I'm pretty sure the kid has already been told not to go on the neighbours property; an electric fence would be a bit over the top if it was just a one-off. The kid probably dug up the neighbours prize-winning roses or something.

I am sure the neighbor told Op to not have their kid in their yard. Someone who puts up an electric fence is obviously ready to play for keeps. However, it is not going to kill the kid. The electric fences allowed in residential areas have to be of low voltage. It is not Fort Knox. It feels like a pinch and that is about it. Back to the kid. Yes, parents are the ones who decide how to discipline children. But a lot of parents would say, "He is a boy, he needs space to explore" and assume the neighbor would not mind a child in their yard. Boys can do a lot of damage, break pots, scare pets, ruin lighting, and rip up flowers. And it is not the neighbor's responsibility to wait until the kid learns his lesson. He has a right to put up a legal fence around his property, electric or not.

"Even if you look after them, you look away 5 seconds and the kid can be anywhere." Including the road! Let's ban cars! And walking dogs! And pointy things! Seriously though, that's why you should always be watching young kids and only a few feet away from them when outdoors, until they are smart enough to not run in front of semis or eat random poisonous things they find on the ground. It's not the neighbour's responsibility to parent your kids.

Not that kind... it's the kind with the electrically charged lines. They use them for livestock.

Oh I gotcha, now it makes sense to me!