First day of holidays and neighbour complained about children playing outside

[smileycath]

My new neighbour called round this afternoon to complain about my children playing outside. She is retired but works from home as a translator and needs to concentrate and my children's screaming and football games are making this impossible.

I feel gutted. It's the first day of the summer holidays. I'm a lone parent to three boys aged 6, 8 and 9. We don't have a garden and it's only recently that I've felt able to let them go out with friends on the street. They play on the road below and I can keep an eye on them from the window. They are a bit noisy but there's never more than half a dozen of them and they're not a nightmare.

She suggested that we have a compromise and that they be allowed to play out for half an hour in the morning and half an hour in the afternoon. I couldn't agree to this and she obviously thought I was being unreasonable but honestly when the weather is nice I don't want them stuck in front of screens.

She said they should be in the park and that the street wasn't a playground. Fair enough and we do go to the park a lot and I try to take them out at some point every day but some days we're at home for longer periods and I want them to play out. I'm self-employed working from home too and have to squeeze in a few hours each day and this is often when they play out.

She argued they were old enough to go to the park on their own but my youngest is only six and my eldest is slightly autistic and certainly not able to look after the others. Plus there's a road to cross and somebody was recently stabbed in the park during the day!

My next door neighbour overheard our conversation on the doorstep and said FFS but his children are older and go further afield now. I feel like this woman is not going to let it drop and I hate confrontation. What can I do?

Why are you letting them scream?

Fuck that.

I have a 7 and 4 year old. Mine play in the garden but don’t scream and if they do they get told to pack it up or come inside.

Why should other people have to put up with your children’s noise and why the fuck are you letting a six year old play on a road outside ?

Sorry but that noise would seriously infuriate me outside my house and I too work from home.

Just to add to my previous post that they shouldn't be kicking balls against her house (or anyone else's). That's not on. If it's just a 'kids playing and having fun' noise that they've making then that's fine and SBU. But if your boys and their friends are being excessively loud and kicking balls against her house then I can understand where she's coming from. Basically, normal kids noise is fine, screaming excessively and kicking balls against her house is not on.

Is it that the children are not kicking balls at her house, but just making 'playing out' noise in the street?

If so, then I would suggest she wears headphones while she works.

So you need the kids to go out in order to get work done, but someone else should have to go out of their ho,e in order to do their work? This makes no sense.
What happens when there is a delivery van pulling in, or a taxi needing to turn, or just someone wanting to drive on the public highway?
It can't be easy being in your situation but you need something better than this.

I live at the end of a cul de sac and I really like it when kids play out in the street. Much better outside and being a bit noisy than stuck inside with screens when it's nice weather.

Far more irritating is the neighbour having building work done (it's been 3 weeks so far) but when you live near people you have to expect some noise during the daytime.

YANBU kids should be able to have a bit of freedom and play outside.
Only you know how busy / safe / unsafe the street is for your children including the 6 year old.

Tell her you will monitor your children, but they are kids playing and if that concern's her she will have to adjust to it with it being the summer hols. One thing, i would sit out with them on the street as just what if something happened?

Why can't she wear hedphones.

I would however be asking the kids to stay away from her window and not to kick the ball off her walls and stop screaming.

I love seeing kids play out in our street - it’s become so rare that the responses on this thread about excessive noise are seen as reasonable. So sad.

Kids should be outside playing all summer long, just as we did.

I take my charges outside all summer long.

To the park.

If she's a translator she'll be using specialist software to transcribe - not the kind of thing that would be available in a library or hotdesk. Also, why should she, when the issue seems to be that you are trying to work at the same time as supervising three children?
It sounds like you need to either supervise them yourself during the days and do your work in the evenings, or pay for them to go to holiday soccer clubs.
Also, if the library is so close, may be take your kids there rather than allowing them to disturb your neighbours.

Post her some ear plugs.

If they are just playing normally then she is being unreasonable as kids noise is to be expected during school holidays. But if your boys are screaming and shouting right outside her house all day then that's really not on. You need to tell them that's not acceptable and if they can't keep to a normal volume they can't play outside.

The kids on our street always play out side my house because of a wall opposite. It drives me and another neighbour mad! And I work full time. Every evening constant ball going against wall then bouncing off my car and house. Seriously it does get to you and I'm not even there during the day. I have 3 children I get it kids place outside but do not underestimate constant balls etc out side your door. I tell them to play our side their own house and j have no issue with my own kids playing outside.

They are a bit noisy but there's never more than half a dozen of them and they're not a nightmare.

I love seeing kids playing outside but at a reasonable noise level.

I did suggest the library which is only 5 minutes walk and hotdesking again readily available in town but that wasn't well-received.

Are you surprised? You tell her to vacate her home as you don't want to supervise you own children and you are shocked she won't cooperate

Obviously I've asked the children not to scream or kick the ball against her house and they don't - there is a wall nearby which is not attached to any house but she can still hear it. The screaming is difficult because that only happens in the heat of a dispute. It's not screaming for the sake of it it's just playing.

The headphones idea is good I could offer to buy her some.

I think it's okay for my six-year old to play out in the street here - it's a quiet dead end not a motorway. I want them to get traffic savvy in a relatively safe space. I do have to work through the holidays to keep things ticking over and we do the odd football or cricket day but I have to co-ordinate it so it can can be a full work day and all three have to be in and so it comes to over £50 a day and I don't earn enough to justify that. The father is not on the scene and doesn't contribute anything.

It's the summer holidays. Kids get to play outside so rarely due to weather/school etc and once they get to high school, they likely won't want to anymore. My priority is always skewed towards kids having fun. Not just mine, everyones. Theyre so small and carefree for such a short time they should get to enjoy it. I work at home too, and i can deploy several methods to achieve quiet/focus/concentration if needed. The sound of kids having fun outside in the sunshine isn't detrimental to my productive output though.

Kicking a ball deliberately against someones wall isn't really ok, but as the odd accident it's fine. Deliberately doing it with no regard for the occupant of the house is another matter and if this is happening then have a word with the little ones.

Screaming/shouting/laughing etc is all par for the course when kids play and ofc it's fine for them to do so. Some misery guts complaining about it doesn't mean they're doing anything wrong, you may have bought/rented a house but you don't get to govern what happens outside of it. I wish this whole "Kids should be seen and not heard" bollocks would do one. Please don't stifle your childrens fun for the sake of a cranky old bat. They only have one childhood, as long as they are polite and respectful as far as little kids can be, let them have at it and to hell with anyone who doesn't like it.

What a sad world we live in where kids get complained about - first days of the holidays too!- for making some noise while playing in the street.
Personally, I would have told her to sod off and move to a retirement village if she doesn’t want to hear the sound of children playing. If she doesn’t like it she can move rooms, buy some soundblocking headphones, or work somewhere else.
She does not own the road - your kids have every right to play outside. Why she thinks YOU should have to adjust your life so SHE can work from home is beyond me.
Seriously, she needs to give her head a shake.

People should expect children to be playing outside. It's a public space, by the sounds of it, and they have a right to be out there playing reasonably sensibly. Not everyone has a garden. Not everyone can spend all their days 'out' at a playpark. Not everyone can afford to send their children to places that cost money while they work from their own home.

Remind them about the screaming and shouting outside of people's windows when necessary, but otw, I'd tell her they are children and they are playing outside like children do.

Your kids shouldn’t be kicking a ball off someone else’s wall, or near someone else’s cars and windows. And they shouldn’t be screaming either. I don’t see an issue with then playing quietly outside their own home but YABU to send them away from your home to bother someone else.

Oh what a miserable cow, can’t believe half the responses on here saying you’re being unreasonable!
They’re kids playing outside, they’re not going in her garden, vandalising her property or hurling abuse at her specifically (I hope!)
Why she felt the need to tell you how often your kids are allowed to play out is beyond me. You were a bit cheeky suggesting the library, but she was cheeky first so hey ho!
Just ignore her, tell the kids to try and play a bit quieter but don’t stop them going out in the sunshine, we don’t see it for very long, it’ll be pissing with rain soon enough!!

For gods sake. Of course they can play outside. None of her business at all, she has absolutely no right to say this to you. Ignore her

This makes me so mad. What do people expect children to do, oh of course - sit inside on computers. Because that creates such a wonderful working generation

I'm hearing impaired. The noise today outside my house was horrendous. There is a park two streets away.

I was going to go and complain as I was busy working inside. I didn't need to as an elderly neighbour came out and told them to play further along from her house. Their mum came out and, after a bit of talk, the kids have been told to play further along and be quieter.

Cat yeah, because of course there are only those two options