Neighbours kids playing outside early…

[FooFightersFan]

It’s the school holidays and I appreciate that by starting this thread I’m going to sound like a right grump, but here goes…

Our garden backs onto two houses, both of which are owned by couples with young kids. All four parents work from home full time.

The kids (youngest 3, all primary school aged) regularly play outside in the gardens. The houses are new build with literally no plants or shrubs. Just lawn surrounded by fence / brick walls. The noise just bounces around as there is nothing to ‘absorb’ it.

I accept that they are noisy when they play because they are young, energetic and kids!

Now that the school summer holidays are well under way, it’s become apparent that getting up and out into the garden at 8am is their routine. And they shout. A lot.
Then at 10am they go inside and there is silence for a while.

I can deal with it, I have 2 kids and I appreciate that’s what kids are like.

and here’s the “but”…

My son works full time and his room overlooks our back garden. He works 12 hour shifts a lot of days, in hospitality. Most shifts mean he is home around 11pm and in bed by midnight. He’s getting increasingly fed up with the neighbour kids’ morning routine.

During term time, the outside playing is just at the weekend. But now it’s a daily occurrence due to the holidays, I really feel for my son, because being woken up 90 mins before he needs to be up for his next shift is pretty miserable.

WIBU to message or pop round to my neighbours and see if they can encourage their kids to be quieter (a big ask) or to not let them out before 9:00.

I’ve become that grumpy neighbour 😩

ok thanks for the replies.

I wanted to find out if I’d be a terrible person if I popped round and just explained my son’s position re work and him getting home late and needing his rest etc.

My son is 19. So does still need his sleep. Plus his job is physically and mentally draining. He works around 45-50 hours a week.

YWBVU, yes.

I used to work nights on a ward and would never have dreamed of asking my neighbours to stop living their lives because I was trying to sleep during the day!

I had friends who bought a house on a main road and very near the train station. Very noisy, day and night. They had the windows double glazed and the difference was amazing. It really shut out the noise.

Ideally your neighbours would come outside to remind their dc to not scream early in the morning because some people might still be asleep. But not everyone thinks this way.

If you own your house could you consider double glazing the windows?

Kids playing out at 8am is fine, especially on a weekday. I don't think it makes you a terrible person to disagree, but it does make you unrealistic and unreasonable.

Practically speaking, you've mentioned lack of plants and shrubs. Could you get some, would that help? White noise in the background?

No don't go around theirs! They're kids and kids make noise (as you should know) they'll grow out of it in time but right now they need to be playing and have a childhood.

Annoying but that's life. It will be winter soon enough.

@FooFightersFan put your son in a bedroom at the front of the house!!

DH has just started a new job which has some shifts where he'll get home around 4am. He's planning on using his AirPods to sleep with, the noise cancellation mode blocks things out like earplugs but he sleeps better with some music on as that blocks the loudest of noises too.

I don't know if music/EarPods would help your DS at all rather than plain ear plugs? You can also get ones that are like soft headbands so they're comfortable on the ears if he sleeps on his side.

I'm not a morning person so I totally understand how annoying it is but sadly there's nothing you can do really.

Yeah... I think we all know how this thread is going to go!

Your poor son! It's the summer holidays and 8am is not early!

Ear plugs, blackout blinds and just wait it out... your son will probably have got used to the noise by the time they go back to school... a bit like living next to a train line.. eventually you stop hearing it!

The thing is, it's the way of the world and always has been, so he's not unreasonable to be pissed off, but he's unreasonable to think anyone's going to do anything about it.

Just thank God it's 2024 and we all have double glazing, which wasn't so much the case when I was growing up.

My poor neighbours

you’re obviously not an awful person but it’s unreasonable to expect children to be cooped up inside when it’s the summer holidays and we’ve had barely any nice weather. Like you say, you’ve got children. 8am is a reasonable time and they are in their gardens having fun and being children. White noise/earplugs and blackout blinds. It’ll be raining and cold soon enough and they won’t be out there!

Your son needs to use earplugs, or he can move out if he doesn’t like it! You’d look ridiculous complaining about children playing in their own garden just because your little boy can’t sleep 😂

So your adult child’s right to sleep is more important than their child’s right to play in their own garden.

It’s 8am, 7 or before you might have a point but 8am is a fairly ordinary time for noise to start on a week day. I have light industry behind my house and that starts at 8am.

No sorry, 8am isn’t too early and it’s good they’re outside

...All the mums of Mumsnet currently dreaming of having 8 hours uninterrupted sleep....

How dare they do that you should report them

A warning for those planning on using AirPods for white noise / music. Mine only have a battery life of about 5 hours so not enough to last the full night.

Because they're kids! I would actually be applauding the parents - those children have kept a routine of up at a proper time, out playing with fresh air and no hand held devices!
Good for them 👍
Definitely ear plugs for your son - after I tried ear plugs a couple years ago I always have them in my going away/hospital bag now...... Absolutely brilliant invention 😂

It's far too early for them to be out making noise. They wouldn't like it if it was reversed. They are more than welcome to go to the park jut it's just common courtesy. And yes, I do have kids. I also have basic respect for my neighbours.

I work nightshifts and live on a new build estate which is still under development.They are building retirement living apartments directly over the road from me (literally at the end of my drive you cross the road and its there and my bedroom is at the front!),so with all the lorries up and down the road from 7 til 4,the builders and all the noises from construction it's very very noisy!
Earplugs are your friend!

You said shouting not screaming in your original post.

Loud building work is allowed from
8 am so based on that yabu. If your son wants to contine in this career he is going to have to find a way to deal with sleeping when most people are out and about.

They would absolutely have something to say if your son made disturbing noise between 7pm and 11pm, as he would be in his legal rights to do evening it disturbs the kids bedtimes.

Kids running around screaming. In their own back yard. In the school holidays. On sunny mornings in the summer at 8am no less.

Whats the world coming to. Whatever next.

He’s getting 8 hours of sleep. I’m sure he’ll survive.
He can keep his window closed and get earplugs if it bothers him so much.
Its not really reasonable to complain because your son works late and wants a lie in, given you say it doesn’t overly bother you it’s clearly not that loud.