To expect parents to try to keep children quiet on campsites early in the morning?

[BobBobbity]

Camping this weekend at an event - lots of families, tents tightly packed in.

Me and the DC were woken up this morning at 6:45am by a group of children (would say 6-9ish age range) shrieking and shouting non-stop. No let up for about an hour.

AIBU to think parents should have tried to keep their noise down so early? My DC aren’t larks and normally sleep through anything but were both woken up and are already grumpy and tired.

Obviously some children wake up early and can be a bit excitable in a group, but this was soft-play-birthday-party level cacophony before 7am.

If you go camping at campsites noise is par for the course, either too loud music, some twat with a guitar or kids running about. You have to roll with it really.

I have honestly NO idea why people go camping. It sounds hellish and you’re actually paying for it!

I'd generally agree with this, although I do think the noise sounds a bit too much from the OP's post.

Either there is a strict 8am-8pm noise curfew or reasonable social noise is allowed outside those hours by both adults and children. So adults might stay up until 10/11pm chatting and drinking, but conversely children could be up any time from 6am playing and talking. I don't think it's reasonable for one group to expect total silence from the other.

That said, the non-stop shrieking and shouting sounds excessive - it would be unacceptable from drunk adults in the evening, it's also unacceptable from excited, rowdy children in the morning.

If you're expecting a quiet environment and a leisurely lie-in then I'm going to suggest that camping is not the holiday for you. You're sleeping outdoors inside what is essentially a glorified umbrella, you're going to hear everything. Quiet hours on campsites are generally 10/11pm to 7am because they know that as soon as it gets light, people are going to be waking up and that's going to mean an increase in noise/activity levels.

As a camper with children I’d say it’s not acceptable. From 7am hushed chats and movement expected maybe some even quietly cooking breakfast, from 8am I expect to hear normal noise.

I've been camping loads. I think it's inconsiderate.

I wouldn't expect absolute silence but I would expect children to be hushed until most of the campsite was clearly up and about.

The only time I ever went camping we were kept awake by the girl in the next tent having sex with two men at once.
So life could be worse.. 😀

YANBU, obviously you can't help tantrumming toddlers, ND kids having meltdowns or crying babies but at that age they should be quiet until 7.30ish.

Haha brilliant, wonder how that all worked?

YANBU. Whenever I've taken the DC camping, they haven't been allowed to make noise before 7am. Loo trips are allowed though!

That said, this year we got unlucky and had a big group of students pitch up next to us. There were no numbered pitches, so they could have chosen not to camp between lots of families. They were drinking, swearing, chatting and generally making a racket late into the night. Found slumped around the remains of their campfire nursing coffees and hangovers during the day. I had no qualms about letting the DC be noisy when they woke up in the mornings.

I don't think you are being unreasonable OP - I've been camping with my 3 since they where 7,5 and 18 months and always managed to keep them quiet before 8am - no need for kids to be running around at that time - we had a gang playing football in our field at 6:30am one trip and they kicked the ball into our tent a few times so I told them to go back to their tent - only they were not in a tent but a motorhome over in the next field - parents had obviously told them to clear off to our field and play!

Neither are acceptable

When it's not spoilt by lazy or entitled families, it can be quite nice!

Sometimes it's the only thing we can reasonably afford, and when you are lucky, you can give the children a great time. Parents can't expect to have lie-in until midday anyway, so sleep is not a big deal. Someone making noise at 7am is spoiling it for everybody else though!

I would complain to the campsite frankly.

I think you can also find "adult-only" campsites, not the x-rated kind 😂. Not helpful when you have kids yourself.

You don’t go camping and expect it to be quiet. That’s the risk unfortunately.

No, I wouldn’t let my kids do that and I’d make them be quiet but we all know full well that many people can’t be arsed to parent their children.

Equally you can go camping and be kept awake by music/noise/chatter from adults.

A noise policy won’t be enforced at that time. So sadly it’s to be expected and the risk you take.

Which is why I wouldn’t do that type of camping…

You can't think of one single reason people go camping?

Exited children on holiday?
How dare they.

We had kids screaming at 4.30am once. Hence why I’ll never go again. 6.45 isn’t too bad for camping, it’s hardly going to be quiet until 8am.

excited and happy children do not need to be shrieking at 7am, or ever frankly.
Shocking, I know, but most parents who .. PARENT.. .manage to teach basic manners and keep their kids behaviour reasonable.

it was quiet, until nearly 9am, every morning until the Brit family turned up at the 2 campsites I visited this summer.

Well that’s unusual and very lucky to have a quiet campsite with children until 9am.

My distant and traumatic memory of campsites is that everyone is awake by 6am anyway. The sun comes up, the birds all start shrieking, the healthy German cyclists want to get into the shower block, the site staff are clattering around, someone's dog sees a rabbit or fox and starts baying, and everyone gives up and accepts that the day has started.

You’re really not! We’ve camped since my kids were tiny. There’s no way on earth I’d let them out if the caravan or tent to play before 8am !

No other bugger follows those rules though do they?

YANBU to expect people to try and keep their children quiet or at least not loud until a reasonable time in the evening.

However I have a child I struggle to keep quiet. She had a naturally loud voice and shouts and screams a lot in general play, when she is happy and when she is sad. I try my best but I would probably be a parent others moan about because my child is so loud.

my other child does not have that issue.

Last time I went camping someone played the bongo drums at 7am. Such fun!
It wasn’t at a music festival either.