Small child constantly beeping car horn

[WankersHacksandThieves]

NDN is a child minder. At pick up most of the week a child sits in the car pressing the horn continually when dad is chatting to child minder. This drives me mental.

Anyway after 10 minutes of it today I snapped. I stomped out to go next door when dad appears. I ask him to stop his child doing it and said i was fed up with it every day and that it was a nightmare. He looks bemused said it was hardly a nightmare and wasnt every day. I pointed out it was illegal and he said would they arrest a 4 year old. I said his car so he'd be responsible and stomped back indoors.

Am I just a grumpy cow?

[Sirzy]

I would have probably just mentioned it to the childminder to start with. But he shouldn't be allowed to do it!

[WankersHacksandThieves]

It was NDN I was going to see. He just happened to come out as I was on my way. I was trying to work, DSs trying to study and DH trying to watch tv. I'm tempted to sit outside his house and do the same. I don't blame the child he is probably fed up sitting in a car waiting.

[WankersHacksandThieves]

It's not usually as long, normally a few minutes.

[scaryclown]

No, father is a dick, child is future dick.. Hopefully you have helped a little bit.

[Viviennemary]

Some people are just so inconsiderate and unaware of their children being a nuisance to other people. You did the right thing complaining.

[WankersHacksandThieves]

Child is otherwise ok. I see him sometimes if I'm home at school run time. Seems polite and well behaved normally.

[SuperPug]

Very ignorant dad - some people really don't give a flying whatever when it comes to affecting other people. Nice attitude he's passing onto his child.
TBH - two minutes of that would set ny teeth on edge let alone ten. Bloody hell.

[ShowMePotatoSalad]

YANBU but I would have spoken to NDN and asked them to speak to the parent about it.

[specialsubject]

No, he is a selfish dick and is breeding another . kid is too young to blame but needs to be stopped from being a pain in the arse. Hope it doesn't grow up to be a shrieking Saturday drunk waking the neighbours.

[Meekonsandwich]

Maybe I'm petty but I would buy a fog horn compressed can and stand on my doorstep pressing it every few seconds while they're talking :D

[WankersHacksandThieves]

Meekon - or alternatively I could just sit and press my own car horn... :o

[PoisonousSmurf]

I used to be a childminder many years ago. One parent used to let his then 3 year old get in the car and start the engine!
He also would let him climb on top of the car. Used to make me so nervous, but the dad was real pushover and even after I'd closed my door, they'd be out there for nearly half an hour, messing around, beeping the horn and jumping over the car.

[Rainydayspending]

Definitely lean on the CM. They're running a business in their home, one where reputation can mean a lot. Pissing off their neighbours is hardly a way to spread word of mouth of a well run ship!

[LorelaiVictoriaGilmore]

I came on here worried that someone was complaining about my ds... I don't think this is us though. I occasionally let ds pressing the horn once maybe twice if he is in the car playing driving... Feel bad now...

[WankersHacksandThieves]

I get on really well the neighbour. I wish i'd mentioned it to her before finally losing my rag.

Lorelai Interestingly annoyingly I have another neighbour who also childminds who has another (female) parent who picks up and lets her child press the horn - child is younger and it's not for so long or so often. Does your childminder begin with a V? if you are parent 1 then it's childminder name beginning with C.

[ProlificPoster]

Sorry but I think you were unreasonable. I would be annoyed by the noise and I also would have probably said something but I think it was 'grumpy' and very unreasonable to snap, stomp out there and generally be crabby about it. I suspect if you had been polite then the response from the dad would have been less stroppy.

Going off on one is generally not the most effective way of dealing with annoying neighbours.

[scaryclown]

buy airhorn, charge phone, film beeping, film you sticking airhorn in car, and sounding. Pay any court fees out of YouTube profits..

[WankersHacksandThieves]

I agree. I was annoyed but when I went out and he could clearly see I was annoyed, he made a comment about it being his calling card and shrugged which probably didn't help. I'm not normally confrontational but it was doing my head in. I'd popped my head out the door about 5 minutes before and little one had scrabbled back to the back seat, I'm guessing he knew he was doing wrong. It stopped briefly and then carried on.

I am probably over sensitive to noise anyway but "normal" street noise such as kids playing, lawnmowers, occasional dog barking etc is fine, it's just life, I don't live in a rural cottage miles from everyone, I live in a normal suburban cul de sac.

[Kidakidder]

I too would go bananas. Utterly awful.

[WankersHacksandThieves]

I'm glad that everyone agrees that it's antisocial even if they don't necessarily think I handled it well, which I agree that it would have been better to mention it earlier to NDN. I think that I kept waiting for common sense to kick in but was clearly delusional.

[ImperialBlether]

The child shouldn't be allowed in the front seat without an adult being in the car. What happens if he takes the hand brake off?

[SparklyUnicornPoo]

YANBU, it would drive me mad too, also, why the hell is a 4 year old waiting in the car alone for 10 minutes on a regular basis?