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).

YANBU
in the good old days kids were kept indoors playing online video games with headsets or the like.

Imagine playing out of a nice evening. What has childhood become?

"Where did this horrible expression 'playing out' come from? Surely it is 'playing outside'?"

No idea, can't fathom it. Perhaps the two expressions share the same root in the original Greek.

Potterhead you have my sympathy! That sounds all too familiar.

I honestly think their small garden is just not big enough for 6 or 7 children to play peacefully, especially when they are completely unsupervised. The problem is often they're all tripping over each other - 6 of them on the trampoline at the same time (which clearly isn't safe let alone the fact it doesn't have a net). It's actually amazing they don't get hurt more often. I wince whenever I see the 2 yr old crossing the road outside unsupervised.

You seem to have drip fed a lot of details giving more and more extreme accounts of their behaviour. If the OP had said ‘is it unreasonable to expect parents to supervise children who keep arguing, screaming and getting hurt outside’ I would say YANBU. To answer the original OP YABU children should be allowed to play outside in their own garden at 8pm ffs. My eldest has ADHD and spends most of her life being told to be quiet and sit still, neither of which she is capable of doing without considerable effort. She is not allowed to run in school even outside. We go to the park almost everyday after School but it’s not enough. She needs to be allowed to just have fun sometimes.

I have really noisy kids next door it drives me nuts in the week during school they are out til 8pm screaming , shouting, playing with balls and scooters my children are in bed ready for school the next day, she has hell in the mornings as well because they are tired and grumpy but she won't listen when I say about going to bed earlier !
School holidays are even worse it can be 10pm in the summer and then she lets them play out from 7am last year I let it go this year I don't plan to as she's the first person to moan about neighborhood noise and has a noise complaint goo.g with her neighbours about music and such when I think they are trying to cover her kids noises !!

I love the fact that parents want their children to play outside, be free to make noise but want everyone to tiptoe around and not have barbecues or cut their lawns or ring doorbells because it will wake their children up. Like the coffe shop dilemmas of children roaming free and interacting with unwilling customers, or parents feeling excluded and isolated.
We share space on a small island, so compromise is necessary and people should all be more considerate and polite. Problems all solved.

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

Which is why - and bear with me here because this is tricky stuff - the parent goes out and says “getting a bit noisy everyone, lets quiet down a bit”.

YABU.

DC should be outside playing in the evenings. Your OP makes it clear that you think there is a problem with them being outside.

FGS, if you want silence move to somewhere without neighbours.

Not everybody finds the sound of children playing (screaming, screeching laughter, kicking things, scraping chairs...) to be enjoyable or joyful. Sorry.

I agree with you OP

Here it’s till half nine at night shouting and screaming and playing knock and run. Really frustrating. Can’t wait for dark evenings again

I agree with you op. Not everyone sits indoors thinking "How lovely, next doors children are having a fun time playing in the garden, never mind that I can't hear my television over the noise of them, isn't it nice".

Children screaming, screeching, shouting and crying is annoying. Its too loud and unnecessary. Nothing wrong with them playing outside but the parents should have a bit of consideration and tell them not to be too loud because of the neighbours. They don't sound like great parents next door to you op.

I have, many a time got my children to come in, because the noise levels are too high. I'm not talking about laughter or singing, I'm talking about screaming/bellowing. As their mum I do not want to listen to that, so I'm fairly sure my neighbours don't either.

I honestly think their small garden is just not big enough for 6 or 7 children to play peacefully, especially when they are completely unsupervised.

I'd expect them to be supervised in a huge garden with a pond that backs onto a motorway, surely the joy of a small one is that you just chuck the kids out there....