Noisy neighbour children

[AvenueQ]

They spend a lot of time in the garden and are incapable of playing without CONSTANT screaming and shouting. The parents never ask them to play more quietly. Usually the parents are inside with doors shut.
Is there anything I can do???

I am as considerate as I think I need to be. My children are never out playing before 11am and I ensure they stop their boisterous play by 6/ 6.30 (when I think my neighbours may be coming out for supper) so that they can enjoy their gardens in peace. I also repeatedly tell them that we have neighbours and to be considerate. Repeatedly. However they are 3 children on lockdown week 9 (?Ive lost count)
Lucky neighbours, so they can't really enjoy their gardens during the main and warmest hours of the day because your kids get to rule the roost during that time. Aren't they lucky to have to wait until 6:30 and the sun down to enjoy their garden! Are you out for 7 hours a day too? I bet not, so you get to have peace inside whilst they disturb the neighbourhood forcing them to be inside too.

Sadly, noisy and boisterous kids have not only become so during the lockdown. They were before and will continue to be so after because their parents can't be bothered to discipline them.

As for moving, oh the irony. We did and when we did, it was nice and peaceful. Some kids on the street but playing nicely with it the very occasional boisterous behaviour and parents I during that it stopped. Then the two families on each side moved within a year and were replaced by two families with very different children!

The kids in my street are not content with screaming in their own gardens - oh no, they have to all come out in the street and do it in unison while the parents have loud shouty conversations across the street with each other. Does not make for productive conference calls.

I get that we are in lockdown, of course I do. But that's why we all need a little consideration for others.

It's part and parcel of living with neighbours that children may play in the garden, and they might scream and shout
Scream, shout, fight and cry for hours part of the parcel? Only poorly behaved kids act like this. Why would any parent find such behaviour acceptable? This is why I feel so sorry for teachers. What hope do they have to teach kids who are brought by parents to think this is normal behaviour.

Just to be clear, I do love to hear children playing nicely at normal level voices like our previous neighbours did. It out a smile on my face. The constant shrieking that that gets my heart to beat faster is pure hell.

Very tempted to put loud classical music on at 6am when I'm up and wait for them to complain so I can say that if they don't like it, they can move where all the neighbours have loud and boisterous kids!

@dontdisturbmenow I can hear your indignation / fury from here. Highly amusing. I wish I knew if any of you lived near me. I’d encourage my children to make even more noise and post this thread I’m removing any time limits I put on them too. Seems you can’t win whatever you do so who cares.

I bought my house with my nice big garden for me to enjoy. My kids can’t go anywhere or see anyone. No sport, no ability to burn off steam anywhere else. So yes, they are enjoying their garden. I am not insulated inside as you seem to propose. Have you spent any time with three children who are climbing the walls in frustration? It’s nigh on impossible to leave them alone. I sit in both earshot/ eyesight as it keeps them somewhat well behaved/ stops WW3 erupting.

And yes this will continue after lockdown is lifted. Why? Because pools will be one of the last things to open as will group sports. Also people who have been massively financially impacted by this virus won’t have the money to take their kids on holiday/ the beach/ days out/ aqua park. So guess whAt? People (like me) will be home more.

You can be as indignant as you want to be. And state that all parents letting their children play outside are the devils spawn. Doesn’t change what I’m planning to do.

If you’re all sooo indignant, feel free to complain to your local councils. Or the police. Let me know how you get on.

No. There's nothing you can do, nor should there be. Were you never a happily playing child, OP?! Did you spend your childhood indoors, sat at the table, reading in monk-like silence? Was your school ever closed indefinitely because of a global pandemic leaving you bored and bewildered for month after month? Dfod.

A few people on here are purposely ignoring the difference between kids playing normally and shrieking. There is a massive difference. As someone else said, it's lazy parenting. Just like those twats who give their kid an iPad on loud in a restaurant while others are trying to enjoy a meal.

We are all entitled to a quiet life

Ha! The city sounds are quieter now but the birds have me up at 5am, and that's nothing compared to when I lived the middle of nowhere and had swallows nesting above my bedroom window each year. Those guys are REALLY early risers and talk a lot! Give me DC playing in the day time any day.

Agree with @sassbott here. Living in a community means living amongst them.

I turn my garden hose on low and direct it towards a shrub with lots of leaves and it’s like a pleasant white noise distraction 😎

Ugh my neighbours are like this. I live in a row of houses and we all have at least two young children each so we understand noise made by children but one households kids just scream the place down it's awful.

I actually tell my 4 year old off for screaming. It's an unacceptable noise at any time and I don't want to hear it from my own children either. Inside or out!

No advice for you though as I haven't said anything. My 13 year old does tell them to shut up sometimes though- he can get away with it

I'm another who has used the loud offensive music technique in the past. It works very well but helped that my neighbours were a bunch of twats for lots of other reasons as well.

It's interesting that the excuses are that this small section of parents (and apart from my old neighbours I've only ever seen this on here) spout a load of defensive nonsense about how parents need to work, how children are entitled to play blah blah blah. But show no empathy or consideration for their neighbours circumstances.

The cunts I used to live next door to sent their screaming kids into the garden to play scream on the day of my husbands wake, which we held at the house. And yes they knew what happened.

*I can hear your indignation / fury from here. Highly amusing. I wish I knew if any of you lived near me. I’d encourage my children to make even more noise and post this thread I’m removing any time limits I put on them too. Seems you can’t win whatever you do so who cares"
Haha, why does this not surprise me at all! You clearly couldn't care less that your kids are disturbing others because you can't or don't care to discipline your kids. Sadly there is nothing anyone can do with people like you. You are selfish and don't care that you or your family disturbs others because all you care is that your needs and that of your kids are met.

*Living in a community means living amongst them"
Oh the irony of these words! Living in a community means not party in activities that stresses others,not doing what you like and who cares about others.

Out of curiosity, if I had my music on very loud or did DIY, or cut the grass singing at 6am in the morning, waking up your kids every morning, would you consider it ok because it's part of living in the community?

I can almost get you'd be the first ones posting on hear about your CF neighbours!

No worry about me though, one of the house is for sale (they are renting and they are the worse ones), so at least I can prey for considerate neighbours next.

We've got our pool out so have been outside all day today. My kids are loud. We check in with our neighbours but they say they love to hear them.
There are other families with kids in our cul de sac and you can hear them all the time too

Letting your kids play in the garden and make a normal amount of noise is fine. No reasonable person would expect children to be quiet.
Letting your kids constantly scream, shriek and shout is selfish, unacceptable and lazy parenting.

@Muminlockdown2020 but you check with your neighbours and you are considerate. You're being a good neighbour.

Agree with PP, listening to DC playing is lovely but the constant screaming and screeching is not. My NDN have 6 kids and they are lovely always playing football or basketball in their gardens - we can hear every goal/score sometimes the games get very loud but their parents always ask them to quieten down if it goes on too long. My neighbour 6 doors up let's her kids scream all day long in their garden and constantly says that if you don't want to hear them you should live elsewhere (she shuts her doors as she doesn't want to hear them). Unfortunately as can be seen here some people really do have no consideration for others and teach their DC the same.

My children know absolutely that shouting and screaming in the garden for hours or even minutes is just not on!

Even the dog gets sent in if she barks!

All our neighbours are the same thank god 😀

My DC are mid-20's adults now so back garden is only in use by us empty-nesters. I love hearing local kids have fun & play outdoors. But screaming & screeching & wailing & any manner of attention seeking whiny carrying-on is not ok, unless an injury has occurred! And performance parenting...I especially hate it when out for lunch or a meal & you have to listen to every little nibble a child takes being cheered or praise on the return from the bathroom for successful toilet going activities...it is not conversation with a child, it is like a narrative, soo annoying. Constant praising & very little saying 'No'. Parent how you will but some of us who have done it to adulthood (and prob several who haven't) think the performsnce parents are total twats!

When we moved first I had NDN's teen & pals on my wall late summer eves smoking & cursing etc, I can only assume they didn't want their own parents eyes on them & also street lighting is nearer my house! The music suggested here wd have been right up their alley with the cursing & rapping... so I had to blast opera several eves to get them to clear off, downstairs front windows open & Andrea Bocelli at the top of his lungs & my volume dial. The NDN was most unhelpful when I had asked earlier that summer that they refrain from congregating at/on my wall & smoking/cursing up to 10.30/11 pm when my own then primary school kids were in bed. Funnily enough, that same 'kid' is much older now, prob touching 40, still at home with his DM, no job & only comes out after dark from what I see. The friends have moved on with their lives & aren't on the wall anymore!

Let little kids have fun...but parents, learn to discipline the shrieking...

We have neighbours who over the years have had numerous dogs constantly barking, loud swearing and arguments, vuvuzelas and lots of power tools, but they complain within ear shot that our children are noisy (Normal amounts of noise and only small part of the day when not homeschooling - they are furloughed and not working/trying to work) and that we make their dogs bark at us

I know their dogs upset other neighbours too.

We let it all go because it’s part of living in a neighbourhood (and we don’t want to fall out with them) but since lockdown and having literally no where else to go, it has made me feel bullied and on edge.

I suspect there’s a lot of pot/kettle going on, especially as we’re all confined near each other with little respite... it goes hand in hand with the coronavirus curtain twitching.

@SionnachGlic
I'm with you on the performance parenting! It's exactly that isn't it, a performance. It's a show for everyone else with very little parenting going on.

I had a play date once with a child coming over to my house and the mum never said no to her child because it may break their spirit and asked me not to say it to my own child when they were there!

I don't mind children playing but I do mind parents who never once ask their children to tone down the screeching and screaming

Agreed. There's a nice young family next door but one from me with two young children. The houses are quite close to each other, so naturally I'm aware of them most of the day. They have the odd squabble which is to be expected, but the parent's remind them to be considerate of the neighbours if they start screaming too loudly. It's on the whole pleasant to hear them playing.

My immediate neighbour's older children are constantly yelling and shrieking at each other and kicking the fence. Also their dog barks pretty much constantly from dusk to dawn. Not once have I heard the parents ask the children to keep the noise down or attempt to stop the dog from making a racket.

I've got nothing against children playing happily, but....the parents leave the kids outside and close themselves indoors. Why should the neighbours be subjected to their noise if the parents avoid it themselves?!

I think it beats a barking dog tbh

@BoxOfBabyCheeses They're probably letting the kids play outside whilst they do work, clean the house ect.

If mine are being loud because they're playing and excited, I might suggest they keep it down a bit. If they're fighting- which always involves shouting and screaming at each other- I make them go in. Which generally involves more shouting and screaming but has to be done.