And lo, the screaming in gardens has started

[Lludmilla]

Kids have been off school 1.5 days. That didn't take long, did it??

(And yes, I know this is a polarising topic on here, but today I'm really struggling to wfh due to constant screaming from kids playing in gardens. And no, I don't mean shouting or laughing or giggling, none of which I'd have a problem with... I mean full-on, top-of-the-lungs screaming.)

I get that we have to make allowances/keep things in proportion etc etc at a time like this, I really do. I also get that it's nice that we at least have some sunshine during all this, and I think it's great that kids can play in their gardens. But the SCREAMING. It's like this every single year in my street as soon as the sun dares to show its face, it gets to me and makes it hard to concentrate on work, and sometimes I need to vent even though I know I'm likely to get a pasting for it.

Surely it can't just be me?

Yep, got that here too, the screams from a garden two gardens away. The screams go on for three hours.
And the sounds of footballs thudding against the garden fences.

My neighbour has freshly manured this entire garden and it stinks! That’s one way to send the kids back inside 🙈

Put in some earplugs. No doubt their parents are also trying to WFH, are also struggling and so are the children.

This is going to be a really difficult time for us all and we are all going to have to learn to be a little more tolerant of each other.

They can start by figuring out how the distract their kids from screaming...

Three hours of competitive screams would test the patience of a saint.

Ignore it and perhaps check one's privilege.

We have a screamer next door. She is 6 so don't know why she has to keep screaming. I call her Little Miss Screech. It drives me mad. Even in the room furthest away from the back and with the tv on I can hear her.

Last summer she drove me insane with the screaming for hours. This year I can look forward to it for months

I have old and large teenagers, kicking footballs with no accuracy whatsoever and all the force they can muster smashing footballs aggressively into fences, sheds and plants (not just their own) and using very colourful language. When Mum isn't home they are worse so I guess I should be happy she's home today.

I'm torn between understanding they must be very frustrated at the moment and they need to let off steam and being very close to kicking off royally... I'm on my last nerve.... things could get ugly...

If I hear my neighbours' child who lives on the next road!! scream 'Mummy's upstairs' one more time I swear I'm going to lose it completely. I don't know if she's screaming to her dad, her sibling or whoever but it's been the same constant for about the last couple of hours. I have to wonder WTF Mummy is actually doing upstairs?

Does anyone really wear ear plugs?! What if OP needed to make a phone call or listen out for a delivery? What if she gets migraines?

We have kids that play in the communal car park directly out the back (town houses, no gardens, extremely annoying) and generally they're okay but when the screaming starts it. is. so. annoying.

General play noises fine, banshee screaming isnt - cant their parents tell them to be quiet?!

I thought the same thing.

I get the kids are bored but climbing on the fence and winding the dog up is not the way to go. So not only do I have 3 screaming kids in the garden next door I also have a dog going batshit. FFS.

They say it takes a village to raise a child so in theory we should be able to say "STOP SCRAMING. NOW."

*Screaming, not scraming!

Oh gawd, I really feel for you. We live next door to two youngish teenage girls who SCREAM constantly at each other when they're outside. They're not arguing, it's just how they communicate. I get my own back now by telling DS (10) to practise his trumpet by the hedge.

There's no way I could work with constant noise, I complete understand your anguish!

Trust me, the parents hate it even more than you do. I'm stuck at home with a toddler and a newborn who are taking it in turns to scream at me all day long. I want to shoot myself, and it would be even worse if I couldn't at least turf the toddler into the garden.

I have noise cancelling headphones so i can work and not have to listen to my kids whinging!

It's a pity that noise-cancelling blunderbusses aren't readily available, but at least one of the few bonuses of the current situation is that you have the upper hand.

Snort a line of pepper then go out and repeatedly cough and sneeze in the vicinity of the fence. The parents will soon pack them off indoors then.

There is certainly a difference between playing and screaming. My ex neighbours had thousands of loud children whom they kept in in the garden - but only one of them screamed - it was the screaming that drove me mad.

It's annoying - my DN is a screamer. She screams in excess of 3 hours almost daily, and is 9. My poor Sis - she just puts up with it, but I can see her getting worn down. This has happened for the last 6 - 7 years. There is a diagnosis of something, which in part explains it, but even so.

Goodness knows how that is going to go down with neighbours who are trying to WFH.

But - I think in these extraordinary circumstances we need to realise that not only have children had their whole routines and normality turned upside down, but that those of us who are able to work from home are fortunate to a) still have a job, and b) have the ability to WFH.

I normally feel peeved at my neighbours and their squealing girls, but actually for now, it’s nice to know there is someone still alive, nice to here some joy.
Honestly if you can’t ignore them, go to the other end of your house and put the radio on. You can not expect children to sit indoors in silence.

You can not expect children to sit indoors in silence.

Agreed. Which is why I didn't suggest they should.

Whilst I totally appreciate screaming from a child that isn't your own (and sometimes if it is your own its no better!) is irritating I feel like you are being incredibly unreasonable right now. Kids are stuck at home, not able to go anywhere at all, their parents are all having to try and WFH and catch quick 30mins of work here and there amongst the many requests for snacks or games. Everyone is stressed. Everyone is irritated. Don't make it worse and perhaps just this once let it go? Last thing local families need is to add another set of worries to the ever growing list and be constantly on the alert in case their kids are making any noise in the garden. Ear plugs or classical music in the background work like a charm for me every time.

I hope that the Mummy Upstairs is actually ok though? Maybe she has those headphone thingys on, reading this post and is planning the next piss my neighbour off move..

send in chitty-chitty bang-bang's childcatcher, his boss had simlar issues with mini humans

My kids started that stupid play screeching earlier, I was kind of hoping a neighbour would shout at them over a fence to shut up as they ignore my pleas to play quietly outside!