Brenda Hammond wrote:

We were thinking about electric fencing, but have concerns about that
because of the young children at our house and the neighbors - there's no
fence between our place and theirs and their daughter comes over quite
often.


I have no experience with bears, but after a contact by one individual
with an electrified wire, the whole deer herd learns to stay away for a
very long time (years). They are a herd after all, and if they see one
of their own very scared and in full flight they get scared as well.
And, mind you, they are in my backyard every single day, they just know
enough to leave the vegetable garden alone. I keep my wire off 99% of
the time, and if I see signs of entry one week on is enough to restore
order. Same with squirrels.

You could have a 4 feet tall chainlink with one strand of wire on top
(six inches above or so), and a small gate unwired to let the neighbor
daughter come and go. The deer will probably touch the wire with their
noses as they explore this new thing. Explain the arrangement to the
girls and their parents and you will have little trouble.