AIBU to struggle with neighbours' children screaming while working from home?

[fld]

One of the few things I am not looking forward to the next few days are screaming kids.

Two families that moved late last year and earlier this year have 5-6 kids between them and all they do is scream! They run outside and scream. As the properties are in an odd shaped quadrangle, their screams bounce off the walls. Making the screaming even more intense. The kids’ ages, c3-9 years old.

My job is hybrid, so didn’t get this issue last summer as properties the kids live in - one didn’t have kids and the other had kids and behaved.

I had to close a window to keep the screaming down. There is no way I would close a window when it’s 31c.

I do wish parents would tell their kids that screaming is not acceptable. My work is two thirds on calls ti various customers, other staff in other departments and my team’s colleagues. I can hear the screaming from wearing the call headset.

Any tips will be appreciated

They can have fun without screaming like banshees surely.

This. ^ You sure can tell which posters CBA to parent their own kids on threads like this! Not really oblivious as to what a nightmare their kids are (for neighbours and the community,) but literally not arsed.

No it’s not, in fact there are lots of businesses situated in residential areas, but there are restrictions to stop the businesses inflicting noise and excess volume of road users on residents.

Residents having noisy children that they can’t be bothered to parent isn’t the reason.

You clearly don't know what a decent person is.

I know many decent people and none of them hate me. Decent people live and let live. They don't hate.

Decent people care about not causing undue nuisance to those around them because they can't be arsed teaching their children that some levels of noise aren't considerate towards others.

Nobody should have to listen to screaming all day long. Whether they’re WFH, retired, sick in bed etc!

Just because they’re kids, does not give them the right to make a racket for hours on end actually and I would certainly tell mine to pipe down otherwise they would be brought inside. Problem is, then they’d actually have to do some parenting which they seem keen to avoid.

It all just feeds in to the entitled, selfish nature of so many people today.

Not at all. My kids are actually pretty quiet compared to many.

I've worked from home for 20 years, so long before I had kids, through neighbours having babies, young kids, birthday parties, extensions etc. 2 hours of noise a couple of times a week, which can be mitigated, is pretty minimal disruption in the grand scheme of things.

You're not the default adult. You don't need to be actively watching out for them.

Depends on the levels of noise...

I bet it’s just regular kid noises and not ‘screaming’.

Go to your office or rent a working space.

I sympathise - 6 years ago a family moved into our very quiet road next door to me. There are 6 semi detached houses surrounded by bungalows with elderly and disabled people living in them. We are all very quiet but the new family moved in with a toddler and roughly 4 year old and the dad of the family does bathrooms and kitchens and on the side seems to rent out various vehicles. The kids screamed constantly from day 1 and seemed to be left in the back garden without supervision. The front drive is a building site with vehicles, tools and noisy cutting of wood and metal at all hours. He stands on my wall and in my drive to get stuff out of his van. The parents shout constantly, block people’s drives with all the vans and vehicles people seem to come to look at and sit on my wall smoking while they wait. Then they got a puppy which howled and barked constantly and jumps over the wall to chase my cats. I work from home and during school hours now the kids are older and the dad is at work it’s usually quiet but I’m yet again dreading the summer holidays when the shouting and screaming will ramp up. I just don’t know how they can’t realise how awful it is for everyone around them.

I think you need to look for a positive solution::
block out some time in your diary between 3-5 and schedule calls before 3
in the school holidays more desks should be available in your workplace as more people on annual leave .

the kids need to be able to play - sorry you are being unreasonable

I have the same problem, I don’t understand why the parents aren’t also wanting to rip their hair out because of the screaming. I can do noisy kids but why do they need to scream!? My only tip is that having windows open in the heat is a bad idea anyway. Keep curtains and windows shut as soon as the morning starts to heat up! Move to the room furthest away from the screeching and wear noise cancelling headphones for your calls

It is but if you’re trying to work from home and listening to the LV advert being sung constantly it’s pretty tough

I think a really polite message with lots of nice things but just mentioning the screaming in particular before 5pm would be helpful and you can say that they’ve been heard on zoom calls , blame your boss and the weird walls

You obviously don’t have screaming kids near you then, because the kids on my street will literally scream for hours. Yesterday the older boy shouting boo at the 5 year old girl outside my house for about 45 minutes and she screamed high pitched to every boo, once every 30 seconds. Last week they just ran up and down the road screaming and chasing one another all day. They’re just having fun but screaming is the worst to listen to. Parents could have said ok guys, let’s not scream we have neighbours, but they’re just in their front gardens chatting, like they’re immune. While the 4 houses around them have gone up for sale

Work in the office. Homes are homes first and foremost. It is a you problem that you want to work in a space where people are living.

Whats wrong with Classic FM? I love it.

There is no reason why parents can't actually parent and stop any unnecessary screaming that is probably irritating the shit out of all of the neighbours.

Are you one of those parents? 'My little Jemima is entitled to scream until she is hoarse because she's just a child' Nah, fuck that mate.

I also couldn't give a toss if kids are on their screens or outside, I just don't want children outside my house screaming like banshees. There is absolutely no need for it.

Empathy is severely lacking here 🙄

FFS, why can't people at least read OPs posts before they post suggestions that have already been addressed.

It's cancel the cheque all over again.

There’s playing noisily and then there’s full on annoying bloody screaming for the sheer hell of it.

Not sure what the answer is OP. It must annoy the other neighbours too? Maybe have a word with the parents
( if you dare?)

Short term options - try to work in the office every day. You are about to hit holiday season so there will be more colleagues away / less demand for desk space. Pay for co-working space for days you can’t. Look at moving your working hours, start an hour or so earlier, take a break 3-5, do another hour later when it’s quieter.

that’s for this summer. Next get your house on the market and look to more to a more isolated location.

You can't possibly know that, you're just hypothesising.

If it was actually an all day issue that'd be rubbish, but 3-5 is hardly a hardship when you have peace and quiet all day. Kids have been sat in school and are just letting off steam. Save your moans for the summer holidays!!!