Help!! I think my neighbours children are in danger

[Jjhx]

I need some advice and wasn’t sure where else to ask! A neighbour close to me has two young twin girls maybe aged 6 or 7, most nights they scream at the top of their voices, like a really terrifying scream, you know when a scream isn’t normal. I’ve anonymously reported it to the police before and not much happened. It has happening right now at 3.40am, it is so loud it wakes me up and I can hear it with my windows closed!! What more can I do, please help!!!

We recently moved from a rural house to a semi and my two girls are screamers. The poor neighbour has been v worried. The other day my four year old screamed like she was being hurt for about half an hour because I took her out of her bath. Sometimes it's because she doesn't get her own way. That said, we always take the time to apologise to the neighbour and explain and there are no other factors such as you've described. I would be understanding if she went to the police or ss as frankly then it might impress on the children not to do it! But also because I think it's better to do something in case than not.

I have young kids and they scream for the following reasons:

General meltdowns
Hearing issues
Having their hair washed
Night terrors
Recovering from surgery recently

Contact nspcc for advice but be mindful it might not be abuse.

How do you know the neighbour has been very worried? Has she told you?

Hi OP, I'm a DS in child abuse investigation - police get lots of calls about concerns for children and will always attend the address for a welfare check, physically see the children and check for injuries (although admittedly can only check what they can see, they can't ask a child to strip down to check their whole body) and will always speak to the kids providing they're old enough to talk/verbal. If there are no injuries and the children don't disclose anything then unfortunately there is nothing they can do but they'll also check the home conditions, that there's enough/appropriate food etc as well and even if there are absolutely no concerns, information will still be shared with MASH so it might look like nothing got done last time but all of that should have happened at a minimum.

If you have concerns just report again.

Do the children have any special needs? My child will scream like this at times and it’s due to their condition.

OP, you have done the right thing in calling the police previously. The fact that the children 'look unkept' and are not going to school are also red flags.

Please keep calling the police and report to social services. You can find the details on your local authority website. There will be a number that you can call to report any concerns. I always think of the neighbour of that poor little Sara Sharif who heard banging, angry shouting and a child crying over and over again and they didn't report it ☹️

You say they’re not going to school much - do you know what school? You can also contact for the attention of the designated safeguarding lead. Obviously they can’t intervene on what happens at home but it may help them have a full picture

Sorry but reporting someone to a place like ss just because a kid screamed is nasty. Ss can cause hell to innocent families and to do that for no reason is just cruel.

My son used to scream true blue murder when he couldn't get his way over something. He had a really stubborn will (still has it!)

If you'd ever walked past you would have thought 'maybe that child's being hurt'

Used to scream on the way to school sometimes too!

Edit posted too early.

So you just don't know. But I would report to NSPCC and call police if necessary.

It's a shame you don't seem to chat to them, they could just be a family struggling to cope.

My 10 month old DD was screaming inconsolably last night at 11pm because I was gently trying to persuade her to stay in bed. I really hope someone doesn’t call the police on me.

And people thinking like this is why some poor kids can be abused for years without anyone intervening.

You're wrong and clearly have no safeguarding training.

OP if you are hearing screams that sound like pain/fear rather than tantrums call 999. I work in this field, safeguarding is everyone's responsibility. Maybe it is behavioural/SEN maybe mum needs help and police can make appropriate referrals, maybe there is a child being harmed repeatedly next door.

If for just one second you think those kids are in danger, you call 999. Don't hesitate. It could be they're autistic , tantrums or something else perfectly innocent. But don't ever wonder if you're doing the right thing by calling the police. Yes you are. Better to be safe than sorry.

Did you report op? Hopefully the children are ok
My ds had a phase of doing this most nights for about a month because of night terrors, it's awful to hear and they do sound petrified, a different type of cry. I would have been mortified though if one of my neighbours called the police on me, but I guess you never know what goes on behind closed doors so better safe than sorry.

My child used to wake up in the early hours with a terrifying scream nearly every night for a period of time. I'd go to him and he wouldn't really know what was wrong, and he never made sense. In the morning he wouldn't remember it. It was night terrors.

I do have safeguarding training, for the record.

Good God

No @nosleepforme
you do not
you know it
we know it

You need to do some revision then

This. There was a recent case where the neighbours did nothing and the child sadly died.

Hope it's sorted soon, OP, a nightmare for you.

I find threads like this this ridiculous: the poster hears upsetting screaming in the early hours of the morning and, instead of calling the police no matter what the experience of doing so was before, gets on MN.

Someone I knew once heard someone screaming in a block of flats and did nothing about it. The screams got quieter and quieter and then stopped. A body was subsequently discovered.

When you hear what you suspect is danger you call the police. You don't even have to give your name. They could probably hear it over the phone during the call. You could ask other people in your street if they heard it too.

I'm sure Sara Sharif's neighbours agreed with you. Also Arthur Labinjo Hughes', Logan Mwangi's and many others.

Surely nastier if a kid is seriously injured or dies because someone heard and did nothing?

If it's night terrors or something then the police/social services will find that out when they attend.

Record their screams, take that to the police