To ask to stop your children ‘play’ screaming?

[JediKnightingale]

I live in a cul de sac where we have around six families with small children (weirdly, all girls - not relevant I know) that range from ages 2 - 7. They all walk to school together with parents and at home time they congregate in the middle of the close. Mums chatting and the entire gaggle of tiny noise machines run around screaming for absolutely no reason for about 30/45 mins depending on the weather. During the holidays or at weekends they can be out there for hours at a time.

I and quite a few others work from home in our road - my home office is in the front part of my house and I literally cannot take or make phone calls due to the racket. Normal play noise is absolutely fine but WHY do parents put up with this stupid screaming? When my 3 were small I would never have allowed it but it doesn’t seem to even register with these parents.

Do you let your children play scream and if so would you be put out if you were asked (nicely) if they could play WITHOUT THE SCREAMS?

@DodoTired what's so wrong with you that you don't find screaming annoying? It's designed to be alarming for humans.

This is way too far the other way!

I agree with this.

We have a primary school at the end of our road and I love hearing them in the playground at lunch time.

Hearing girls, mainly girls screaming at softplay is a completely different thing. No, the slide is not that scary, shut up

YANBU unreasonable op. I think the occasional excited squeal is fine but full on screaming is just out-of-control, inconsiderate yobbishness on the part of the parents.

The slide might be scary for them. Have you seen the drop slides, I'd scream on those!

People have always worked from hom. For example, I have for 18 years. It is not a new thing.

You need to open that mind a bit. Consider the ill, the elderly, shift workers.

What is also not new, is the concept of thinking of others. You could try it some time...

The slide might be scary for them. Have you seen the drop slides, I'd scream on those!

Even if it's scary the first time, it's certainly not scary enough for them to be put off going on for the 100th time. Each time screaming more loudly than the last.

🙄 kids have always been loud, people never used to WFH and now they want everyone to change for them. I live very near 2 primary schools and you can always hear them playing out. OP is being laughably precious about 30 minutes of her day.

@Meowandthen I completely agree with you. I've worked from home for 24 years. When my daughter was young and had her friends round to play in the garden, they never screamed or shrieked like little banshees - they were taught to play at normal volume and to have respect for our neighbours.

Main takeaway from this thread is there are so many shit parents. So shit in fact that they don't even understand how shit.

I'm fairly strict with my two, and I get compliments everywhere we go from restaurant staff, the older generation, shop staff etc.

They still have fun almost 100% of the time, they're just considerate while doing it.

Same. I wasn’t allowed to scream. My kids weren’t allowed to scream. Who enjoys it? It’s a fucking nuisance

I taught a young woman who, by Year 9, had damage to her vocal cords. You could hear that her voice wasn't right: it was much quieter and lower than it should have been. It sounded like she always had a sore throat. Her parents paid for her to get specialist help, but it was basically just tips about how to protect her voice.

Children who scream like that constantly are in danger of doing themselves permanent damage.

Hopefully they do damage their voices, they may tell their kids to stfu then

I have an early memory of coming home from preschool and repeating word for word, to my Mum, what the teacher had told us.

"Outside in the playground, you can shout and scream if you want to. In the red room, you can talk to your friends. But in the quiet room, we have to be quiet."

And my Mum's response, very dismissively: "Scream? Why would you need to scream?"

I'm not sure there is a lot you can do about it, but personally when my three were younger, I wouldn't have them shrieking indoors or out, they can play without making a racket and disturbing others around them, I like to hear children playing happily but there is a limit. You have my sympathy.

Lovely. It's the parents who are at fault here.

I really don’t understand the screaming thing. My dc were not allowed to scream unless they were in danger . One loud screen and it was straight inside, or home . My mother would have gone mad if we had screamed. Children these days seem to have no volume control.

@brunettemic

🙄 kids have always been loud, people never used to WFH and now they want everyone to change for them. I live very near 2 primary schools and you can always hear them playing out. OP is being laughably precious about 30 minutes of her day.

Kids can get loud outside, true. But specifically the screaming is a separate issue to the normal calling out to each other.

I agree, I'm at soft play and the screaming is almost piercing my ear drum.
I have to ask though, are you sure they're doing the school run? It's Easter holidays

@NaiceUser most schools round my way it's the last day of term today.

Same here. And my sister who is a teacher in a different part of the country to me is the same

I went to an attraction yesterday been loads of times it can get busy yesterday it wasn't there was a group of children shrieking like banshees the parents were sat around doing fuck all in the cafe one came running in screaming so loudly I said omg shut the hell up the parent tried glaring but I didn't care SHUT UP I've been at that place when there are over fifty children there they didn't make half the noise this small group of four were fucking SHUT UP and no my children were and are never allowed to make this row because I value my fucking eardrums

I'm blaming tv for some of this specifically lanky box on YouTube all they do is screech

Kids were parented, you made too much noise by screaming as if you were being attacked in the street and you got a bollocking, working from home is irrelevant. Why do you feel so incredibly put out by being expected to have consideration for others?

No, working from home is precisely the point that OP is whining about.

It’s the reason she finds it so distracting, but do you think those not working enjoy listening to the little angels belt their lungs out? Just have some consideration for others, and teach your children the same, it’s basic parenting.