Imagine living in a neighborhood where there aren’t any fences separating each person’s backyard.

Would you be upset if your next door neighbor’s kids occasionally entered your backyard to retrieve a ball or a frisbee, or would this not bother you at all?

In this story, two neighbors have completely different answers to this question.

Keep reading to see their points of view.

AITA for letting kids play in my backyard?

Last month, I was outside talking to my neighbor “Bill” about the pressure washing service he used to clean the outside of his home.

I noticed his kids playing soccer in the cul-de-sac area (it technically is a street? But it is also a blacktop) and his youngest fell and scraped her knee.

Bill moved here about a year ago. I’ve lived here for 15+ years.

He said he’s thinking about putting a fence up in the backyard so his kids could finally play in the yard.

He wanted clarification.

I asked what did he mean by that and he mentioned his other neighbor “Alex” was known to yell at Bill’s kids if the ball or toy they were playing with ended up in his yard (Alex doesn’t have a fence, actually none of the houses near Bill’s house have a fence) it is just one long stretch of backyards connected together.

I asked him if his kids were trampling on any flowers or in his garden and he said no.

Alex yells if they cross the boundary line about stepping on his grass and going on his property.

He said Alex said it is an understanding that all the neighbors have: Do not touch other people’s lawns.

These aren’t prize winning lawns, these are just regular backyards with dandelions and dry spots.

This was a nice thing to do.

I told Bill that if his kids want to, they could play towards my side of the connecting yards. I don’t mind if their ball or whatever goes in my yard.

The next day Bill’s kids were playing in the backyard, and his kids were honestly a little terrified of crossing the imaginary line that they sprinted when their frisbee ended up on my lawn.

I told them it was okay, they don’t have to be scared, I’m not like Alex.

Alex is pretty upset.

Later on, I saw Alex at the grocery store and he confronted me about letting the kids play in my yard. He said now he feels pressured to let Bill’s kids play in his backyard because I let them play in mine.

I asked him if Bill said anything, and he said no, but the pressure is there because I went against the neighborhood agreement.

I never heard of the neighborhood agreement.

I told him that lawns and grass are meant to be stepped on and that he should lighten up a little bit about the occasional “trespasser” on his lawn to retrieve a ball or frisbee.

Alex has a good reason to be hesitant to let kids play in his yard.

He said that he doesn’t want to get sued because a kid twisted an ankle while getting a ball on his lawn.

I told him to lighten up and it isn’t that big of a deal.

He called me an AH because now he looks like the bad guy even though he’s just protecting his property.

My friends are mostly on my side but the ones on Alex’s are thinking about the potential lawsuits if a kid gets hurt while on my lawn.

I can see Alex’s point. I can also see OP’s point.

Whose side does Reddit take?

Neither decision is wrong.

This person agrees that agreeing to disagree is just fine.

Another person thinks Alex feels guilty.

The only thing Alex did wrong was get mad at OP.

This person is more blunt.

It’s perfectly fine for neighbors to make different decisions about their yards.

If you liked that post, check this one about a guy who got revenge on his condo by making his own Christmas light rules.