Is anyone else bothered by the group of teenagers in Goose Green playground?

[JohnL]

They turn on those who befriend them - seen that so many times ??

Don't bother, act mean, give them the SE15 frown.

Then silently drum them out - through the gentrification process

- and before you know it they've been forced to change.

Edit: because the bad gangs have gone - gentrified out since the riots when

society came down on them.

aquarius moon Wrote:

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> You may be surprised to learn that I have actually

> visited a playground.

>

> I used to take my children there all the time on

> the council estate where they were brought up.

> (Not that long ago)

>

> Where the 14/15 year old wannabe gangsters all

> hung out because they had nowhere better to go.

> They were rude, abusive & threatening. Whenever

> they arrived, mum's with kids made a swift exit.

> However, I made conversation with a few of them

> once who just happened to be there on their own.

> We talked about football, dogs, (can't remember

> what else) but they were quite happy to engage in

> conversation with both myself & the children.

> Next time we were at the playground, the whole

> group walked in. They kept looking over, obviously

> wanting to cause trouble if we didn't leave when I

> heard one of them say 'She's OK, leave her

> alone.'

> From then on they never bothered us.

>

> That's what I meant by my comment that it's

> sometimes better to befriend than make enemies of,

> if you feel threatened.

>

> Those 14/15 year olds would soon be turning into

> the 16/18 year old gang members that ruled my

> estate. That was inevitable.

> Where you risked having your head kicked in if you

> so much as looked at them the wrong way.

>

> The same ones who set my flat on fire.

>

> So to CocoC, New Wave, lounge lizard and Tr? who

> find my post so ridiculous, na?ve & hilariously

> funny.............

>

> You really haven't a clue.

[Sophron]

I really want to believe this but there are still stick up guys mugging people at knife point round the corner from GG play ground and within the last few weeks.

These youths are just the next generation, but yeah, happy to drum them out, what ever keeps them away from my kids.

[alice]

http://maps.met.police.uk/

no personal robberies recorded june 2014

wheres your facts from

[Sophron]

alice Wrote:

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> http://maps.met.police.uk/

> no personal robberies recorded june 2014

> wheres your facts from

This forum Alice, here is the thread:

http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?5,1361290

[alice]

ok they dont have the data for july yet.

[3 little piggies]

For goodness sake! Guess what - all kids turn into teenagers at some stage.

When my two were small I found the teens intimidating and unapproachable and now mine are 13 and 14 they are part of that 'set'. It happens to all the little kids - one day it might be one of your's who's hanging around the playground with 'nothing' to do.

They're still just kids, maybe annoying, maybe not very nice, maybe intimidating, but still just kids, who not so long ago were fine and very at home in that same playground.

And yes, there is loads to do in London. I've had my two teens enrolled on a local authority rowing course this week, next week one's doing a film course and the other's doing a photography course - all free and all great but I'VE been the one to organise it because they're teens and wouldn't even contemplate doing it themselves. It's a shame these kids don't have someone who is interested enough to get them involved in things.

Teens automatically feel alienated, they're stuck between childhood and adulthood and don't know where they belong. They're testing boundaries, but don't forget, they are still children. Maybe big and somewhat scary but still just children. And as I said earlier, your little ones will be that age sooner than you can imagine.

[first mate]

Wow, are these free courses available for adults too. Where are they and how does one get access?

[phobic3000]

'for goodness sake' they are bullies and their behaviour is unacceptable. Bullying little kids, swearing at parents, kicking balls into gardens and making smaller kids cry is not part of being a teenager. I don't understand why people are defending them - they sound like scumbags.

[Sophron]

Also it's irrelevant that they are children; if your child were putting themselves and others in danger would you stop them? If they were rude, upsetting other children and adults, abusing others would you want to know? I don?t want my little kids near violence, sexually offensive language and bullying - in a little kids playground that's not an unreasonable expectation and the police/school should be involved to prevent this behaviour even if these "children" don?t have parents who care. It might actually keep them from progressing to more serious anti social behaviour.

[LadyDeliah]

Yeh, but this is what happens when you call the cops:

[Otta]

I have to say that calling them feral low life, and suggesting with assurance that they are the next generation of knife welding muggers is a bit bloody much.

They are bored kids. Yes they need to piss off somewhere else, and the one that threatened to punch a small kid needs a slap, but let's not get carried away.

[Sophron]

And lot's of people will tell you that slapping someone elses kid is a bit bloody much Otta, you can't have it both ways...either it's not acceptable, and if their parents won't sort it then, as appears to be the consensus here, the police should act or their just bored kids, lets leave them alone and not take our kids to the play there any more.

[Otta]

Yeah, saying someone needs a slap is pretty far from actually going and slapping a teenager.

it isn't acceptable and they should be moved on (as I've said repeatedly), but that still doesn't make them feral low life and future knife carrying gang members. This isn't The Wire season 4.

[Sophron]

So we concur then Otta, it's unaaceptable and they should be moved on by the police.

As for feral, that wasn't my description but if the cap fits....and regarding knife carrying gang members given that in the last few weeks there have been multiple reports of muggings at knife point not 500 yards from the GG play area I don't think it's too much of a stretch to suggest that the muggers were bored teenagers once, perhaps even pissing people off in the same playground, what do you think Otta? Impossible, no?

[Otta]

Not impossible, but not as definite as you seem to think.

And RE "feral", the cap doesn't fit.

[Penguin68]

I find it interesting that, with a 'park' opposite, they choose to spend time in a children's playground. Does this suggest where they sort-of still identify themselves, as children rather than independent adults? Do they feel more comfortable in a more clearly 'observed' environment? Are they jealous of the little children (whose space this more clearly is) and would wish to have back some of the certainties of real childhood?

This does not excuse their behaviour, of course, nor mean that it should be in any way tolerated, but I wonder whether this eschewing of an adult environment reflects their own uncertainties with incipient adulthood? Should we be treating them as potential adults or over-grown children?

[3 little piggies]

This was the point I was trying to make earlier. They are still children, albeit overgrown, overbearing and some of them bullying, but ultimately still children.

Of course this is not acceptable behaviour and should be challenged (not necessarily by the person witnessing it if they don't feel comfortable doing it) but it should be challenged. This is how all kids (little and large) learn and unfortunately the older they get the harder it gets and some parents abdicate that responsibility.

Teenage years are awash with new emotions, experiences and crazy hormones. They struggle to find their place in their own peer group, secondary school environment, and in the wider world. It's incredibly difficult trying to communicate with teenagers (even, or maybe particularly, your own) and in some cases downright impossible.

And it's not just kids from poorer homes. Some of the more outrageous and intimidating behaviour I've witnessed (youtube uploads of train journeys to school at the beginning of year 7) has been from kids my daughter knows at school who come from very well-off and strict homes, where parents would be appalled if they knew what was going on.

I do think it's an incredible shame that more teens don't take advantage of the free local authority summer courses available. My two loved last week's rowing, something they'd never normally have experienced, and are both looking forward to the next two weeks. None of their friends from school are doing any of these courses and sometimes the take-up is very low (my son did a filming course last year where he was one of 3! - great in a way that there were so few of them as they all got to write film, direct, act in and edit their own little short film).

If anyone's interested you can find some activities in a downloadable pdf on the young lambeth website. I know southwark has something similar and I think Lewisham does also.

[3 little piggies]

They're just for kids in the summer holidays but can lead to further involvement during term-time. Check out the young lambeth website - summer university download. I'd think that some of the providers would run adult courses (although I assume there would be a charge).

[robbin]

Sorry to anyone who would prefer to characterise this as 'hysteria' but, without any hint of hysteria...

6' teenager that swears aggressively at an adult and threatens to punch a 6 year old in the face = feral low life.

Simple really.

[Jeremy]

3 little piggies Wrote:

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> When my two were small I found the teens

> intimidating and unapproachable and now mine are

> 13 and 14 they are part of that 'set'.

Your kids also bully younger children?

[JohnL]

Worth noting - It's not really fit for men (especially) to talk to

or confront teenagers - for precisely the reason that they are still

children.

So most men are never going to confront or talk to these guys.

Sophron Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Also it's irrelevant that they are children; if

> your child were putting themselves and others in

> danger would you stop them? If they were rude,

> upsetting other children and adults, abusing

> others would you want to know? I don?t want my

> little kids near violence, sexually offensive

> language and bullying - in a little kids

> playground that's not an unreasonable expectation

> and the police/school should be involved to

> prevent this behaviour even if these "children"

> don?t have parents who care. It might actually

> keep them from progressing to more serious anti

> social behaviour.

[standswithfist]

I had an altercation at Goose Green park a few years back - I was there with my daughter who was 3 and a half - a young group of kids playing on their bikes and climbing on the big tower where the ropes are - they were aged around 9/10/11yrs old. They kept swearing and spitting infront of my daughter. I asked them to kindly stop swearing and spitting around my daughter. They laughed and one of them told me where to get off. I said don't be rude. He spat at me - infront of my daughter/rest of playground. I said to him he deserved a good slap for being so rude. he said i'm telling my parents. I said good go and get them and i'll speak to them. They all rode off. Then came back and it was shocking the state of the parents who were swearing and saying they were going to smash my face in. His dad was feral and came up to my face threatening to smash my face in. Some of the parents called the police. The mum then said to me yeah call the police i've got friends inside and i'll tell them you are a kiddy fiddler.

With parents like this i'm not surprised he acted like he did.

The police turned up and had to escort me home as i was so shook up and scared (they threatened to follow me home and smash my kid and myself and my house up) so the police escorted them away and then escorted me home. My daughter did not stop crying for a whole hour from when the man came up to me threating me.

I stopped going there for a year. I go now regularly again as i now have a 1 year old and my daughter is now 5 and I would say the same again to anyone. Don't swear or spit its rude and dont do it in front of my kids. I dont care where you come from manners cost nothing. And if that means i'll get threatened again then so be it.

[Zebedee Tring]

Sadly the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, standswithfist. With parents like that, no wonder the kids turn out so appalling.

[LadyDeliah]

If any of the current crop of teenagers in the Goose Green playground are as bad as the ones who have been described later in the thread (initial posts seem to say not) then maybe you need to start looking at the causes and possible solutions.

How many of the people on here would be willing to pay for higher taxes to pay for more facilities and assistance for kids growing up with alcoholic or drug addicted parents.

Or even more rehabilitation centers, social workers, early intervention schemes, more probation officers and specialist family centers that might help whole families to get their shit together?

How many of you try your best to pay the lowest tax possible?

If we don't give a shit about the kids who are drowning in their parents crap at the bottom of the food chain, how can you expect them to give a crap about others who seem massively privileged to them?

[Jeremy]

Great suggestion. If me or my family ever get any grief from these kids, I'll explain to them that I pay my fair share of tax in full via the PAYE mechanism, and maybe they should find a self employed plumber, IT contractor, or tory voter to hassle instead. That should settle things.