Shrieking child next door ALL DAY LONG! WWYD

[Mydietstartstomorrow]

New neighbours moved in next door a few weeks ago. They have a young boy I’d estimate age 2 to 3. He shrieks virtually all day and evening, not in a crying upset way, more in play and excitement but it’s ALL.THE.TIME!
Theyre out in the garden and he’s shrieking (can’t think of another word for it) or kinda singing to himself in a really high pitched loud tone, and when they’re inside he’s doing the same. We live in small terrace houses and can hear loudish noise through the walls. I work from home 3 days a week and it’s driving me to distraction. We can’t sit out in the garden as it’s constant. I appreciate he may have some additional needs but surely the parents would be aware of the noise and try to reduce this? He is definitely verbal as I hear him chatting to his mum. Apparently the mum doesn’t speak English and the dad leaves for work early and comes back quite late so there’s been no interaction between us since they moved in. WWYD? The noise is driving me insane but I really don’t want to be insensitive

Can you go into the office more?

Could you move your desk set up to another part of your house?

Noise cancelling headphones? Hopefully he’ll grow out of it soon. Not really much you can do. I expect his parents are suffering too.

Some parents actually let their kids shriek and scream. It’s horrible. Kids do it sometimes anyway but we’ve always been quick to correct ours. It amazes me other peoples kids on play dates who just scream and scream randomly. Sometimes when I’m driving! If I’m the only adult I stop them but if their parent is there I don’t say anything but am really unimpressed with them ignoring it.

Anyway, your neighbour won’t like it but I’d probably raise it because they’re essentially letting their child scream in your home constantly. I’d say ‘you’re probably deaf to it and I know kids get excited sometimes but please try reduce the constant screaming. It’s really intrusive.’

If the child has ASD or other additional needs there may be nothing the parents can do. I'm assuming it will be much worse for them - I don't imagine the parents don't find it difficult too?

Noise cancelling headphones?

It's difficult to say - could be just a phase or additional needs. I can imagine it's even worse for the parents.

I do feel for you, because we have loud upstairs neighbors (5 kids).

Do you live in a town beginning with H? I may be back to back with you. The shreeking yesterday was out of control.

I’d make an effort to get to know them.
There are many, many conditions that cause excitability in children, and just because he’s verbal doesn’t mean he doesn’t have speech delays. Telling a kid with speech delays to essentially shut up would make you a serious AH. I wouldn’t say or do anything without more knowledge about their situation.

And as someone else said, the fact you WFH I assume you can go into the office when you really need to get some work done. The kid can’t just move out.

If he’s the age you say he is then he’ll be in school in a year or two, but until then you might just have to put up with it. It’s part and parcel of the territory of living in a terrace or flat. I’d rather an excitable and happy child than a miserable, crying one, or even the drug dealers who smoked weed 24/7 to the point I couldn’t even open my windows and had the stink practically drenching through my walls.

Talking to his dad over the weekend would be my first step. They might genuinely not be aware how thin the walls are since they don't hear you

Same here. The neighbours 2 year old shrieks loud enough to shatter glass. Thb I usually just turn the telly up.

i don’t think there is much you can do- noise cancelling headphones, go in the office more or try to move your working area to a room further away?

That’s the nature of living in terraced housing unfortunately. I empathise but the only solutions I can see are noise cancelling headphones, get your money up and move somewhere remote, or get used to it.

Sadly I think I could be one of those “ignoring” parents. I have always tried to stop my DCs when I notice it, but I’m so immune to general high-pitched child noises (I work with children) that 9/10 my ears just haven’t picked it up.

Someone will shout SN soon, I'm sure, but I think you need to speak to his parents and tell them to stop him from shrieking. It's not fair on your family to let him carry on with this.

Who wants to wear noise cancelling headphones in their own house? You can’t hear the phone/door, you can’t listen to the radio, you can’t watch telly. It’s madness this is suggested so often like forfeiting your right to hear in your own home is remotely normal.

what @Blueybanditbingochilli said. A peaceful home is a basic human right, surely?

Sometimes it is not possible to stop the noise, if the child has ASD this can be normal for them.

With regards to work I would find somewhere else you can work in peace either locally or at your place of work.

Outside of work use noise cancelling earphones or listen to music/podcast. Do you get any quiet time like when the child has gone to bed?

She can complain to the parents and request they do something about it. He’s their child after all.

I have the same issue, used to live in a more central and busy part of london now moved out to suburbs and people here are much nosier. I wfh sometimes and in those days I have a neighbour who has no quiet voice, she talks so loud and is always out in her garden doing something or other, she narrates and calls out to her husband about something all day long, even early in the morning.

Then the other next door neighbour has a v whiney toddler who just seems to constantly whinge all day and throw tantrums, I’m hoping it’s just a phase, again they seem to always be outside when he’s whining or else he whines all day and I’m just lucky I can’t hear it when he’s indoors.

On top of that, there’s an older child, at least 8 years old who screeches in a way you describe all day long when he’s out playing with the other kids in the street. I had presumed that he had SEN but from further observation I don’t think he has.

Meanwhile here’s DH and I, trying to train our dogs not to bark so the neighbours won’t be disturbed. We also try keep windows closed if we are on a work call where you need to project your voice a lot. Are we the mad ones?

I miss my sound proofed new build flat 🤣

Our neighbours moved away a month ago. Hallelujah!!! Boy close to 3 who ALWAYS screamed. Your new neighbours perhaps ?:). My eldest is ND so I know all there is to know about outlandish screaming fits and meltdowns. BUT I have always done everything I can to not disturb the neighbours ! No screaming outside, I will rush him in and close all windows for exemple. This boy next door actually screamed instead of talking outside or windows open, you heard him ALL day. I asked them if they checked his hearing. My younger had an orl problem so lost 30% of hearing capacity and talked loudly. His teacher brought to my attention that he didn't seem to hear what she was saying sometimes. A visit to the ORL and problem solved. I told my neighbours this and the mum got angry and said her son just liked to scream to which I replied that sure, but the neighbours don't like hearing him screaming so we got a problem. They never talked to me again and the screaming went on. I also noted that they never said no to their son. "It's time to go to bed." "NOOOO!" OK, soon then. "NOOO! WANT TO PLAY" Silence. And screaming went on.

So sorry for you OP. But try to talk to them nicely. Perhaps they are more reasonable than our former neighbours. So happy they left🥳

We have scream neighbours and until I did if I'd heard someone say this I'd say "oh it's just kids playing" etc but no, some parents do let them scream.

I don't get it. Mine would have had to come in if they were shrieking but the neighbours just don't care. Or are immune to it.

Its like they accept shriekign/screaming as part of being a kid. I dot even really get why kids want to constantly shriek. It's horrible.

Its really tricky when you can't escape it in your own house.

One of my close friends has a child who shrieks for absolutely no reason. Really high pitch sort of screaming. It's a random playful way not upset way. My friend does not say anything to try and stop him. We could be in a restaurant and he would be doing it the whole time, he did it in a small shop the other week and she didn't even try and stop him. I can't car share with her I have to make excuses so I use my own car a f she uses her car. He's about similar age too. My ears are hurting after a while of being with them in person. I don't understand why she allows it, so you have my sympathy OP.

I bought noise cancelling headphones for DS last Xmas because the noise in my his flats was epic. There was a family above who were training for something and were on their treadmill nearly all day.
He can't hear any of them now and can just get on with work.
But yes it's enough to drive you insane. I actually moved because of the 6 shrieking kids next door.

We had this in a previous house and it was during lockdown 1. DCs trying to home school, DH and I trying to work and kiddo next door shrieking all day in the back garden, mainly on the trampoline. It was dire.

We all got decent NC headphones, DCs worked in the sitting room which was at the front of the house, DH and I took turns having online meetings in the back spare room while the other worked at the kitchen table. Younger DS stopped going in the garden at all (he's autistic) unless he knew the neighbours were out because the noise was so distressing for him.

We had to speak with the neighbours after DS (then age 10, autistic) was outside in the garden playing football with his brother while they were out, then they came back and let the kid out into the garden and the shrieking started. DS had a meltdown and his older brother (then 13) lost it and yelled "shut the f up" through the fence 😳

Thankfully the neighbours were nice, we had a chat over a socially distanced brew. They had got so used to the noise they just didn't really comprehend how constant and loud it was, or the impact on our autistic DC, and we agreed some set times where the trampoline would be out of bounds so we got some peace and kiddo still got to use it. Lockdown was easing as well so they could go out more. By lockdown 2 neighbour kid was in nursery because the mum was back at work after her mat leave with no 2 finished.

Hopefully this will just be a phase and it'll get better!

My two year old likes to squeal and shriek but he doesn't have many words yet. I am also wondering about autism at the moment. He often does it in excitement. You can't really stop them doing it if they are two or just turned three to be honest? Put the TV up high?