Neighbour unhappy about kids playing basketball - how do I handle this?

[Lockdownfunk]

Occasional past poster here (NC).

Our two teens have been playing basketball during lockdown, for maybe a few hours a day tops.

One neighbour has complained about the noise via text and says another neighbour (who I don’t know) is annoyed too. They’ve said the ball ‘constantly’ hitting the backboard is intrusive and have asked me to do something about it (and have offered to help with a solution if they can).

I absolutely don’t want to be a nuisance neighbour, so would like to do something ... but what?

It’s a robust hoop (secondhand, £500+ new) but, being freestanding, does rattle around a bit when it’s hit. We have nowhere that a hoop can be fixed to a wall, which might make less noise. The only supposedly quieter model I’ve found costs £1,500 and needs concreting into the ground.

Everyone’s obviously stuck at home so we need to be considerate - but because everyone’s stuck at home, don’t people also need to make some allowance too for kids letting off steam in their gardens? A bit of daily basketball keeps the teens sane; they love it, and it’s exercise.

We’re rural, detached, spread out - not houses on top of each other - and the kids play on grass, not tarmac or concrete (so the bouncing isn’t an issue). It’s just the (clattery) backboard banging - which is pretty central to basketball. I’ve looked online and there isn’t much we can do to adapt it.

I haven’t responded to my neighbour (it’s been a few days) and feel I ought to; I’m getting quite stressed about it. The kids are on at me as I’ve asked them to pause playing for a few days while we try to figure out a compromise as a family ... but we’re getting nowhere (other than the idea of suggesting a maximum of an hour or so in an agreed time window), and today ended up full-on rowing about it.

Any ideas? Do the neighbours need to bend a bit? Or do the teens just need to stop? Thanks.

OP, I could accept an hour or two a day. The noise for us is from when the child wakes up to when he goes to bed with a break for lunch. Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud all day.

An hour of that sound is reasonable.
If your DSs love basketball, can they do some other form of conditioning for the 2nd,or subsequent, hour(s)? My son was advised to run distance, run and dribble up and down the street, and lift weights as well as shoot hoops. All can be be done very quietly. Very important for those boys to be active!

Well, dribbling is not...but your neighbors can f*ck off if that's a problem. You can dismiss them as Princess and the Pea-type Dementors.

There was another post earlier this week about someone's neighbours having sex all day and the noise/disruption it was causing.
Most of the replies were finding it funny and making into a joke. How it is annoying but what can you actually do?

These are children (teenagers are still children) playing in their garden. Yeah it's annoying but it's Lockdown. It's different, kids can't go anywhere.

Mumsnet is strange with responses to two different noise scenarios.

Out neighbours have a basketball post and their kids play for hours too. The repetitive noise drives me absolutely demented.

An hour a day I could cope with.

I think kids can't win... Stuck in all day, lazy.. out all day a nuisance and making noise. If people want absolute peace and quiet they should go to a desert island .

Your neighbours are unreasonable. It's not your kids' fault they are stuck at home. They have to exercise. If it was me, I'd just say that. But yeah, time limits would seem like a compromise.

An hour a day is fine. A few hours a day, every day is not.

These are not normal times. In normal times your neighbours and your teens wouldn't be in earshot of each other all day, every day.

I think offering to compromise by limiting the duration would be the right thing to do in the circumstances.

The son of neighbour's one houses down is playing for a couple of hours a day.

I reckon 150 ft from me...it would never occur to me to complain. Its during day light.

Kids need exercise.

I wonder if you’re my neighbour, OP - though I don’t think so because my neighbours’ children were playing yesterday. I was gardening out in the front and thinking how nice it was to hear them having fun. In normal circumstances on a warm afternoon like yesterday and today the street would have been filled with children playing so it was lovely to hear some normal sounds if it makes sense. On the other hand, their next door neighbour on the side of the hoop is a health carer so I’m not sure she would be totally unreasonable to complain...

I agree with setting time limits and I would probably ask if neighbour had a preferred time of the day for the children playing but I wouldn’t stop them completely.

My neighbours frequently swear loudly at each other and we can hear over the garden fence. Like that's how they talk to each other in a normal conversation.
Shall I ask them to stick to one hour a day to do this??
(And no I can't talk to them about it as I just get abuse )
The kids are playing. In their garden.
Unless you choose to live in the country away from people...........you will hear things.

I think your kids should be able to play basketball for a few days. People on here are so weird and contrary - normally when its neighbours doing all sorts of building work they say it's fine during the day! Your kids are allowed to enjoy their garden. If the neighbour has issue, perhaps they should put earphones in.

What else could block the noise - what is the border between the houses like? Can it be extended? Can it have something added to it, like that egg box foam, to absorb or bounce back the noise?

Would a couple of sandbags on the foot of the hoop stand help?

What about checking the hoop carefully and ensuring no movement, blocking up any loose areas with sugru or something?

Maybe if the neighbours have their living room at the back of the house It would help if you moved the hoop to the front of your house.

Oh FFS as if teenagers aren't having a hard enough time already? OP please keep them on the Xbox all day instead of allowing them some exercise, fresh air and release! Seriously, I can understand the noise might be irritating but it's for one or two hours per day - it's not all day every day. Live and bloody let live!

Op why not try and compromise in stress if taking the there’s nothing I can do about it do tough attitude.

Go and stand near their house and listen. The noise goes on for hours every day.

I think we should all try and be a bit kinder. The obvious compromise is to reduce the time the boys make this noise? Teach them how to be decent, considerate adults but not push overs. They can disturb the neighbours a bit, but not drive them insane.

But then by the toe if your responses, and the fact that you didn’t reply to the neighbours, I don’t think you are going to do anything. That’s your call. But don’t expect any favours or compromises from your neighbours in the future.

A few hours a day is a long time though @RosesFan - it’s not one hour two.

and Xbox or basket ball are not the only choices.

They can go for a run or a cycle or read a book or do some studying or kick a ball or wash the car or bake a cake or learn a language or lift some weights or make dinner or go for a walk.

Your kids are playing I think your neighbours being unreasonable. The kids near me are in the garden most of the day screaming while playing I wouldn't complain about them.

I would reply saying you apologise for the noise and inconvenience their exercise has caused them. Instead you’ve decided they should concentrate on their music studies. Surely you can pick up a few cheap second hand brass instruments to play in the garden! I’m sure they’ll be keen for them to return to Basketball after a few days of that 😂

Clearly a limit is needed. Your son won't be gutted because he will still get to play just not for hours on end .

Do not change anything, they are being active kids during the day, not blasting music out after 11PM.

I get annoyed by everything but I couldn't get annoyed by this.

I think your neighbours need to chill. It's not grating like music or screaming imo.

You neighbours are being absurdly precious. This is normal neibourhood background noise.

If they are going to object to normal reasonable noises, I think the onus is on them to suggest a reasonable solution.