Children playing in the garden

Put a camera at the back so you have a record of further interactions. If the police have come our your neighbour has clearly embellished the story.

Ball games at 10 would piss me off. However. She's got no business shouting and berating them in there own home. She wouldn't like it it if they shouted back at her.

I personally would put a note through the door.

I am sorry if DC disturbed you. We agreed that they would come in at 10pm and I will endeavour to stick to that. However, I do not appreciate you shouting at my children. Your behaviour was totally unacceptable and I won't tolerate it moving forward. I would be sad if our cooperative relationship was soured unnecessarily.

Obviously they shouldn't be playing ball games anywhere near that late. To be respectful I would stop anything that makes noise around younger kids bedtimes ( say 6pm) in case there are any nearby. Talking fine, they can't police that. Your teens are entitled to be in their own garden talking at normal levels until whenever you think is ok.

My neighbours got drums. Even hearing them start playing makes me angry. They often start at 10pm. Absolute dickheads.

They are, but there’s this thing called consideration for others.

Very odd for police to attend a noise complaint of football. That’s for the council. Police attend for anti social behaviour. So they aren’t just attending due to ball games.

They are not children. They are teenagers. They are making a lot of noise “playing” ball sports. They sound an absolute nightmare. 10pm is way too late! Why should your neighbours not be allowed to enjoy their garden in peace in the evening?

Agree that basketball noise is very wearing in those forced to endure it and current curfew is too late. I’d stop ball games at 8.30 at the latest. It will also be impacting on other folks ability to enjoy their gardens in peace.

While not wrong, 10pm feels late for balls but not garden use.

We are currently putting up with similar from our neighbours, the noise I can deal with but it’s the constant hammering off the fence that’s bothering me. Going to have to speak to their parent about it.

Basketball till 10 at night would really annoy me but so would a dog barking at 6.30. I think you are both in the wrong.

What are they playing in the garden?
Why the bold writing?

No it's not

And

No it's not.

We're they talking about something inappropriate? 13 year old boys can be graphic.

Would you say the same if it was a dog barking at 10PM in their garden?

Fuck off are they. Anyone can play in the garden. Even <gasp> adults

Teen boys tend to have no volume control. When mine gets together with his mates talking in the garden the noise of their booming voices carries several houses down the street, so we tell them that they must come in by 9 pm. Yes, I know technically no-one should be complaining till 11, but given that some of the neighbours have small children, or are elderly, or have fragile health from time to time, I see no reason why DS and his mates shouldn't learn to be considerate.

When my friend's boys were in their early teens, they had a basketball hoop on the wall of the house. The repetitive noise of it was horrendous, but friend had got so used to it, it didn't even register.

I reminded her of how much it wound her up when she stayed at my house for a week, and next door's kids used to bounce a football repeatedly on the pavement to see how long they could do it for. It was really fucking irritating.

This is so depressing to read and is part of what’s wrong with our society today.

teenagers should absolutely be out playing in the garden and enjoying themselves outside. They are not too old at all.

Drums are the worst.

I had a BF who was a drummer when I was in my teens. They lived on the edge of a village, and you could hear him drumming a good half-mile from the house. He was forbidden from drumming after 6pm.

Your fundamental mistake, @Boytwinmum, is forgetting this is Mumsnet. Where the rights of people who hide from all social interaction, to live in utter silence, trumps the needs of children. If they were in the park, there would be a thread on how they were interfering with people who wanted to sit on the benches in peace and they should go home to their own garden.

You sound perfectly reasonable. Unless your neighbours can present some kind of compelling reason they need everything silent by 8, I'd ignore them and tell the boys ball games need to end by 9, but that's as far as I'd go.

In my case, I live in a ground floor flat and the kids from nearby houses come to play ball in the blocks large lawn area.
Although they make a bit of noise, I tolerated it until one kid kept deliberately kicking my wall and window.
I spoke to him and he was very rude, so I followed him home and spoke to his mum. She gave him hell and the ball to wall ended.
Only once since then there was a single ball to the wall, so I leaned out of my window and asked if I needed to speak with his mum again.
No more trouble with him since.

I'm with the neighbours. The constant thunk of footballs and basketballs and the shouting that goes with it would drive me bonkers after more than an hour. Can't they go and play in a local park or sports centre?

10pm is far too late if it's every night. The ball bouncing would drive me mad. 8pm is late enough. Why can't they go to the park?

@Viviennemary why is a 13 yo to old to be playing in the garden? Who decides these things? What should they be doing? Playing computer games all day?

I've lived in very close knit gardens and got a bit fed up with my prev neighbour wfh (loudly on calls all day) in the garden but people should be free to use their gardens for whatever the purpose they want. My neighbours teens are always in the garden with their parents and I think its lovely. We have a massive problem in our town with teens congregating and causing havoc so I think its great that yours are happily to be our playing sports with their siblings. Stop cutting your neighbours grass. They are well with in their rights to have a discussion with you and ask to keep the balls banging down from a certain time but not to raise their voice at your children or demand they don't use the garden. And yes bring up their yappy dog.