To really hate the loud, selfish celebrations & fireworks people have outside on NYE?

[LdnMum94]

I'm laid in bed exhausted and pissed off.

My autistic three year old has been woken three times in the run up to midnight, by endless fireworks exploding outside our house, so loud and close that they terrified him out of a deep sleep. By the third time he was woken he was so distressed he was smashing his head on the floor

In between the hundreds of bangs coming from all angles there are drunk people screaming "happy new year!" and "woohoooooo!" that can be heard in here as clear as day, as though they think it's welcome, or simply don't care.

Not everybody is seeing in the new year by getting drunk, and not all of those who are having a drink feel the need to take their fanfare into the street, giving not one shit about elderly/vulnerable neighbours or people who have to be up for work.

Do you think I'm being unreasonable?

@SendHelp30

Adversion to loud noise is actually “normal” for autism but thanks for the ignorance. Intensive sound sensitivity is actually a very common part of autism.

Indeed!

Some people have conveniently overlooked the amount of autistic children who need ear defenders to so much as step foot in a supermarket.

DS has to wear his indoors at least twice a day when even general household noise gets too much for him (hoover, hairdryer etc)

I love a NYE party under usual circumstances so don't begrudge anyone else who wanted to celebrate last night. Personally I can't feel remotely happy or excited about the start of 2021 so went to bed at 10pm and stuck my earplugs in!

There were a stupid amount of fireworks here last night though. Started around 5pm and carried on all the way through to 1am. Usually it's just at midnight.

This stuff is to be expected at new year but it sucks it’s had such a detrimental effect on your little boy. My son has ASD and has been known to hurt himself when stressed and upset- it’s horrible when you see your child do that. Hopefully you both managed to get some decent sleep in the end.

@Cornettoninja

So making excessive noise in the middle of the night in residential spaces is a-ok because that’s a ‘right’ but expecting to be able to be in your own home without being forced to be part of it isn’t?

I mean I fully expect fireworks a few nights of the year, including New Years, but let’s not pretend that they’re a confined form of entertainment. By their very nature they will be intruding on someone else’s space uninvited. Ditto shouting and screaming in residential spaces. If you’re going to do that then accept that some people are going to think you’re a dick because they neither asked nor wanted to be part of it.

It’s fine for people to have celebrations and it’s fine for others to be disturbed by them. Understanding and acceptance doesn’t automatically wipe out the irritation or difficulties caused for others (small children, pets, people without capacity don’t really get ‘why’ there’s disruption). Enjoy yourself but it’s not on to have a go at people because your actions have upset them - they have a right to their feelings too.

Great post

@YouokHun I lived in Dorset, Merseyside and Hampshire.

Could you not have done something fun with your son and maybe celebrated new year with him? Lighten the mood and do something fun or play some fun games?

@TheTrashBagIsOursCmonTrashBag

This stuff is to be expected at new year but it sucks it’s had such a detrimental effect on your little boy. My son has ASD and has been known to hurt himself when stressed and upset- it’s horrible when you see your child do that. Hopefully you both managed to get some decent sleep in the end.

This

When i was young we would go to relatives for a few days at New Years and you’d be browbeaten into doing the conga in the street by a bunch of pissed adults 😩

Hope you have a better day today...and a better year obviously

People saying this is once a year, actually it's becoming increasingly acceptably to behave like a twat outside year round.

I agree OP, as someone with sensory processing issues I would also like more control over when fireworks are let off and also things like people playing music in the street.

@girlcrushonvillanelle

Could you not have done something fun with your son and maybe celebrated new year with him? Lighten the mood and do something fun or play some fun games?

I can’t imagine sticking on just dance or setting up Jenga at midnight would have done much when the OP’s son was head banging the floor in distress at midnight because he’d been woken from a deep sleep? My dd doesn’t have any difficulties but even she wouldn’t be up for being jollied along with games in the middle of the night when all she wanted was to sleep.

It’s hardly an unreasonable concept for people to be asleep at night, even at new year.

DS has got a big blue and purple bruise on his forehead this morning from smashing his head on the floor in distress, I rushed to get his foam helmet but by the time I had it on he'd already hurt himself and me in the process

But hey, so long as people got to celebrate fuck the vulnerable eh.

I disagree - I think NYE is the one night of the year when it's fine to have fireworks at midnight. People stay up to see in the new year, and have been doing so for centuries.

I don't think it's acceptable to have them so late on any other night, especially on winter nights when it's dark early so no need for them to be so late.

Sorry OP, I should have said that I do sympathise with your situation with your son. It's the general principle that it's ok on NYE I agree with.

@LdnMum94

DS has got a big blue and purple bruise on his forehead this morning from smashing his head on the floor in distress, I rushed to get his foam helmet but by the time I had it on he'd already hurt himself and me in the process

But hey, so long as people got to celebrate fuck the vulnerable eh.

No one is saying “fuck the vulnerable” but everything has the potential to upset people with vulnerabilities in some way. People still have to live their lives.

@MadameBlobby 'living your life' doesn't have to include setting off extremely loud fireworks in the middle of the night 😒

@PimlicoJo

I disagree - I think NYE is the one night of the year when it's fine to have fireworks at midnight. People stay up to see in the new year, and have been doing so for centuries.

I don't think it's acceptable to have them so late on any other night, especially on winter nights when it's dark early so no need for them to be so late.

But people have celebrated on their own and with their friends for centuries, it hasn't involved keeping the entire neighbourhood awake.

People do have to live their lives certainly, but do they have to choose obnoxiously loud fireworks, scream like a banshee outside others windows, and smash bottles etc all in the name of celebrating?

I never thought I'd see the day I became a kill joy at the relatively young age of 26, but it's all just a pain in the arse to endure when you have somebody with SN to worry about.

As before, to everybody else who hasn't coped well with the noise and lack of sleep, I hope you get a restful night tonight.

What I wonder is when and why fireworks became so much more bangy than they used to be? Or is that my age?

@Cornettoninja really agree with this post. I’m really hoping some of the posters last night were posting in drink. Whatever happened to empathy?

In our area alone there are currently 2600 live Covid cases, i.e. 2600 sick people who would probably have appreciated some peace and quiet. And that is, of course, before you consider all the people who are ill for other reasons, all the kids with sensory problems, all the people who have to be up early for a hard day's work, all the exhausted parents who struggle enough to get the children off to sleep, etc etc.

Essentially what needs to happen is an emphasis on the production and sale of fireworks that don't make a noise, coupled with some legislation to enforce their use. Win-win.

I do think that fireworks should be banned in residential areas. In my country, fireworks are not even allowed to be bought unless you are a registered licenced Pyrotechnic. Fireworks are only let off by the local councils over the rivers and entertainment precincts. Due to safety reasons (ie people blowing their hands off or blowing themselves up), fireworks are not actually available to be purchased and are ILLEGAL in residential areas. I've been on this board in one name or another for years and every year the same thing comes up.

Why don't some of you create a petition, and create a groundswell movement to have fireworks banned in residential streets? I've mentioned this before, and no one seems to do a single thing about it. The issue comes up on here every single year. Without fail. Plenty of complaining but no one is arsed to do f all about it, when push comes to shove.

Start by approaching any environment/Greens MPs, then Autism mother's groups, family groups, Neighbourhood Watch etc. Form a movement. Do something. Except just rehashing this (not referring to you, OP, just saying rhetorically) year in year out every year. Just.....do something! All it takes is one person. One person to approach a group. Then another group joins, etc. If you wait til 'someone else does it' well nothing will ever change. BE the change!

YABU. I’m sorry, but whilst your child is the most important thing in your world (presumably), you really can’t expect strangers to modify their behaviour because of him. I appreciate it’s crap but whilst you’re totally within your right to be annoyed that it’s happened, it’s also not fair for you to call those people selfish or think they’re actually doing something wrong. I don’t like fireworks because it upsets my cat, but like... he is not the priority of anyone else. (Not saying my cat is on the same level of your DS!)

I think people really conflate “this has inconvenienced and/or upset me” with “this thing is objectively wrong”.

I don't think fireworks at New Year really became a thing until the Millennium, then it sort of continued as a tradition. I don't recall them being set off in my childhood for anything other than one night on bonfire night (I was born in the 70s).

I don't really mind them because I don't have small children or pets but the frequency of events they go off for has definitely increased as has the length of time you can expect them e.g. If bonfire night falls on a Thursday round here they'll be going off anytime between Thur-Sun.

I think it's time to ban the sale of fireworks for private use.I live in south- west London and it's a regular occurrence for people to set off fireworks round here all year round. These geniuses favour late night to set them off as they either don't consider or they don't give a shit about the hundreds of neighbours they disturb.

@Cokie3

I do think that fireworks should be banned in residential areas. In my country, fireworks are not even allowed to be bought unless you are a registered licenced Pyrotechnic. Fireworks are only let off by the local councils over the rivers and entertainment precincts. Due to safety reasons (ie people blowing their hands off or blowing themselves up), fireworks are not actually available to be purchased and are ILLEGAL in residential areas. I've been on this board in one name or another for years and every year the same thing comes up.

Why don't some of you create a petition, and create a groundswell movement to have fireworks banned in residential streets? I've mentioned this before, and no one seems to do a single thing about it. The issue comes up on here every single year. Without fail. Plenty of complaining but no one is arsed to do f all about it, when push comes to shove.

Start by approaching any environment/Greens MPs, then Autism mother's groups, family groups, Neighbourhood Watch etc. Form a movement. Do something. Except just rehashing this (not referring to you, OP, just saying rhetorically) year in year out every year. Just.....do something! All it takes is one person. One person to approach a group. Then another group joins, etc. If you wait til 'someone else does it' well nothing will ever change. BE the change!

There have been loads of petitions over fireworks with 250k+ signatures but nothing much changes.