Noisy children.

Babs758 "that device" you mention is available as an app on your phone. I have it on my phone but haven't used it, although I have been very tempted over lockdown. Have been using industrial earplugs outdoors instead but the young kids next door are such loud screamers that me and other neighbours can hear them screaming even when we're indoors. However, we do understand that this lockdown is partly to blame and, once the kids go back to school, the situation will improve (we hope)

I think that as far as possible we have a right to a bit of peace in our own homes. I have lived in three different houses since I got married 40 years ago.

In the first (a small modern terrace) there was a young family next door, and the children played in the garden, which was right next to my sitting room. The house was small, and there was nowhere I could go to escape the shrieking. They weren't doing anything wrong - just playing on a slide (and paddling pool in the summer), but it felt relentless, and used to get to me at times.

In the second house (an inter-war semi), there was a couple who had got together after their respective divorces, and each brought a dog to the relationship. The people left for work at 7.30 every morning, and the dogs set up a howl and yapping counterpoint until they returned at 7.00pm. It drove me insane. There were children about (and I lived there when mine were babies), but none of them were as maddening as those dogs.

I now live in a Victorian terrace, and thought that the walls would be thicker and there would be less noise, but no. A family has recently moved in, and they are so noisy that it feels like they are in another room in my own house. The father is the worst of all - he seems to stand in the middle of the house and shout for the children, and when the football is on TV (he works in the sports industry) he chants and whoops as though he was on the terraces, which means that the children don't know any better. I hear the children now and then in the garden, but it's in the house that they are all so noisy. They have knocked down the wall between the reception rooms downstairs, so they use it all, and I can't move from one room to another to get away from the noise. They have also taken out the carpets and fitted wooden floors, which makes the noise so much worse - particularly when they run up and down the stairs.

It is selfish, I think. I know that everyone will make some noise from time to time, particularly children, but I didn't let my children behave like that. They weren't allowed to play outside before 9.00am, and came indoors in the evening, and if there had been screaming I would have brought them inside, where they were reasonably quiet.

They do need to learn that other people have to be considered, or that selfishness will spill over into other parts of their lives.

By the way her line is 'For the first time in forever' over and over again getting progressively louder!

My 3yr old granddaughter is into Frozen at the moment. When she comes round she runs up and down our garden path singing (shouting) the same line over and over again at the top of her voice. I love hearing her 'singing' but I do wonder what our neighbours think.... ?

Bad manners include shouting screaming and annoying other nearby who are entitled to sit in the fresh air outside in their gardens/homes and enjoy also in restaurants enjoy their meal but so many times this doesn’t happen So many children are not taught manners anymore which is sad end of rant !!!

Do some posters think this noise issue is only in the garden? In this warm weather, some 'inconsiderate' noises can be heard throughout the home.

I love to hear children playing but we too live next door to "screamers". They literally scream all day and I've never heard children that cry so much. Mother is a drama teacher who spends most of the time with her nose stuck in her phone. Then when the children go to bed they sit the other side of the fence with a film on the iPad full blast! Aaargh

For heaven's sake, what have you all got to complain about? You're all lucky to have gardens and the leisure time to sit out in them.
I live on my own and am very happy to hear the children either side of me playing and laughing and yes, shrieking with delight at being sprayed with water I thought we were all supposed to be a bit kinder and more tolerant at the moment. Borrow a grandchild's ear phones and listen to some rock music...that'll sort your problem!!

Getting a new family next door soon, two young children four and seven I would think, we have a semi, and I am wondering what the noise level will be like in the future, both from within the house and in the garden.I want to keep on good terms with the neigbours but dreading the new noise level, we are mostly retired people who live in this area, and are used to quite a peaceful life.

I love the noise coming from children at play but children screaming out of fear and pain makes me upset. The two children at the bottom of my garden are lovely but the youngest (about 3) is bullied by her brother and is alway crying snd then I just hear mum and dad screaming at him. Stop screaming in anger mum and dad and your son may just calm down a bit! I love kids though and noise at 9.30am is more than acceptable in my book.

You are lucky as my daughters neighbours are up at 5.30 am and very noisy - 2 young boys who just have bundles of energy to burn off.

Of course children are no noisy now then before it’s your level of tolerance that’s changed

I can hear several children playing near mine but the only one that bothers me is one little girl who is a screamer. What does bother me is the number of young women who seem to talk (and swear) really loudly. I used to have a neighbour who I could hear clearly above my tv or radio, and when she was in the garden the whole street could hear her. Thankfully she has moved now ?

Our 3 dgc are incredibly noisy. Our dgd (sisters) are coming up 5 & 12 & dgs is 4. I would constantly tell them to turn the volume down. Due to being shielded I haven't seen them in person since the beginning of March & miss them more than I thought possible so right now I would give anything to hear the 3 of them & our dog running around making a racket in the back garden!

God what a horror story for you. I just thank goodness my kids were relatively ‘quiet’ when little.... they learned quickly that daddy was a shift-worker ,and sometimes needed to sleep all day! I took them to the park to ‘run riot’ as it were. Thankfully my daughter has passed the curtesy onto her two aged 13 and 8.... they have never been noisy kids! In houses AND gardens she stressed they had to use their ‘indoor’ voice. Out in parks and beaches they could do as pleased. But they didn’t.... they say now they prefer quiet.... who knew eh! A little early training can work miracles. Don’t get me wrong they can be very loud when the 8 year old is standing up for her rights against the big brother....but can soon be quieted and come down to indoor voice. Never too early for learning self-control.

Children should be seen and not heard!

I’m a former SEN teacher, Mother to 3, and now a grandmother to four lively grandchildren, personally I don’t mind hearing them, unless they’re arguing! I totally agree nonetheless that persistent noise such as screaming must be be irritating. However, after having had a neighbour whose main vocabulary involved lengthy screamed expletives, I found that far far worse as we were consistently monitoring the situation as whether to report for abuse. I will not go into why we did not as the situation was complex, and thankfully happily resolved so please do not criticise me for this. I just wanted to make the point that maybe be thankful for happy, healthy children and parents, even if inconvenient at times, especially in this COVID-19 period.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Where we live now most of our neighbours are over 50, just a few older teens who are no trouble noisewise.

I think children (and adults) are noisier these days, and I agree with another poster that loud American TV programs and films influence this behaviour in children.

Don't get me wrong, I too like to hear children playing and having fun. But there's playing and there's unnecessarily noisy behaviour.

A few years ago we had neighbours with five children. The whole family was loud, the mother was always shouting, screaming and swearing at her noisy kids. So it was clearly behaviour learned from their parents. The youngest girl (about 8 years) was the worst, she'd be up between 5-6am every morning in the school holidays and weekends shouting from her bedroom window to her friend who lived in the street behind us: "Tracy are you up yet?" repeated over and over and over again until she got an answer. Then a conversation would continue at the tops of their voices: "Are you coming out to play. Can I come to yours. What d'you want for breakfast. What are you going to wear?" Etc, etc, etc ..... The parents just ignored them. When the two girls played in the street together it was even worse because all the other neighbourhood children joined them! When another of our neighbours complained the father took a swing at him!

After three years of it we moved to our present house. Oh the bliss of living in the country! The noisiest things are the birds and a few motorbikes at weekends.

Wax ear plugs are best

I am convinced many adults now have hearing problems probably due to all the loud music in pubs, clubs and their tendency to play music systems loud. They don't hear the high pitched screaming and shouting.
High frequency usually the first to go in hearing. I am constantly bombarded with children screaming and shouting in gardens. At times recently I felt there must be at least 6 children in a garden but only the two from household. Absolutely no checking on what children are doing, never hear an adult voice asking why they are shouting so much. Worst of all is childminder next door who shouts at children when she wants their attention when they're at bottom of 50' garden and she is in the house. Makes me jump when she yells. Great example to children on how to communicate!

Noisy neighbours can be very irritating and not all the time can be children. Our neighbours have friends around and drink, talk loudly and splash around in their jacuzzi until after midnight. I hope that, now as I am a senior, I haven't 'turned' into a grumpy as I remember having lots of parties, probably my children playing noisily and have created a fair amount of noise myself I guess, however, I never had any complaints from neighbours, always invited them to parties and let them know when the volume might be hiked up. It is very annoying though.

I accept kids will make a certain amount of noise. I don't mind the odd loud shouting or squeal of delight. But, I have noticed the kids near me (6 of them from about 2 -12) have a tendency to shriek non-stop, sometimes for hours, and the parents never tell them to tone it down. They even have screaming contests! I know if we'd screamed that loudly as kids our mum would've issued one warning then we'd been taken indoors until we could learn to keep noise to reasonable, tolerable levels! I'm aware lockdown has forced kids into the garden and apart from watering my plants and putting food out for the birds the kids have the (communal) garden to themselves every day. It would be nice if neighbours could curb excessive noise - I don't expect them to be silent but sometimes it's too much when 6 hours of non-stop screeching hurts my brain! And when they have other kids visit the noise level is multiplied. In answer to the original post - yes, I think kids are noisier (and parents unwillingly to intervene or discipline).

I wouldn’t think it abnormal in any way, but it may be more extreme at the moment, or you may just be more sensitive. Hardly surprising with the last few months we’ve had! As long as it’s not when you’re trying to sleep, I wouldn’t worry. Perhaps if you’re n the garden relaxing, you could listen to music on headphones. Kids will be kids ?

The simple answer to that question is yes, children are noisier these days. I love to hear children playing and am not bothered by the sound of them enjoying themselves, however loudly. What I do find irritating (and painful !!) is the loud screaming lots of little girls engage in. My own 7 yr old DGD greets her friends with prolonged screaming, each attempting to outdo the other, which can go on for for an unbelievable length of time. Only similar screaming we engaged in was reserved for pop stars.....aahh the Beatles. Arguments between DGC involve trying to out shout each other. And I feel for those poor littlies trying to get their parents attention as they are ignored in favour of the mobile phone , think I would feel tempted to yell loudly too.