To let my kids play out the front with the other kids?

[melonsmaygotobed]

We live in a cul-de-sac. We are one of 5 families whose children love playing out on their bikes/scooters etc and they all get on famously, including the adults. It is, what I call, a 70's utopia.

I was approached this evening, at about 730 by a bloke who lived on the other side of the fence at the end of the road who said that the noise of the children was causing such offence that he was considering moving. He left with the line 'well I've asked you nicely'. I was on my own with my 2 at this point, despite there being 3 families out there half an hour before

I have logged it with the police, but is the noise of children playing so offensive? They don't chuck things over the fence, they just play. Yes they shriek at times, but they are only out there for about an hour or two a day!!

They are mostly between the ages of 3 and 5.

He sounds ridiculous. So long as the kids aren't screaming and aren't out very early, or late, then don't see the problem.
He probably came out when others had gone in simply because he was finishing his dinner/whatever and you just happened to be the only one left.

Talk to the other parents and see what they say. We live in a similar cul de sac and it's so wonderful to see the children out playing rather that hunched over their electronic devices all the time ( although they do a fair lot of that as well)

When did "Well I've asked you nicely" constitute a threat?

YANBU. Although phoning the police is an overreaction, can see why you did it. He has implied that his next action will not be nice - he will ask you nastily or do something nasty.

BTW, his son blasting out loud music, that's anti-social behaviour. Kids playing on the cul-de-sac, making a bit of noise? Perfectly normal and a desirable thing for society, as children learn to interact, spend time outdoors etc. Obviously as Worra says there is such a thing as too much/too loud/too late, but that doesn't sound like the issue here.
Finally, I grew up in a 70s utopia and it was a fantastic feeling, playing out all the time. It saddens me greatly that I don't see the local kids on the greens outside our flat. You are helping your kids build some life long friendships and they will thank you for ignoring the moaners as they get older.

I don't think YABU (though maybe about getting the police involved!) but at the same time IMO parents do tend to be somewhat immune to the noise their DC make and are not the best judge of what's a reasonable level. He sounds like a moaner and he was wrong to single just you out - but can you hand on heart say you're being objective about the noise levels? You have mentioned that your little one may be a screamer - which would be intolerable to those with seemingly low tolerance levels in the first place!

AIBU to have asked her to nicely to keep the noise down? My family and I live in a lovely culdisac, and have older DC's so are not completely insensitive to those with children. There are about five families who have very young children who play out all day. I usually tolerate it, but to be honest by 7.30 in the evening I'd reached the end of my tether and had to say something. It's getting to be such a nuisance I'm actually considering moving.

YABU OP.

Did you perhaps miss the bit about the kids only being out for 1-2 hours a day, curious?

I'm going to approach this from a slightly different point of view now, and admit we did move house because of the noise levels caused by children playing. At the time, we had no children and lived at the end of a cul de sac, I was a teacher, DH was (is) a firefighter. In the summer, children congregated at the end of the cul de sac and the noise was horrendous. Having windows open in the summer was impossible; we couldn't sit in our garden and enjoy a glass of wine, DH couldn't get any rest during the day (and believe me he fully appreciates the world doesn't stop because he was on nights) and I didn't enjoy my summer holidays.

Any attempts to politely ask the children or their parents to curtail the noise a bit was met with comments like the ones on this thread of being miserable and so on.

It certainly made US miserable, I don't mean it was a bit of a nuisance, it made us downright miserable and in the end we sold the house.

I completely appreciate ours was an extreme thing but I think when you have children yourself you can become a bit immune to their noises; my DSs aren't too bad but I don't let them scream or yell in most places (unless for instance it's a park or a football match or other similar place where it's appropriate.)

I love to hear kids playing, laughing and singing but not in the evenings, after about 6.30/7 ish. In the summer when the windows are open, it can disturb your evenings. I was bought up in a cul de sac, and we played out on our bikes all day, but the Mums generally called us in for dinner around then.
If we got a bit too noisy one of the Mums would come out and ask us to keep it down a bit; something the parents round my way don't seem to do. I swear the kids were having a screaming competition yesterday.

let him bloody move then!

Thanks all. I do think we have been wrapped up in the atmosphere of the children and adults socialising in such a positive way, without really thinking about how this may impact on other neighbours. Without wanting to sound naff, my kids benefit hugely from playing with children who are both older and younger than them, and go to the same school. I did say to my dc today that we would play in the garden instead of out the front. (and I imagine my dd's wails from inside the house were louder than her playing)