To hate the big garden pool trend, and my neighbour who has one

[Bringbackwinter]

We live in a terrace so very close proximity to each other. The neighbour next door has a big pool crammed into the backyard. She’s been practically living in the garden all week. She has the one toddler, a boy, who seems to be quite naughty.

All I hear all day through my open windows is happy screaming, angry screaming, crying, lots of splashing, “wooooo”, “one two three go!” “High five!”. Must have heard the child’s name about 100 times today. They finally went inside at about 7, but not before I heard her say they’ll come back out tomorrow. I’m cursing that pool. Before she got it they never went in the garden. They’ve lived next door 2 years and I never heard a peep from them. I don’t think the pool is even safe. It’s quite deep and she’s set up a slide going onto it. And then there’s the environmental impact of filling it up everyday.

You sound kind of miserable, OP.

The whole point of a garden with young children is for them to have a safe place to play outside of their own homes; we can't all live at the parks. Families are entitled to use their gardens, especially paddling pools in this hot weather.

Hahahaha - she bought her toddler a sandpit. What a terrible person. Am completing on my (our) first house - tomorrow. A London mid-terrace. And sure as hell the first thing I'm buying is a paddling pool for my toddler who has known nothing but a one-bed with no outdoor space all her life. Hope I don't get a neighbor like you but if I do, I'll be pulling faces over the fence

It can be so irritating when you hear noises from neighbours that you don't normally hear. I echo previous posters' opinions that it is very likely to be raining/unsuitable for pool weather very soon, and the noise will then stop as they will be inside. I have the same issue on a smaller scale with a particular neighbour across the street who holds a mammoth party for the weekend every year. Drives me potty but it's done and dusted by the Sunday evening, so I live and let live. Chim up OP, it'll all be gone and done soon

I think you just have to get used to it on sunny days if you live next door to DC, mine and his friends used to play with those water bombs in the 90s, don't know if they still have those now but it small balloons filled with water that you throw at each other, so much shrieking and yelling. It usually goes on until they are about 10 so I would probably get used to it.

This ^^ 😂🙏

You're actually annoyed about children using their own back garden and enjoying themselves? Dear god.

Yes, I would probably ask if I could join in

And the irony that it's posted on Mumsnet 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Good for them finally using their garden for enjoyment. It’s just something you have to live with OP, children make noise and the British weather means playing out in the garden is only for a short time per year.

This place is so fucking miserable. How dare a child enjoy himself in his own garden.

Well it's not because the vast majority disagree with OP.

So, a child is playing in his own garden in a paddling pool in very hot weather. You live in a terraced house next door. Sounds like the exact same experience millions of people are having this week to me. Maybe get some friends round, have a barbecue and get over yourself?

I like hearing children playing, I bet the ‘naughty’ toddler is just excited and his mum probably ‘telling him off every 2 minutes’ is her trying to stop neighbours complaining about perfectly normal toddler behaviour.

Try to enjoy the sound of children playing. My NDN have their grandchildren over a lot, and they play in the garden when the weather is nice. It’s lovely to hear children laughing.

I understand how you feel but 7pm is not unreasonable. No pool has to be filled from scratch everyday, you just use chlorine. You can't possibly be a mum? Stop being miserable

They're obviously not, she's just trying to justify her whinging. If this website wasn't called mumsnet I would've thought she didn't have children. Miserable woman, 7pm? my God!

I would report her to the council immediately for being a great parent and making sure her toddler stays cool and also has some outdoor activity.
Be happy for her and encourage her.

Do they ever go into the garden?

I would ask if I could come round and play in the water too!

Oh no. A neighbour is enjoying the 3 odd weeks of the year that England has nice weather by spending time in their own garden.

How awful.

Come on op, I'm a boring quiet terrace living introvert myself, and I can't begrudge my neighbors with kids enjoying their garden in hot weather. Yeah I'd prefer quiet, but they're not in the wrong for being outside playing in the pool.

OP, you should go round with your fun sponge and soak up all their water.

Don't be such a misery.

It’s nice that they are making the most of the weather and the child is having fun playing outside.
The alternative might be him inside screaming because he’s overheated.

I had a grumpy neighbour once who told me off because my dc had play equipment. It wasn’t the children playing that annoyed her but the fact that her child was now wanting outside toys and she didn’t want her flowers to be disturbed. I had corrupted her daughter by putting out toys.
Now we don’t have any neighbours for almost 2 miles, it’s bliss

I'm afraid that a slide, sandpit and paddling pool are perfectly normal toys for a young child. My DC currently has two out of three of those, and the third is on order.

If they're noisy in the garden, you could ask them to keep it down a bit, but it depends on the type of noise - shrieking and screaming from the toddler, yes, but not if it's just normal play and interaction. It's unreasonable to get annoyed at other people interacting normally (chatting, playing) in their own garden even if you would prefer absolute silence.

And presumably the little one is in bed by 7/8pm and may also have a nap during the day, so he's not out there making noise the whole time?

Honestly, I doubt you will.

Very few people ‘hate’ (OP’s word) their neighbour for the sound of a toddler playing in a paddling pool in daylight hours.

I get it OP. My neighbours (also terrace) have filled their back yard up with a trampoline. It’s just one of the perils of living cheek by jowl though. We all have to be a bit tolerant of each other. If my kids were smaller I’d probably get a paddling pool too.

Enjoy - they're amazing!

We've had one for ages (crammed into a tiny garden in a terrace too 😯) the dc lost interest when they got to the teen years so now it's just for me and dh. We bob about on our inflatable chairs with beer in floaty holders - bliss.