[niss]

1. Anyone criticizing OP for letting his kids play in the street is retarded. Little kids have played on the low/no traffic streets in their neighborhoods forever. You can't ride a bike on grass.

2. OP needs to be a little more understanding of the kids blowing the stop sign. It sounds like this is an intersection where there's no traffic. These kids coming from outside the neighborhood don't know to expect little kids in the street. They're looking for other cars, know they're not going to see any, and blow off the stop sign. Simply ask the mother to tell the kids' friends to be mindful of the possibility of little ones in the street when they pull in and, assuming the friends really are good kids, the whole thing will be over.