The territorial side of me gets a little bent out of shape - the other part of me (which usually dominates) asks: did it really change the quality of your life? And then moves on.
Hope the kid sat in some dog shit and go back inside. If the kid isn’t gone in 10 minutes, ask Mom if she needs me to call an ambulance for her apparently immobile kid.
I’m considerably more lenient towards toddlers than to older kids. Not because I think they’re cute (I don’t), but because toddlers usually haven’t learned better, and indeed, they’re not really CAPABLE yet of obeying rules. In this case, it seems that Mom (you) promptly removed the kid from the garden. That’s the best option. I probably wouldn’t have said anything, but maybe I’d have grinned wryly. If this was a regular occurence, I probably would have mentioned that I’d had a harness and leash for my daughter at about that age, to keep her out of dangerous situations. But if it was a one-off, nah, this sort of thing happens with little kids.
That being said, pesticides aren’t healthy for toddlers to be around, so yeah, it is mildly hazardous for the child.
I’d probably get a better latch if this thing happened frequently, with multiple kids. And I chose the last option, because my reaction would have depended on a variety of factors.
But if your lawn can’t handle a toddler sitting on it, you need a better lawn.
I agree with Lynn Bodoni. I do think the woman’s reaction was a bit harsh. However, we don’t know what other people have been doing or have allowed their children to do in her yard. Your kid might just have been the straw that broke the nice neighbor lady’s back.
Yeah, she could have been a bit nicer about it, but choosing not to object to trespass leaves her open for problems down the road, too. Not objecting is often seen as giving permission, and from there, it’s not a big leap to her being held liable for some kid’s injury while they were in her yard. It doesn’t matter what condition her yard is in; it’s hers, not yours.
It never fails to astound me what some people do to others’ yards. We’ve had SO many issues with jerks allowing their animals to do their business in our yard, and I just don’t get it. Even urine is damaging to plants and grass. The community college students who are too cheap-ass to buy parking passes just looooove to park on our side yard, too. Right up on the grass! I’ve had more than a few towed away, because really, that’s just BS.
It was also a huge mistake to plant flowers in a little flower garden in the corner made by the driveway and the street, because apparently, proximity to the street means they’re fair game. I once was doing dishes and looked out the window to see a woman merrily picking a bouquet. I hotfooted it out the door and yelled, “HEY! I didn’t plant those flowers for assholes like you to pick them!”
And do you know, she was offended! “WELL! You don’t have to be so rude about it!”
“How 'bout I come over to your house and shop in your garage or your kitchen cupboards for things I can take?” She just glared at me, threw down the flowers, and stomped off. Double-u tee eff?
Beyond that, dude, if you’re walking along a busy road and your toddler runs away from you, you’re asking for trouble if you don’t use a leash until the wee one can understand not to do that. I know a lot of people think they’re not very nice, but the kid’s not going to get squished by a speeding car or snatched in a crowd. Or set upon by vicious lawn-tending grannies. 
This.
Nah, seriously, I probably wouldn’t do a damn thing. Maybe a courteous nod of acknowledgement. No harm done, no point getting worked up about it. Besides, let kids be kids. Went outside once just as a kids football hit my car from next door. Their dad was absolutely mortified about it, but it didn’t do any damage so no problem.
A lot of the families with kids around here are ultra-orthodox Jewish. I’d give the kid a bacon cheeseburger.
I’d yell at the kid and make it cry! 
I would run outside to snatch the kid back into my yard so that I could then throw him over the fence, yelling rude things to his mother.
I really wouldn’t care.
Hell, I once had a bum spend a nice evening reading under my porch light. I contemplated telling him to move on, but then I decided he wasn’t doing anyone any harm and let him be.
I really wouldn’t care.
Hell, I once had a bum spend a nice evening reading under my porch light. I contemplated telling him to move on, but then I decided he wasn’t doing anyone any harm and let him be.
What was he reading?
Well, seeing as how she told him to come out and then removed him bodily, I’d say she is putting a stop to that.
As for me, if it were my yard, I’d probably smile, say something about kids getting into things, and go about my business. Now, if they made a habit of it, that might be a different thing, but it doesn’t sound like that to me.
MsChilePepper, your story! That woman is crazy stupid.
Our landlord owns a club right behind our house, and has a large area full of trees which periodically their club meets in and stuff. They are considering putting up a fence and a gate and a lock because people walk their dogs back there and don’t clean up dog shit. That is just so wrong. First of all, the law in my town is very strict on dogshit cleaning, secondly, I hate people with dogs who let their dogs shit everywhere and don’t think to clean it, and thirdly, they have their parties there! Outdoors! Kids run around! It’s not right to leave landmines.
I’ll take a toddler running into my garden anyday. Of course my actual enclosed garden is only 8’ x 4’, and latched, so I’d wonder how the kid ran all the way across my yard and somehow got into my garden. 