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 😩

**
Normally what's described as 'screaming' on MN is just children playing normally - they're loud and they get excited and they are having fun. Its the under 10s version of cackling loudly in the pub - maybe annoying but far from unreasonable

Im frequently in parks, etc. with grandchild. Kids now do, literally, scream for no apparent reason.

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

Quite reasonable to ask them to wait until 9am. But do speak to them rather than message. Messages can lead to misunderstandings and things being taken the wrong way.

I thought you were going to say 6am or something. 8am is perfectly reasonable!

OK. I am also frequently in public where there are children and refute your anecdote with my anecdote, that they don't now, literally, scream for no apparent reason.

It really isn't. Kids playing excitedly, fine. Kids screaming, not fine. We've all experienced both situations so please don't suggest 'screaming is playing'.

Do your spirited kids run freely and loudly around your local restaurant perchance?

Well I would be annoyed if my neighbours' screaming screeching children started as early as 8am. I am up by then but it would still annoy me and, yes, I think it is far too early to be making a noise.

I wouldn't let my dog bark that early so why are children allowed to make a racket and be a nuisance? Just playing is ok but if they were just playing OP would not be able to hear them would she?

Would love to know all these morning routines from the people who would never let their children in the garden until 10am, never let them giggle, but also presumably never let them look at a screen either.

Only on mumsnet is 8am ‘not early’

8am isn't early. You have no reason to complain.

8 o'clock is far too early for yelling kids to be out in the garden. But what you can do about it is a different matter. So rude and inconsider IMHO. Or cut your lawn at 10 pm to prove a point.

Far too many kids do now scream and screech for no apparent reason.

My neighbours have children that do and their 7 year old daughter screeches all the time. I have nicknamed her Miss Screech. It's unnecessary and very annoying and, no, she does not have anything wrong with her.

9am was let out time when i was a kid in the hols, I think 8am is a bit on the early side...although now i am a parent myself of a 5am waker i get that its difficult.

When I was his age in a similar situation I stuck my head out the window and shouted something along the lines of ‘can you please keep the bloody noise down’. Not my finest hour but it did work, neighbour came round with chocolates to apologise and kept the kids in till 9ish after that.

I mean I actually live just down the road from a primary school that sends 840 children out to break at the same time, so I feel qualified to talk about what normal playing noise is. Children scream all the time - got cornered in tag and got touched - scream. Threw a ball really high - scream. Skipping on the spot - scream. All normally preceded or followed by laughter because they're having fun. It's how they express themselves.

I don't have any children that I can allow to run around my local restaurants unfortunately.

To all PPs who say that kids screaming is something didn't happen in the past has clearly never walked past a school playground in the past 50 years or so

Children screaming isn't a 'now they do it' thing - you probably just didn't realised you did it because you were a child, and in the intervening years didn't spend enough time around children to know.

ClaudiaWankleman · Today 12:24
OK. I am also frequently in public where there are children and refute your anecdote with my anecdote, that they don't now, literally, scream for no apparent reason”

They do, so there. Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah. 😁

Yeah. See. It's the abnormal levels of noise imo. My DS's just would never have made enough noise for someone to have been bothered next door. These days it's normal and 'just kids playing'. I don't mind 'kids playing' but they don't need to shout and scream the entire time, only feet apart. They can just speak at a normal level. Mind you parents of these children seem to also have a normal speaking volume that I can hear the whole conversation if they are on the phone in the garden or even the kitchen. You'd never hear me over the fence. Love your name btw. I'm also one. 🤟🏽

Your neighbour was probably pleased.

I would be if someone told me DD to shut up.

Well someone has as she was screaming and shouting outside their house, and as it was reported to her by her CM. 😂

Giggling is fine. Shouting and screaming is very different!

Ear plugs will help your ds sleep.

AzureAnt · Today 12:30
To all PPs who say that kids screaming is something didn't happen in the past has clearly never walked past a school playground in the past 50 years or so”

Two kids of our own. I was a ten year old 50 years ago. Screaming wasn’t allowed. Neither was running around in cafes.

Ours just didn’t do it. Presumably never felt the need 🤷‍♀️ Just not something we experienced.

I worked nights for years and obviously there’s going to be lots of noise during the day, including drilling etc., especially during school holidays. I didn’t expect the children from the surrounding houses to keep quiet during the day or people not to have work done on their house, I just used earplugs. Regardless of anyone’s work patterns life goes on.

I get that it’s annoying when kids are shrieking and screaming but they’re little kids and it’s 8am not 6am. It’s a new build estate so you do have to expect noise from young kids. If your son is struggling with 8 hours of sleep and feels he needs more then maybe he needs to reduce his work hours? 50 odd hours a week is a lot. I wouldn’t be asking the neighbours to tell the kids they can’t play in their own gardens just because your son wants more sleep.