for as long as the human race has had streets. However, it is not a safe place to play with vehicles of all sizes coming and going. The parent needs to find a nearby park or empty lot, instead of thinking the public street is their own playground. I used to play in the street (mostly cul-de-sacs) when I visited friends in town, but we only did it in areas where we were not going to be getting in the way or get run over by a car. This was decades ago when we were raised to be nice to each other.

I played in the streets as a kid, but everyone understood that when a car came you got the hell out of the way. There was always one kid that yelled "car!"

This is just escalating the issue too far. Is it illegal for them to be there? Maybe, but does that really need to be what we bring this to? Ask for the kids to move when you drive by. If they refuse, instead of talking about the legality of the situation, go to the mom yourself and ask for her to instruct her kids to move for cars for their own safety. Instead of acting like they're doing something awful, which will cause mom to immediately be defensive, talk more about wanting to make sure the kids can keep playing outside but in a safe manner that allows you both to share the road. Meet her where she's at and maybe she won't be so yelly and defensive. No need whatsoever to get the cops involved. Because you escalated it so far, YTA here. I do think ESH in reality, but OP is one of the a******s involved and had the power to de-escalate the situation from the start but chose not to.

ESH. I'm not saying you're wrong, but... Unlike you, I WAS taught to play in the street. There's a better chance that a parent of at least one of the kids can keep an eye on you, and it's better than wandering off and exploring like we used to. When a car comes along, you move out the way, when it's passed you crack on. Obviously this only applies to the residential and rural areas I lived in. Kid's don't have many places to play these days, so my summary is as follows: Their Mam is an AH for not teaching the kids to move out of the way, The Kids are AH, because they are all old enough to have the common sense to move out of the way. You're an AH for literally calling the police over some kids playing in the street. And the officer is an AH for not setting you all straight. A proper conversation could have sorted the whole thing out before it even became an issue.