To think "they're just kids" is a shit response to prolonged ear piercing screaming?

[BusWankers]

Daughter was in some enclosed playground, playing with a couple of kids. A parent turns up with two, who join in. Lots of happy noise.
Then the two girls start squealing, which turns into actual screaming.

I'm talking fully on screaming as though you're in mortal danger, going on for 5-10 seconds, repeatedly. It was awful, going right through me, adults around were flinching each time... my child was asking them to stop, they didn't.

So I ask the parent if they could ask them to stop the screaming, no worries having fun, being loud etc but the screaming is too much... I get a disgusted look and they reply "uhhhh, they're just kids..." Eye rolls and turns away

So I told the kids myself. (They stopped)

AIBU to think the parent could have asked them to be quiet?

To be fair this is why I would never choose to live by a school or a playground

To be fair I believe very little on MN nowadays but I do believe this as it's quite a common non event.

I've asked plenty of kids over the years to stop screaming when mine were little, and they were playing outside or in the garden.

And I've heard plenty of parents saying "But they're just kids".

I don't really understand why you find it hard to believe?

My neighbours daughters do this when they're out playing. It sounds like they're being attacked.

I live next door to a screamer (3). Parents actively encourage it, it is making my life hell, that and the sound of thuds of the said monster running around. Had it tonight, the dad chased his daughter around the house, into the garden and the child screamed full volume throughout. They were rewarded by me playing 2 punk albums as music is the only thing that blocks that noise out, tried everything else. Only stopped because the volume was freaking out the cat!

Oh, and I believe you about parents reaction. I asked next door very very kindly to try and stop the running and screaming all day, they actually upped it.

Well done!

Similar thread/tangent.. when my mum when to safeway 40-odd years back, a kid was in the trolley reaching for bottles of ketchup and smashing them on the ground. My mum asked the mother to stop her child doing it. She actually responded 'No, she is expressing herself'. My mum couldn't believe her ears, got mad then chucked ketchup on the mother and said 'this is my expression of your parenting' and walked off. Gawd, I loved my mum!

So did I!

It not even just parents that encourage it. My DP live near a nursery. I'll always remember when I visited and heard this cacophony of child screams and ran to an upstairs window expecting something serious to be happening on the playground. No, I was told, they all scream like that every day and one of the play workers seems to actively encourage it.

My cousin’s kid used to do this. It’s horrendous. Tell your kid to be quiet ffs.

They both sound nuts.

I HATE screaming. I've told my girls the only acceptable times are a jump scare, someone is abducting/attacking them or someone has died. 😆 They know not to do it in parks and playing. I get that some kids may not be able to help it but if the parents just let them screech and scream for shits and giggles it does my tits in. 🙈🤣

Completely agree with this. Big difference between natural excited yelps and squeals and laugher and continuous ear-piercing screaming and shrieking at length which for some bizarre reason loads more kids are doing these days without being told to pack it in.

There is definitely a difference between full on screaming and squealing having fun. I never let my kids scream and told them to save it for it there was something wrong - but I do think in a playground I wouldn’t have said anything!

Screaming because you are having fun in the playground is one thing. Screaming for the sake of Screaming is annoying and not on.

Well done OP. It takes a village to raise a child … especially because some people just can’t or won’t ‘raise’ their children. All they do is ‘watch them grow up’. Good you took action!

Screaming because you are having fun is not an appropriate response though is it?

We were at a trampoline park recently and a family with a small boy inexplicably chose the one trampoline right next to us (the entire unit of 20+ slots were empty aside from us). The father held his hands while jumping and the boy was literally shrieking like he was being hurt or terrified. At first I had to keep looking over to check if he was genuinely scared but it seemed like he was actually enjoying it. However instead of laughing shrieking, it was literally high pitched shrill screaming and the mum was just looking at them laughing.

YANBU OP, some children are just annoying AF. But if they're strangers and you won't ever see them again, you just have to suck it up.

100%. I hate screaming kids but you can’t expect a playground to be quiet.

Last year was the first year I had heard proper screaming since Covid. I'm sure it was very physically and emotionally satisfying for the screamers and they stopped once they'd got it out of their system.

They were outside, not in close proximity to anybody else and weren't hurting anybody. They haven't done it again since.

I live opposite a play park.

I absolutely love it when it’s nice enough weather and light enough for the kids to be out there playing. Loud voices doesn’t bother me nor swirls of delight.

But I know exactly what you mean by that scream. It’s the just standing still and screaming at the top of their lungs for no actual reason.

I don’t say anything as I’m not there but agree it’s unnecessary.

I detest screaming children and I wish we could bring back the old school 'village to raise a child' attitude. There have ALWAYS been feral families but in the past their children were largely socialised by the non-feral neighbours etc. They grew up to be normal, decent enough adults. They had a chance to learn from better role models and grow beyond their start in life.

At some point we were told it was 'judgy' to do this so people became afraid to intervene. So, antisocial behaviour continued and these children grow up to join a kind of social underclass without skills, manners or supportive relationships. We then wonder why they are depressed, isolated and unemployable.

I wonder if it was the same mother and daughters in the soft play i was in a month back. She was stood right next to them and didn't bat an eyelid.
Some weird parents out there

I do hate this screaming that children do at high pitch tones. There are girls live around the corner aged 9-10 that scream.

When shopping and then you hear a child about 5-6 scream all the time. The relief in the faces of other customers and the staff is just heaven when the screaming child has left. One of the staff said "why do their parents spend an age in here when their kid is screaming"

My friend lives opposite to a play park like yourself. I was walking to hers which you do by walking past the play park. There were 2 girls aged about 8 screaming . I said to them "are you babies?" "no" replied one of them. I then said "only babies should scream".

My friend had problems with these two girls for most of the school summer holidays as weather was decent and they were out most of the day 90% of the time. Even when it was 32/33c. Girls spent most of the time screaming. My friend has no idea where they live, even asking neighbours and a couple of other people down the road. It got very tedious for my friend who WFH . Had to use her noise cancelling headphones when working as she needed the windows to be open during the hot weather but it made the girls' screams louder.

My friend told me that since I spoke to them, mentioning that only babies scream, they still play outside but the screaming has stopped. Probably the association of being called babies made them stop.

Just classic bad parenting imo. Anyone who responds with ‘it’s just kids’ to their kids screaming like that, is just simply not a very considerate person.

I don't think the OP expected silence in the playground at all, but there's a massive difference between playing loudly and screeching like banshees for no reason. I'm a KS1 teacher, and I will have words with the screamers, and explain why it's not ok. I live abroad and have permanent neighbours and tourists close by whose kids scream ( not crying or playing , literally a horrible high pitched squealing) at all hours including the arsecrack of dawn, and the parents just laugh and encourage it. Seriously? No need. The noise travels and echoes where we live, and it's fucking annoying.