About kids stil 'playing out' at this time?

[VelvetSpoon]

My neighbours kids (ages 2-10) are outside screaming shouting and generally making a racket. They've been out there since I got home at 6. If I'm lucky they might go in around 8. Though at weekends it's not uncommon for them to be out even later.

I cannot relax with the windows open as the noise they make is deafening. I've got the tv volume up high because at a normal volume I can't hear them.

AIBU to think primary age (and younger) kids should be indoors by now?! I know mine would have been. And as a child I was only allowed out until 6ish then it was indoors for dinner and bath. Am I hopelessly out of touch or are my neighbours a pita? (The parents sit indoors the whole time with the door shut btw- so they don't have to suffer the noise! and usually only come out to call the kids in at 8).

Mine play out till 8.30 on a gorgeous eve. Kids make noise. Yabu

Are you my neighbour? 🤔

I'm lucky enough to have a big green open space that backs onto my garden and all the kids from the street and surrounding houses (around 15 in total) gather there most days after school. Ages between 4 and 12. (Mine are 5 and 8) They shout, laugh, scream, kick footballs and cause general chaos (in between the "Enid Blyton" den building of course) Often they're in and out of my house/ garden like a mini hurricane but do you know what? They're making memories and I wouldn't have it any other way.
I know most of the people on this street and mostly get comments about how lovely it is that they all play out together rather than being in stuck in front of a screen.
As for the time thing, mine play out til tea about 5.30/6 then again until bath/ wind down at 7(ish!)
Weekends and school holidays they often stay out until 9ish
Sorry but I think YABU 🤷🏼‍♀️

There is a man on our road who has been known to make a huge almighty fuss when kids have been playing out on a summer evening. He makes a huge song and dance about how he works hard and deserves some peace. Don't be that person.

Kids are loud, generally. Summer nights are for playing out. Many kids can cope absolutely fine with going to bed at 830 or 9, even primary age. Mine do, because they do not get up at 530 or 6am! More like 750. Plenty of sleep. Only in the UK and certain other northern-ish countries does this obsession with 7pm bedtimes hold sway.

Good thing you don't live abroad OP. I spend the summer months in Portugal where kids play outside banging soccer balls off Walls and running wild until about 11pm or later! It's fantastic!

You sound like a right old misery. Get some headphones.

Oh fuck off with telling me I should just put up with it. Or I should have made my OP clearer.

If you actually READ my OP, the first line of it refers to the noise next door. Unless you don't understand what the phrase making a racket means...for clarity it means making an unreasonably/ unnecessarily loud noise.

I live on a bus route. I have lived next to a school previously. I grew up in social housing. I have never experienced the sheer ignorance shown by my NDN and their poorly behaved kids. Most people where I've lived have thought for others. No loud parties once a week, no revving of car engines all day and night and not allowing your kids to make a nuisance of themselves. Whether that is by riding bikes down the middle of busy roads (as a number of kids do round here which makes me wince whenever I see it), throwing stones at animals (again something I have seen in our local shopping centre) or like my neighbours leaving their kids outside so they can have a bit of peace and fuck the rest of us.

If these children were playing happily, laughing, enjoying themselves, I wouldn't have a problem. But this is screaming and shouting as LOUD as they can. A lot of it isn't fun.

To try and explain, take earlier tonight. 6 or so kids in the garden, all next doors plus a couple of friends. They have a trampoline. All the kids get on the trampoline together. This happens daily. Inevitably with 6 kids of different sizes one falls off or gets kicked or hit. Cue 10 minutes of screaming and crying. Others shouting at each other over the noise of crying child. Eventually stops. They start playing swingball. Screaming because one can't play. Crying when others get hit by a ball or bat. Then all shouting over each other. And so on.

I do understand kids squabble. But I never allowed mine to do so outside the house to the point of screaming and shrieking, nor would they have been allowed to shout at full volume. As a result they've grown up to be thoughtful and considerate, and don't make a nuisance of themselves.

I should sell up and move to somewhere with no neighbours as you sound miserable AF - let kids be kids, they will scream and shout and argue and laugh and run and play and learn - better than stuck to a computer game for hours on end!!

I agree with the fact that they shouldn't be making a lot of extreme noise but not with the time you think they should be in at. My son, just turned 7, only came in at 10.30. He was in the pool in the back garden with me and his Dad. He was laughing and splashing, we were laughing. Not overly noisy but just playing. My son has some special needs including autism so doesn't sleep anyway. He doesn't mix well so we spend a lot of time in our garden with him during the warmer weather to at least get him outdoors. Why should he miss this just because someone thinks he should be in bed. He would just be lying indoors anyway until about 2am before sleeping so we make the most of it.

Sorry but you asked for opinions and you got them 🤷🏼‍♀️

And again, at no point have I said these kids or indeed any others must be asleep in bed at 7, or 8 or whatever. I don't care if they're up til 2am.

I do care that they're outside completely unsupervised making a racket and disturbing my quiet enjoyment of my home.

I've lived in many places. I have never experienced behaviour like this before thankfully. My concern now is whether when I am ready to move I will be able to sell my house. Because I can't imagine anyone paying to live next door to this. I'll either have to sell in winter or hope they move before me. I'm moving out of London so plan to buy a property where I am a lot more than 20ft from my nearest neighbour.

I so agree. It’s so different. Letting very young kids shout & roar round at 8 pm or even later is a bit much to say the least!

Bloody hell, there are so many posters with sticks up their arses on MN atm.

*This is not Enid Blyton where they're building a den, having jolly fun blah blah.

It is hours of shouting and screaming at each other. Banging their football. Crying when one of them hits another. The 4 kids next door plus at least 2 others from elsewhere. In a 15ft x 30ft garden.

And this isn't a one off. It's pretty much every evening. Also every morning from 8am. So all day from 8am onwards at weekends.*

I feel your pain OP...... there are loads of kids around me including my own DS who play out on summer nights, it's lovely hearing them laughing and giggling away, sometimes up to 9pm and it doesn't bother me one bit.......

BUT

There is one particular family of 3 boys all close in age and they just screech and shout CONSTANTLY. No, it's not playing, they are fighting, they seem absolutely incapable of getting along and if it's not the 3 of them screaming crying and shouting it's their DM or DF screeching AT them.

I can hear them inside my house even with the windows closed

This starts up around 6.30am and goes on until 9pm.

At least during term time I get a reprieve while they're at school.

On the one hand I sometimes feel for the DM and think god no wonder she throws them outside it's probably for a bit of peace, but then I remember she's inflicting her little darlings on the rest of us so my sympathy goes out of the window.

Haven’t read the whole thread. However, while I don’t condone “making a racket”, I will point out that extracurricular activities finish later than 8 pm for upper primary school aged children. Some kids will, therefore, not be home by 8 pm let alone be in bed. For the 8-10 years old age group, ballet/dance or Cubs/Brownies can easily finish after 8 pm. x

I have the same issue as you and I hate it.

There is a world of difference between playing quietly, chatting and laughing and the full volume screaming and shouting at the top of their voices I have to endure. They fight , cry, hit each other for hours on end. Full on screaming, over and over again. Football thudding ceaslessly. It is a complete nightmare and their fun ruins everyone elses.

Parents should tell their children to keep the noise down and explain why. There is nothing wrong with being out, but there is something wrong with the noise levels.

If I'm indoors and my kids are out and I can hear excessive noise I always go and ask them to remember the neighbours. The ball on the fence would drive me mad and I don't let them do that. But I tend to be out there playing with them so it's easier. On the separate issue of 'is 8pm too late' - I would say no, it isn't at the weekends. Depends on the age too.

I'd love for My kids to be playing it at this time - it's been 50 degrees here during the day so we can't play out and last night at 10pm it was still 42!
I do think that they should be in for a certain time though on a school night and parents should intervene if it gets too noisy.

I have 4 DC and a trampoline. Also a rescue dog that barks and a puppy that has just found her bark. I live in constant terror that the neighbours hate me and might burn my house down.

I also live in Scotland, which means lots of rain, long winters and everyone lacking in the vitamin D department. We have the highest rates of Multiple Sclerosis up here with some evidence to suggest the lack of vitamin D may play a part. My best friend was diagnosed with it when we were 24. My uncle died from it when he was 34.

When the summer is here and the nights are bright, I want my children to be out playing as much as possible. The boys are in for 8pm, the girls are in for 8.30pm in the week.

That said OP, YANBU. Kids are noisy yes, however noise that is causing disruption to neighbours is not okay. I tell mine if they don't quieten down they will come in, which is usually enough for them to settle down for a little while before a repeat warning might be needed. If they do get too noisy and won't settle down, then they are taken in.

It's also a part of teaching children to have consideration for others.

Oh fuck off with telling me I should just put up with it. Or I should have made my OP clearer.

There's one person who should be fucking off here!!!

Given the paltry amount of decent, light evenings we have in the UK just shut up & put up. It'll be raining/cold/dark before too long & it'll all be quiet again.

Kids have always run around screaming - I did it, mine did it & next doors are doing it right now (they started just after 7).

As I don't live in my own personal fairy castle I just get on with life.......

Kids have always run around screaming - I did it, mine did it & next doors are doing it right now (they started just after 7)

Why isn’t it ok to say “play quietly”? Running around screaming isn’t the only worthwhile activity kids can do outside, nor does it temper the benefits of being outside if they’re not being banshees.

Please

Why isn’t it ok to say “play quietly”?

Because sometimes the game involves so much fun that they have no idea what volume they're using?

Were some of you people never kids???

That's what parents are there for. To make sure kids keep the noise when they're in a small garden right next to neighbours and have a little thought for others. I appreciate children don't always know how to behave but its a oarents role to keep them in line. Alternatively if you cant be bothered to tell your kids when their volume is too high, either keep them indoors or send them to the park where they'll be far enough from houses for their noise not to be an issue. If you choose to buy a house with a small garden that abuts your neighbours house, common sense should tell you it's not the best place to leave your kids who youve never told to be quiet (I can honestly say i have never heard the parents say so much as quieten down or shhh even. Not just when kids are in the garden but when they are all screeching in the car on the driveway for example) completely to their own devices.

I'm glad some people can see my POV, if you have experienced something like this it really isn't just playing noise. Unfortunately the parents think the world revolves around their kids who can't be told not to do anything (like when I told them to get off my driveway I was in the wrong apparently ) so they will never tell or even encourage them to keep quiet.

I'll just keep hoping they move.

Well tonight is a fucking record. Got home just after 10. Kids still milling around outside house albeit relatively . We've then had 10 minutes of non stop screaming and crying. So loud that I could hear it through my closed windows. It's quietened down now thankfully.

This really is beyond normal noise. The worst thing is there's nothing that can be done about it.

I agree with you velvetspoon, I love next door to a bunch of kids from 5 to 12 and believe me every night they are screaming, fighting, arguing, banging, screaming again. The little screams like she is being murdered and this goes on till 9 or ten o clock every day. I've got four kids, 6, 5 3 and 1 and thwy always wake em, i cannot have the window open on noce warm evenings because it sounds like a childs war outside. They can play and have fun. But surely they don't have to scream and fight the way they do. The parents don't even keep and eye on them, just leave them to it. Waking my baby up. Pisses me off beyond believe. When I was younger and I played out, we didn't act like a bunch of screaming lunatics!!