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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To politely ask next door's kids to be a bit quieter after nine?

33 replies

sorryitsaneighboursone · 14/08/2025 23:47

Sorry, another kids in summer holidays one.

Asking because I may be a bit out of touch as we haven't had school age kids as neighbours for a while.

1960s Terraced houses. Tiny back gardens, slightly bigger front gardens.
We've lived here 20+ years since DC were at primary.
New family with 4 kids moved in next door a few months ago.
Previously was let out to students by buy to let landlord for about 10 years prior to selling up earlier this year.
Before that owned by elderly lady who'd lived there since houses were built and raised family there.

When they first move in, kids would occasionally kick balls into our garden, I told them just to come in and get them as long as they came in the gate and not climb over the dyke/fence.

All OK until this week. Coming home I have chucked balls, shoes and various toys back into their back garden. Yesterday, they kicked a ball into our back garden 3 times in 10 minutes, 1st time we let it go, 2nd time, DH went out and asked them to mind our plants, we have planters along our side of the dyke. Third time was after the kids had a spat and one took a bad-tempered kick that knocked an ornament over and broke it. It was a cheap resin one and already cracked but DH went out and told them it had to stop, showed them the ornament and asked if their parents were in, they weren't. He wasn't going to actually get the kids in trouble just wanted to make them think. Kid mumbled sorry.

DH gets up at 4am as works 6am - 2pm so goes to bed at 9pm, tonight at around 9.15 kids next door come out and start playing football against their shed and shrieking and shouting. I opened back door and very politely said "Could you play a little bit quieter, please" which, to be fair they did.

Sorry TL:DR -

New family next door - should they tone it down or am I being a Grumpy Old Cow.

YABU - Kids will be kids, cut them some slack
YANBU - Report to Social Services NOW.

OP posts:
GiveItAGoMalcom · 15/08/2025 00:26

PixieTales · 15/08/2025 00:19

Seriously?
If you are going to pretend to be that dense then it’s because the majority of adults work
during the week Monday-Friday. (Brand new information for you I’m sure) Of course it’s antisocial for noise to occur in the evening of a week night as opposed to a weekend.

I genuinely think anyone who read my post and then this reply to it from you, will draw their own conclusions about which one of us is 'dense'.

Well over 8 million people in the UK work at weekends.

If you expect people to keep it down at 9pm in the week for that reason, you should expect the same for weekend workers or risk others seeing you as dense.

Imnotgonnamiss · 15/08/2025 00:34

Honestly I don’t think it’s awful of them
to be out playing (even noisily) at 9 and I also think there is nothing wrong with you politely asking if they can keep it down as you OH is sleeping. If you AIBU is as the title (is it ok to ask them to be quieter after 9) then YANBU but if it’s more saying AIBU to think they should never be playing out at that time in the first place (which your other posts seem to suggest is your thinking) then YABU - at least a bit. Particularly knowing your OH is getting up and leaving in the morning very early so likely also disturbs people sometimes (& at an hour far more would normally be sleeping)

Peaceisenough · 15/08/2025 00:36

sorryitsaneighboursone · 15/08/2025 00:20

OK - In very Un-Mumsnetty spirit I accept I ABVU.

Just realised the time so Goodnight all and thanks for your responses.

Good luck, try not to get too stressed.

Eenameenadeeka · 15/08/2025 02:32

I don't think you're unreasonable, but I don't think children should ever be allowed to shriek outside. It's awful. We had neighbors who allowed their children to scream all day every day and if they were being attacked we wouldn't have known because it would have sounded like any other day over there.

coxesorangepippin · 15/08/2025 02:44

I'm personally of the school that kids need to be indoors by 8pm, but this seems to be the minority.

Yes, it's fine to tell them off.

numbfromlife · 15/08/2025 02:46

Send their parents the bill for anything they break. If you hit them where it hurts I'm sure they will make their children be more careful.

Springtimehere · 15/08/2025 02:48

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

PixieTales · 15/08/2025 19:58

Eenameenadeeka · 15/08/2025 02:32

I don't think you're unreasonable, but I don't think children should ever be allowed to shriek outside. It's awful. We had neighbors who allowed their children to scream all day every day and if they were being attacked we wouldn't have known because it would have sounded like any other day over there.

I agree, I don’t understand where this normalisation of children screaming and screeching outdoors has come from.

It’s completely antisocial.

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