NC because of the obvious, I’ll save you the boring details!
My neighbours seem like nice people but don’t really care about parenting their children and generally let them do what they want. Lockdown has made this 10x worse. I felt really sorry for the kids at first but now I can’t help but roll my eyes at every screech or bouncing of a ball. They’re two boys around 8 and 10 years old. Luckily the soundproofing inside the houses are fantastic and can’t hear a peep unless we’re in the family bathroom where it sounds horrendous but we can get away from it. I know it isn’t their fault as I’ve neither heard nor seen any form of parenting from my neighbours. Not even so much as a ‘be quieter please’ whilst in the garden. The neighbours just sit there chain smoking, drinking beers and talking to their mates on loud speaker completely ignoring their children. Can hear the cracking open of cans over and over all day and the fag smoke comes into the house. I don’t actively watch what they’re doing don’t worry, I’m not a curtain twitcher! It’s been 4 solid months of crazy noise from 6am-12am every single day. I don’t know how they have so much energy on so little sleep! I’ve put up with it purely because it isn’t their fault they don’t have any ‘rules’ but it’s honestly draining getting kept up until the early hours and then woken by their children splashing around and screeching in the lazy spa at 6am. They’re in that lazy spa from 6am to 12am most days, even when it’s torrential rain. With the odd break for food and a game of football on other neighbours driveways. Wouldn’t be so bad if I didn’t have a newborn and a 4yo. I’m incredibly lucky if I get 3 hours broken sleep because of the neighbours. Our bedrooms back onto the back gardens and can hear conversations word for word so screaming children until the early hours isn’t ideal. DH and I felt very awkward the other day when they started making very loud imitation female sex noises in the back garden which was quite concerning considering their young ages. I would expect that sort of behaviour from a 15 year old boy, not an 8 and a 10 year old. Sounded like the parents were in the garden with them at the time and didn’t appear to address their behaviour in any way.
My final straw was the other night when the neighbours children were out on the cul-de-sac running around with nerf guns from 10pm until midnight with no break. The shouting, screaming and manic laughing was so loud we could hear it from the back of the house with the windows shut. It’s lovely that they were having fun but I don’t think it’s acceptable past 11pm. Wasn’t like it was a hot day either, rather miserable weather and very dark out as there’s only 1 street lamp on our road. The driveways are open plan so they were running up and behind everyone’s cars. Hiding behind our bins, hitting living room windows and people’s cars with the bullets. I went up to bed to try and get some sleep. Glanced out the window when I was closing my curtains and wasn’t surprised to see the neighbours kicking back in their lazy spa getting drunk with music playing whilst their children were causing havoc unsupervised out front.
AIBU to have a ‘polite word’ and if so, what do I say? I wouldn’t dream of allowing 8 and 10 year olds out in the streets until midnight.