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.

Bit more consideration by the parents wouldn't of gone amiss. If they are up and making noise that early, then get up with them and take them out the way of sleeping people.

@Delatron Very true. Last camping trip there were actually kids running around until midnight, while their parents sang and talked. Because they were drinking they thought their noise was at a reasonable level, but they made it impossible to sleep. Even after being asked to keep it down they kept up the late night singing to the moon, probably they thought it was a reasonable level of noise (and spiritually uplifting for the rest of us), but it was extremely irritating.

But it isn't. Just because people do it, doesn't mean it's acceptable.

YANBU. So utterly inconsiderate of them.

I can hear nothing when I wear mine. My husband can be next to me talking and I can’t hear him. I have no issues with my hearing when not wearing these.
When camping I now don’t get woken up by peoples noise either morning or night.
I’ve never been able to keep any other ear plugs in for a full so maybe that’s why the Loop sleep ones work for me as they seem to have suction 🤷‍♀️

Amazed so many people think IABU TBH.

Maybe IABU to expect that adults will proactively parent their DC with consideration to others, but I don’t think IABU to expect they should

It’s September, why are they not in school?

I've just come back from camping over the weekend and there was lots of children there. Leave home on Friday after school and go back home in Sunday.

Tbh we did think there would be less children with it being September, but I assume with the hot weather, people must of thought to get another weekend away.

We take dogs with us and my partner gets up at daft o'clock with them to keep them quiet.

These places are absolutely feral. I expect the lowest common denominator in terms of noise. Went to a child orientated festival one year. Loud at night (adults)and in the morning (kids). Hundreds of kids making pretty standard kid noises in the morning.

Just say no.

My kids wake early, I bring books and mags when camping to keep them quiet.

But to be honest, the last few times we've been camping there have been other people (with kids!) making noise so late in the night, I was tempted to send the kids to play noisily by their tent at 6am. Loads of people drinking, swearing, singing until past 1am.

Depending on the size and shape of your tent and the nature of your child, even with the best will in the world it's not always easy to keep an excited 6 year old quiet for hours on end.

How do you take them out of the way of sleeping people when you're in a field - driving often wakes people, you need to pack up etc? There isn't always anywhere to go

If you weren't prepared to accept being told YABU, then why did you bother posting?

Personally I don't get upset by the sound of happy children, but maybe that is my character flaw...

There is a concept known as a “weekend”

Sorry, YABU. All bets are off with camping ime.

which is why I don’t do it. That and an unacceptable trek to toilets!

How do you manage the rest of the year?

I genuinely don't understand these people who pretend to be at a loss on how to keep their kids quiet, surely you do it the same way you manage all the other times?

Can you imagine a primary school if the teachers were unable to maintain some basic discipline? Even pre-schools and nurseries handle young children and their "indoor voice", and to respect the times when the babies are asleep.

When it's your own kids, it's not that hard!

I have kids, their happiness is not linked to the amount of noise they generate on any level.

A lot of little kids deserve a chance to a peaceful morning, not being rudely awaken by some shrieking children who just need parents to tell them to be quiet.

This tbh! When we go camping there are people making noise until 1am and the kids put up with it while they go to sleep (absolutely fine, people are on holiday and I'm not going to ask them to be quiet so my kids can sleep!). The flip side is the kids will be making noise at 7am when it gets light, because they're also on holiday 🤷🏻‍♀️

(NB I would draw the line at shrieking and ask them to be quiet, but I wouldnt make them stay silently inside the tent)

I've been camping 3 times this year and kids have not been allowed to racket around yelling before about 8, really. And life has been quiet - no noisy adults after 11 etc.

Events and festivals, it's probably harder. And why I don't camp under those conditions.

But yes, parents should pro-actively parent and encourage consideration - even on campsites. Camping is not some sort of reversion to a pre-civilisation feral state!

Well said.

This exactly - not expecting miracles here, just a parent intervening to tell their DC that some people are still asleep and to speak at normal volumes!

I’ve been to this event a few times and it’s been absolutely fine - everyone has young DC so obviously there are lots of people up early and a hum of activity, but no previous issues with loud noise levels.

Surely though camping by its very nature, is an up with the Larks kind of holiday? I would think 8 am is quite late in that regard. I do understand though, went away with friends with young children, we have teenagers, spent thousands I'll never see again, to be woken every day with screaming over seemingly nothing, it wasn't even an upset child, just seemed to be what they did at 8 am. Cute kid though but I don't remember my two constantly doing this at 4 and 8!

I was discussing this with my DH and as our eldest is 16, we don't understand current parental techniques, it appears to be that other people give your children the boundaries now rather than the parents, is that a method now?