Is 6.30am too early for young children to play in the garden?

[Getbackinthebox]

It is light early in the morning and young children often wake early. The weather is warm at the moment so being outside in the garden in the early morning can be attractive to some people. However, if you had a young child wake early would you have them out in the garen playing at 6.30am, bearing in mind that young children aren’t often able to play quietly and keep their voices down? Also, would you raise your own voice to join in their play and interact with them at that time or do you think it is too early to let them into the garden? If so, what time do you think is acceptable?

much too early, very rude.

I would’ve kept mine if we were getting ready for school and work. My neighbours had no children and one of them finished work very late. I didn’t want her woken up early by my children, especially as I could prevent it.

I don’t understand this. You’ve had a terrible nights’ sleep, dozed all night but finally dropped off around 4am when it was coolest, you’ve to be up at 7.30 for work, but at 6.30 the neighbours kid wakes you by “playing quietly” in the garden. I would not be at all happy.

One of my neighbours ( man around late 30s) stands in his garden having a VERY loud and long telephone calls every morning at 7am. Children at 6.30 wouldn't bother me.

So inconsiderate of your neighbour!!!

No. Take them to a park if they absolutely need to be outside.

My colleague got so fed up with her neighbors doing this (despite asking them nicely not to that she paid her 8 year old to get them with his massive water gun, then mowed her lawn at 9pm!

I wake up every day at 5am. Yes, 6.30am is too early. Most people are still asleep then and it’s not fair. I let my kids out no earlier than 8am. Sometimes the sneak out when I’m hanging washing out earlier and I take them back in.

And that’s fine if the whole country has a different working pattern. Other countries also have a siesta, and work later into the evening. In that context it might be fine, but that doesn’t mean it is ok here.

I like this level of petty. Our water pressure is really powerful here, if we set it up right, our sprinkler hose would soak next doors’ garden. I would totally be watering my garden at 6.30 in this scenario. You have to do it before the sun gets too hot. 👍

In this weather it’s fine. I let mine out at 7am today as they’d been up since 5am and desperate to go outside. Obviously I was out there too trying to keep them as quiet as possible. They are inside not using the garden at all 80% of the year given the weather in England so in my view neighbours should tolerate a few noisy mornings in the Summer. They can equally shut their windows if they are bothered, people are allowed to use their own gardens. Likewise my neighbours teenagers often have late night gatherings in their garden when it’s warm out while my kids are trying to sleep but I wouldn’t dream of complaining as they are quiet most of the year and I am quite happy to suck up a few nights of noise while the weather is good. Some people on this thread are really entitled and uptight. Obviously neighbours should be respectful of each other and not be dicks but it’s hardly selfish to let kids play outside early in a heatwave instead of sticking them in front of the TV so Carol next door can have a lie in on a Wednesday.

This week, yes. It’s unusually hot. I wouldn’t be offended by the noise given the circumstances

Oh I had this at my previous house! It was hell. Kids out in the garden at 6am every day of the summer holidays. Bearing in mind I never got into bed until about 230am (due to work) and was woken every single morning I’d be in a constant haze of tiredness which just spiralled. My husband too. Neighbours complained to the family but no notice was taken.
we moved a year later so I’m not sure if it carried on the following summer

Who the hell is sleeping at 6:30am in this heat? The bins are being collected at 5am

kids playing isnt an offensive sound

I read this as very inconsiderate ‘to the parents’ 😅 which is also true

Its too bloody early for screaming kids. Id go ballistic. Keep them indoors until a reasonale hour.

In the heat, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to get them out early but it is still inconsiderate to be a loud arsehole.

I feel the same about the people enjoying the cooler night time air at 10pm. Normal conversation is fine, but shouting and bloody music is not.

We live in Victorian terraces with high ceilings in some rooms, so cooler than modern houses. The living room is cool in the early morning, and most of the time, so our neighbours had an indoor cool option where their children could play early in the morning. I never let my children out before 8am when they were little. I think it is also about teaching the children what is acceptable. My children would be surprised if we had our back door open early morning for all the sound to spill outside never mind actually be in the garden making lots of noise at that time! I was therefore sanity checking what the majority would think!

Far too early to be outside making noise. If I got up at 6.30 when I was a child my mother would have sent me straight back to bed.

Our son gets up between 4am and 5am, particularly in this heat.

We keep him inside until at least 8am. I think the earliest this weekend was about 8:20.

Absolutely this. I often wonder what planet some posters live on. On Tuesdays and Thursdays anyway we have the bin collections at 6am ish all year round. I can’t imagine complaining about someone’s small child in their garden in the early morning in a bloody heatwave. Where I am rain is due back next week so the children will be stuck indoors so isn’t it great to get out while you can.

Especially as I've climbed up a ladder in the pouring rain to rescue his stupid cat off our shed roof when it decided it couldn't get down again. He watched me do it!

No it's too early and not fair on neighbours.

@Thatcannotberight He sounds a right PITA!!! I hope he gets his comeuppance!!!

Hahahaha brilliant.
Kiddo took his role very seriously. He had the pistol set up and in place the night before (think he would have been very disappointed if they hadn't gone outside the following morning). The squarks and waaaaaaaaaahhhhhh were apparently priceless.
Oh and the lawn looks great.

It’s too early for most but we are retired and wake early anyway. Next doors kids are out at that time and DH opens the bedroom window and mock shouts at them which they find hilarious. We babysit them and he has a number of similar running jokes with them. We probably aren’t typical😄