To despair of new neighbours' shrieking children?

[saraclara]

It's been a glorious afternoon, but I've had to spend it indoors, and even with my doors closed I can hear them. I don't know how they can shriek for this long without having really sore throats. It's not ordinary play shouting, it's just pointless daft shrieking as far as I can tell. They've been out there for at least four hours. There was a break for about 20 minutes, then it started up again. I'm guessing from the tone of the shrieks that they're about 7-9 years old?

There's nothing I can do about it, is there? This is it for the spring and summer.

I could weep.

Yanbu op. My old neighbours had 3 kids that would play outside all day rain or shine. I could never sit in our lovely garden and enjoy some peace and quiet. We have kids aswell but we would occasionally go out or have weekends away. They never go anywhere but the garden so there was never any rest from it. I was glad to move.

I’m a good neighbour and would tell my kids to be quiet but if someone shouted at them without talking to me first I'd give them carte Blanche to carry on and be louder if they wished
The utter irony of someone posting this self styling themselves as a good neighbour
I honestly don't know if they're more to be pitied than laughed at.

@GreyhoundG1rl

I’m a good neighbour and would tell my kids to be quiet but if someone shouted at them without talking to me first I'd give them carte Blanche to carry on and be louder if they wished The utter irony of someone posting this self styling themselves as a good neighbour I honestly don't know if they're more to be pitied than laughed at.

Don’t they say ignorance is bliss?

So all in all I think I’m a pretty nice neighbour. Probably not to someone who feels they have a right to tell me what I can and can’t do though as I would tell them to fuck right off.

I don't think its a matter of telling you what you can and can't do, it's just a case that if a neighbour raises an issue it is good manners and respectful to engage in communication and understand that your neighbour might have a point and try to work with the neighbour so everyone can enjoy their outside space. It's all about awareness and give and take, compromise and being respectful.

Honestly never been more grateful for my neighbours reading some of the selfish responses on here.

@CherryJane

My neighbour 2 doors down has a screamer. The high pitched shrieking screaming type. Happy kid - high pitch shriek Sad kid- high pitched shriek Bored kid- high pitched shriek. Just a kid in a garden high pitched shriek for no fucking reason. I counted 42 high pitched shrieks in 5 minutes yesrday morning at 7.45am whilst sat out having my morning cuppa.

At 3pm when I braved it enough to sit out for another cuppa the little shit was still shrieking away. Its quite sharp and nasty on the ears. I've no idea how the parents can tolerate it being alot closer than me.

Thier new lockdown puppy which isn't even a proper dog but some kind of rat with a high pitched yap doesn't seem so keen on the shrieking and yaps away in-between the shrieking. That in turn sets of next doors bored to tears, constantly left at home alone terrier with its barking and launching itself at their patio doors.

Then "I think I'm a drummer" over the back started on his drumkit, not long before the "we love crap music" family started thier early evening bbq and disco.

If there's one reason why I'm thankful my husband started fucking someone behind my back is that this will be last summer in this house. I've offered to move out, so he and his new vagina friend can move in and enjoy the neighbourhood from hell.

I can totally identify with this, and hope you move to a happier neighbourhood, where neighbours are considerate.

I live next door to a rental property, and there was a loving family living there for years, two young sons, and out in the garden at every opportunity. The children were making normal children noise, and the parents called them out on anything too loud or shrieky. I loved hearing this happy family noise, they were wonderful parents, and the fact that they were ordinarily very considerate, made me much more relaxed when they were being abnormally noisy...I knew it wouldn’t be for long.

Then the noisy bastards moved in, unsupervised children, shouting, screaming, kicking balls against my fence, loud music, and so on. Absolutely did my head in. I prayed for them to move out. Yes, gardens are small. No, I have no issue within normal kid noise. What made me annoyed and sad, was that the parents were not supervising their kids, and could have either taken them to the park, which is 2 minutes walk away, or allow their 15 year old to take them, rather than corralling the poor kids in a tiny garden.

OP, you sound lovely, and very forebearing. I sympathise hugely, but I don’t know what to suggest. Maybe some pretty heavy duty screeching of your own, after prewarning others? Or a very loud recording of the same, aimed at the household on question? Preferably when they are not being noisy, so that your noise has the spotlight!

I sympathise. We have a shrieking toddler next door to us. Parents just let it happen. Oh, and the running up and down bare floorboards with shoes on is also pleasant. We refer to him as the devil child. Said child also blocked our (shared) drains twice by throwing baby wipes down the loo.

I’m an EYFS teacher and it’s not normal for children to scream and scream when they’re playing. Laughing and the occasional small scream is fine, but not the banshee type that goes on and on.

Better than being entitled and expecting others to accommodate my lifestyle choices.

So why should your neighbours be expected to accommodate your lifestyle choice of having noisy children?

"I’m a good neighbour and would tell my kids to be quiet but if someone shouted at them without talking to me first I'd give them carte Blanche to carry on and be louder if they wished."

I can't imagine modelling this behaviour for my children. 'Your behaviour has upset someone so you must do it more.' Honestly, what will those kids turn out like? Actually, as a teacher, I've already got a good idea.

Selfish behaviour. Mine were never allowed to scream and shout in the garden. Normal playing noises yes but any screeching and they were brought inside.

How sad that there are so many people on here who see no need to have any consideration towards others.

As OP has pointed out numerous times, there is a difference between the normal noise of playing and incessant ear splitting screeching, which is just torture.

My lovely dear mum had awful screechy kids next door. She literally danced round the kitchen the day they moved out. She loved kids and never had a problem with any other neighbours kids, just this one family. She could never sit out in her garden.

@cherryjane - If there's one reason why I'm thankful my husband started fucking someone behind my back is that this will be last summer in this house. I've offered to move out, so he and his new vagina friend can move in and enjoy the neighbourhood from hell.

Every cloud has a silver lining! Hope your move takes you to lovely normal considerate neighbours.

I’m a good neighbour and would tell my kids to be quiet but if someone shouted at them without talking to me first I'd give them carte Blanche to carry on and be louder if they wished

No. You’re really not a good neighbour.

YABVU if someone complained that my DCs were making too much noise playing in their own garden I would respond telling them when they start paying my mortgage then they can dictate what happens in my home.

I take it you’re happy for your neighbours to do wtf they like and make as much noise as they want, whenever they want?

Power drills and DIY at 6am, loud music until the early hours or in their garden day in day out for everyone to enjoy?
I wonder if they realise you are so ‘easy going’?

What's up with someone shouting at your kids if they're being too loud and disruptive? Sometimes that's all it needs to shut them up.

Noise-cancelling earphones and a large, wide-bowled fire pit are just the ticket. When the wind's blowing in their direction set it alight and get some dried seaweed or oily old rags to burn on it.

Oh, and get a hot tub! The noise of the bubbles will drown out the shrieking.

You're welcome

NB. I love hearing children play. A bit of whooping and the odd shriek is quite normal. Perpetual screaming like a stuck whistle, isn't.

I'm also a mum and that sort of screaming I will not have. Aside from annoying the neighbours, I can't stand it myself!

We had high pitched shrieking children in my street some years ago. My elderly neighbour wore hearing aids, and he found the noise not just annoying but really painful. He had to turn off or remove the hearing aids. Then of course he couldn't have a conversation with his wife or hear the television. We had two summers of it, then they either grew out of it or moved away.

@AliceMcK you say your neighbours love hearing your children play. The key word is PLAY. Playing normally may mean a bit of shouting or shrieking but not shrieking continuously for hours on end.

You either don't understand the OP or you just want to be stroppy

There is a big difference between families enjoying thier gardens and those that just thinknits thier little darlings God given right to shriek scream kick balls against fences etc constantly.

I live on an estate of mainly 3 bed houses and lots of schools. I expect to hear kids. I like kids. I love hearing kids playing.

I dont like endless shrieking and families that cba to deal with thier kids shrieking and leave their barking dogs in the garden barking endlessly.

I do not expect silence but I expect some basic common sense about what goes on in thier garden may impact others around them.

We had a screamer 2 doors down, mostly due to elder sister who’d wind her up, re-invent rules and be super strict re games. It drove me nuts. I’m talking full on screaming, not shouting/playing. Eventually we went round when it continued all bloody day and asked the dad if he would take her in when she started. He rolled his eyes at us, but did take her indoors when she started. I don’t know how the parents tolerated 8t, it was the same when they were indoors according to their immediate neighbour. It stopped abruptly when the elder sister got pregnant and moved out, thank god.

At the time, someone said ‘She’ll grow up’, but that didn’t help when we couldn’t even open a window during my fil’s last ever visit to us in the summer.

@LindaEllen I can assure you it very much did happen! Despite it sounding unbelievable
Me and the next door neighbour actually opened our back doors at the same time to see her fall out the window
She had rigged up some kind of thing with a scarf and was trying to climb out the window into the garden but the scarf wasn't long enough to drop down, and she couldn't pull herself back up so was dangling and couldn't hold on any longer
The ambulance came and had to come via our gardens because of the layout, and she landed on the patio (back gardens are all patio, front/side are grass)
You can always go and search my posts to see when I posted previously about it. She was always ear piercing screaming which was why none of us went out

normalsaline

would you rather they be indoors glued to the tv?

um, yes, I definitely would prefer that“

🤣