AIBU to expect neighbours to keep loud kids indoors before 9am?

[GreenSingingFrog]

New neighbours moved in recently a few doors down, and now the nice weather has started their 3 kids have been out in the garden each morning. It starts at 7.30am and they’re very loud and scream constantly.

I don’t mind on a weekday, but it’s the same time at the weekend too. It’s waking us up and we’re not even next door so must be worse for those closer.

We didn’t let ours out until about 9am at least at the weekend and I’ve brought them inside on occasion when they’ve been arguing and screaming, to sort it out without disturbing everyone around.

AIBU to think they shouldn’t let the kids out until more like 9am if they’re going to be screaming continuously?

I know it’s not your responsibility to manage the disruption, it’s the parents’, but I would recommend a good white noise machine.

I don’t think I’d object to children playing outside before 9. Normal playing sounds are fine but they shouldn’t be screaming. I think you’ll have more luck asking the neighbours to encourage them to keep the noise down than asking them to keep them inside completely. I discourage my daughter and her friends from screaming at any time of day! Two times ‘keep the noise down please, no screaming, or you will have to come inside’ is usually sufficient.

I absolutely love spending sunny summer days on my sun lounger with a good book and glass of chilled Viognier or a jug of Margaritas in the garden.

Only way to enjoy it is noise cancelling headphones linked to my phone, sometimes playing samba, sometimes not.

I no longer hear:
(a) Kids screaming like maniacs during a bear attack.
(b) Trampoline springs going for hours on end.
(c) Hedge trimmers; lawn mowers; jet washers, leaf blowers, etc.
(d) Chavy mums constantly bellowing obscenities at their toddlers.
(e) Mr DIY Powertool and his angle grinder.
(f) Teens playing the same rap song to the neighbourhood on repeat.
(g) Yappy mutts.

Such is Intercity living.

There absolutely are "ways around" your kids screaming. How inconsiderate of your neighbours and terrible parenting. You scream, you get brought back inside. If i can train my dog not to bark in the garden im pretty sure you can teach your kids not to scream.

I find it more annoying when drunk adults start cackling and hollering on a summer's evening. Luckily, we don't live near enough to hear that sort of noise nowadays.

I'd perhaps ask if they'd be willing to keep the noise down until 8ish, they don't need to be inside, just making sure they aren't too loud.

At least ther outside and not stuck on screens.

Kids are getting noisier and noisier it seems. I miss the days when children were to be "seen and not heard".

Just imagine if it was possible for them to play outside without screaming!

Actually hang on, come to think of it...

You try having footballs kicked everywhere and kids screaming at high pitch. Until you’ve lived it you’ve no idea. HTH

They don’t have to be noisy and scream, if I went outside and started yelling as an adult people would be irritated, children are not exempt at adhering to social rules.

Yep. We have absolute horrors who visit and the relative goes in and shuts the front door. One weekend we had 28 hours of a kid blowing a fucking whistle.

It's kids constantly screaming that gets me.

We've got a couple backing onto us that constantly scream when they're out in the garden. Like hours of screaming.

Not once have I ever heard an adult say 'stop screaming'. I mean that used to be a thing didn't it? You'd be told to stop screaming if you did it?

Aware I sound like an old fucker, but honestly, it grinds my gears.

I have three kids next door to me, they're noisy compared to my only child and her friends, but they don't make unreasonable noise and the only negative is normal toddler/young child crying. It can be annoying but generally I like hearing kids out playing. There are no screaming children about here despite every second house having young children.

Compare that to the neighbours on the other side of them who leave two yappy high pitched dogs out barking non stop for hours as soon as the sun comes out. I can hear them in the front of the house, with all windows and doors closed. They have never given any indication of training them or of even recognising the fact that their dogs are a nuisance. I believe a couple of years ago someone did raise it with them, and they started only letting the dogs out for 20 mins at a time but that soon stopped. I fucking hate them (the adult human neighbours, not the dogs). Can't have a bath or sit in your garden or wfh or just relax without the yap yap yap.

We weren’t really allowed in the garden in the mornings. Certainly were never allowed to scream. My mum’s childcare method was Laurel and Hardy, Harold Lloyd, Tiswas, cartoons with us eating cereal which we’d do most of the morning. All that screen time didn’t harm us either.

Drop something sharp or heavy into the gardens preferably on the dogs.

Don’t be silly. Our local council rules are that construction, lawn mowing etc on Mon-Sat can commence 7am, and 8am Sundays. Given this, why children can’t go into their gardens until 9am would have me stumped.

I grew up in the free range 80s. No one was outside that early. Saturday morning telly didn't finish that early.

Kids usually drifted out after that.
I didn't tolerate screaming in my own kids. Dd tried it for a bit, when she caught it from girls in school, but she knocked it on the head pretty quickly.

We have 2 kids behind us who nick the fucking football constantly. Thud, thud, thud. Then it comes over. Then all of them come over until we have about 7. Then they fight and the younger one wails until the mum comes out.

I used to think people who stabbed footballs were twats, but 7 footballs a day is excessive and I'm sick of having my flowers crushed, so I'm sorely tempted.

I am 8:30am Mon-Fri
9am weekends and bank holidays
and yes in if they are going merry hell in an argument. Kids play yes, but it’s not just us that live here.

I am also a no loud music / noise after 6pm inside (ie guitar) as again everyone needs a break when they get home from work.

My work is hybrid - work WFH 3 days a week and in office 2 days a week.

Im not looking forward to the school holidays and dry weather as there are a couple of families that never take their DC out - even a half day out somewhere. As they ride their bikes, microscooters outside my home and SCREAM! Not good at telling ages of the DC. I say they are 4-10 years old. I have a headset for calls and Teams meetings. But I don’t think I should be wearing my headset all day.

How do I speak to the kids about not screaming without getting a slagging off from
their parents?

I think very few people have an issue with children playing joyfully in their garden because it's a lovely sound.

The issue is the normalising of children screeching, screaming, shouting, singing the same song at the top of their lungs, fighting and arguing that is a problem. I had two neighbours just like this and it was just pure hell. All the above throughout the day. No chance to be outside. Lazy parents who couldn't be bothered to parent and let them to it whilst they did who knows what inside and only intervened when one was hurt by yelling at them as loudly as the kids. Kindly mentioning the disturbance was met with 'well kids are kids'!

We've moved. Our neighbour have two kids under 6 who are lovely. They play imaginative games and they are fun to listen to. They rarely shout and when they do their parents will tell them off and bring them in. Such a massive contrast.

Surely reasonable adults can determine that 7am is a bit early for most people. Kind of like how reasonable men can determine that 16 is a bit young for them.

It’s lazy parenting. They’re shoving them outside because they’re making a racket inside and presumably one of them wants a lie in. Kids will always be louder, but if you have super loud kids then don’t out them outside for everyone else to suffer super early. It’s inconsiderate.

Kids do not need to scream like banshees. It’s a parenting problem, not a kid problem.

I agree.our neighbours kids are out at 7 many a morning when nice,all they do is scream.our single middle age next door neighbour slams his bedroom door at around 3 am when he I think has been to the loo and slams doors every day at 6 am weekends included.we are not noisy by the way.

There’s lots of families with kids around here, including ourselves, and we used to live near a school for years. The noise of kids playing has never bothered me, like some other posters have said, it’s nice to hear them playing.

I’m not exaggerating the screaming as some posters have suggested - it is screaming and it’s continuous. They’re on the trampoline every morning and from our upstairs window this morning I could see the screaming was coming from two of the kids physically fighting. The parent came out and got the youngest child and then left the fighting kids to carry on.

Honestly it’s not even the screaming, as much as the time it’s happening as well as the noise level. I can zone out an early lawnmower and go back to sleep, I’ve slept through our neighbours extension work starting early etc, it’s all part of community life. I can zone out the screaming once I’m up and focusing on other things.

But I can’t sleep through the non-stop high pitched screaming and I really needed the rest today.

We do have new-ish double glazing and the windows were closed.

Not before 8 am! No one should be making noise that early outside