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 😩

Wax earplugs from boots. I used them all the time in uni and they were the only thing that pretty much blocked all noise. The foam and silicone ones were rubbish! Warm them in your hand for a few mins before moulding them in there. He’ll sleep like a dream!

Are you serious? That's the kind of passive aggressive neighbour who is a nightmare, one to responds to a polite request for some consideration that way.

It's Canada. We tend to have better double glazing than the UK for obvious reasons- you'd freeze without it. So no, that's not it. It wasn't distant noise like a plane, these were kids right next door to me yelling at the top of their voices.

Ah that’s just like where I live, I don’t begrudge children having fun but when I need to sleep and I have windows open in the summer it’s a lot. I put rain sounds on in my room and a fan on and ear plugs if necessary, it would be unbearable without doing all that.

Yes earlyish but it’s the school holidays. The parents are WFH and perhaps need the house quiet so the kids can only make noise outside the house.

8am is not early. Tell him to grow up, children playing is a fact of life if he can’t handle the late nights he should look for a new job

8 am is too early. I am sick of children's right to be as anti social as they want and eveyone else's needs belittled. It's about time children were taught responsible behaviour again. They are members of society and should be expected to behave like it.
Yes, ask if they could keep the noise down until 9 am please. They won't, ( because their children are likely treated as little gods) but you could reasonably ask.
The only solution, short of moving, that I can think of, is to install secondary glazing, like one finds in airport hotels. It fits over the existing double glazing, with a gap of maybe 3 or 4 inches. It is expensive, but should help a lot, I'm told.
I'm saving up for it to cut out the piercing noise of my neighbours's dog barking, starts before 5am, and of the monster warehouse (24/7 operation) being built at the end of the gardens in my street.
Sadly between kids, traffic, developments in residential areas, dogs, alarms anti social behaviour etc we're living in an increasingly noisy environment.
Triple glazing is the only effective solution to noise in the house that I have been able to find.

How is 8 early for normal people. Children start school at about 8.45, I leave for work at 7.30 most days. Most people start work between 8.30 and 9. I would think most people (except retired and shift workers) are up way before 8am

It's early enough to be listening to children shrieking though. There's quite a difference between children having breakfast outside or playing and shouting and squealing. Plenty of people take leave in the holidays, perhaps they want to relax and not have to listen to that at that time. 9/10ish is reasonable imo.

I left my house at 8.30am this morning. I live in a small estate which houses people of all ages. Lots of families with children.
Windows are open, curtains are still shut and anyone out and about is enjoying the morning peace.

I feel very fortunate to live where I do, not just because it's quiet, but because I don't seem to live among people with the attitudes of some on this thread (kids will be kids and it's too bad if you don't like it).

I don't think shrieking or screaming should be accepted at any time. Just normal playing, laughing, talking, I'd be fine with 7am.

I think 8am to be outside screaming and shouting is way too early. At any time, really. I live in terraced housing with very small gardens, all overlooked, and everyone is mindful of their neighbours. Those with small children will bring them inside if they start shouting - we can hear the parents telling them not to shout. When my children were small, we wouldn’t let them shout outside.

10 during the week? No way. 8 is a normal time to be out and about. Builders will have started by then, if there's any works going on. It's not within quiet hours. Most people will have left for work or be getting ready to start their day. 9 could be acceptable for consideration. During the week, any later than 9 would be unreasonable to expect people to hold off starting their day. I don't even have young kids and wouldn't feel I could say anything about 8am.

I agree I'd rather not hear it all, but if it does happen then at least not at 8am!

If parents are not bothered to teach their children about appropriate behaviour as toddlers then they are unlikely to keep them inside until midmorning either.

10am isn't reasonable to expect people to hold off starting their day though. 9 would be acceptable. I don't want to hear young kids (or anyone really) but can accept that I'd be unreasonable to expect 10am on weekdays.

No one should be shouting and shrieking outside, whatever the time.

I get it, I'm a really sensitive sleeper. I have a baby that is constantly being woken 😂 we have a pub near us playing music till 11-12, then drunk people walking past our house yelling..to then be awoken 7am by neighbours dogs barking then by 8am one neighbours kids have built a skate ramp in their garden haha fml. But it's life, and I'm pretty sure some nights my baby pisses of the neighbours too
😂

I never got on with ear plugs
But I have found background rain music helps for me. I did use to use a plushy set of headphones, but can't now as have to keep an ear out for baby.

What doesn't help with kids, is all they have is their garden. The parks near us have signs to keep off grass and no ball games. So they have a lot of energy to burn :(
It's the drunken yelling that annoys me the most 😂 although the skate ramp for my partner, but I've tuned it into my head as a rhythmic drumming 😂😂

I did ask initially if they could keep it down, but I just got so much hostility back. As much as you think they are unreasonable, they think the same of you..

It's 3 hours into our day on weekends, so a long wait. Screaming or shrieking was never appropriate behaviour at any time here though, only a thing babies do.

Sorry, misread, 10am is three hours, 9am two.

I think it's easy enough to keep the kids busy for two hours indoors, but 8am during the week is fine. Not the screaming and shrieking though. Some volume is to be expected at times though. Happy kid noises. Fortunately I was blessed with non-screamers.

That’s great news. I find that generally, people are reasonable, and by explaining your ds’s situation, the neighbour has said they will be cooperative.

i hope it works out, well done you

No one should be screaming at anytime (unless hurt of course). But in the summer it can get very hot outside by about 10/11am, so I would prefer my children go out early and come back in when sun is strongest. Of course they have sunscreen on, but even then the advice is to avoid being in the sun at hottest part of the day.
Children playing is much less annoying that the performative adults we have living behind us, who seem to want everyone to know what a 'jolly old time' they are having, smoking shouting and swearing til 11/12pm

Those that are saying no noise before 9am, do you apply same standards to yourself, and make sure no noise coming from your garden after 7pm? You want children to adjust to your needs, but do you always adjust to their's?

Of course. No one is shouting at any part of the day or night. No loud music, no drunken singing.

So it's fine for children to playoutside from 7/8am if they are just talking and laughing. Of course shouting and screaming is not ok