Bring back the youth of yesteryear

I worry about what the world is coming to ... Whilst round at mum and dads today I heard a crash and breaking of glass ... Now normally I would have suspected my little munchkin Zoo, but as he was seated beside me at the dinner table munching away at his food, I knew it wasn't him to blame. As I dashed over to the window I saw two young kids speeding away on pedal bikes. I went to the front door to try and figure out what had broken and whether it belonged to us but couldn't see anything except the back of these two kids on their bikes half way up the road.

I returned to the house and told Dad that I couldn't see anything. "I'll have a look" he tells me ... and scuttles off. He returns five minutes later "I can't see anything ... must be the rubbish people have dumped."

Another five minutes and more breaking glass, I again dash over and see the same two kids, pedalling as fast as they can up the road and round the corner .... "Oiiii" I scream after them. I discover where they have left a pile of dangerous shards of glass and as they come back for a third go at it, I glare at them with my best "Don't even go there or you are going to get beats" look. (This always works on Zoo and occasionally even Cream without ever having to resort to actual violence.) It works and they scarper off at pace.

Now I must admit this is not the first time that I have dealt with hoodlums around the neighbourhood and I am happy to stand my ground and let them know that such behaviour will not be tolerated. Cream then tells me off for being a vigilante, Dad tells me that I shouldn't get involved because I don't live here and Mum mutters something like "We don't want any trouble."

But I am pretty passionate on this issue ... My view is that there is already enough of this turning the other way, ignoring such behaviour, so I defend my corner ... foolishly seeing as I am clearly out numbered, but I refuse to back down on principle.

Why should my parents be afraid to go outside their door, for fear of repercussions from some teenage prats on a bike who have no respect for other's properties or the local community ... "But what happens if they come back ... Goliaths car is sitting in the drive and they might break his windows!" Dad explains ...

I look at Dad in amazement ... "Dad, if they come back and break panes of glass on the road and they know that they can do this without regard to anyone and without fear of any repercussions, then they have already won. Today it's someones rubbish out on the street, tomorrow it will be your house ... what are you going to do then? ... It will be too late ... Don't complain to me when you have a gang of drug dealers and hooligans hanging around outside your house because they know they can do what they like and no-one will bother them. It's the thin end of the wedge, Dad. When you make a stand now, you make a difference for the future."

"It's nothing to do with you, you don't live here!" is his reply.

"Fine, but my son stays here during the day and I am looking out for him!!" Dad doesn't have much of an answer to this and mutters something under his breath about busy bodies.

I appreciate his point of view but I remember the good old days ... you wouldn't dream about playing further than ten doors down from your own home ... and you certainly wouldn't misbehave as you would either get told off by a responsible adult or they would come and tell your parents what you had been up to. I long for those days now ... For kids who are respectful and don't answer back. For neighbourhoods, where everyone knew whose kids were who. For kids, who knew they would be in trouble if their parents found out. What happened to those days ... when did people start hiding behind their net curtains?

Well ... NOT ME, NOT HERE, NOT IF I'VE GOT ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT ... I don't care if people think I'm the local madwoman ... at least they know that they can't get away with shit where I am concerned. Don't mess with me, is the message I am giving out loud and clear.

"This neighbourhood is going downhill you know", I tell Cream as we walk to the car later that evening.

"It can't be that bad" he replied "You've left your car window wide open and they haven't nicked anything!" .... "Having said that ... let's be honest, there isn't anything of value to nick is there!?!"