Noisey Neighbour

Felicity

What an awful situation you are in.

I understand you not wanting to rock the boat with your neighbours (especially knowing how awful they can be by their screaming) HOWEVER, this is a little girl that you are talking about, a baby.

You must please do something about it. This is NOT NORMAL. Nobody that cared for their child would treat them with such disrespect and contempt.

You are only 'hearing', I cannot imagine what that little girl is 'seeing'.

Children are children (and learning their way in the world, yes, often by being naughty and pushing the boundaries) and your neighbour needs to learn to understand that, maybe you can get them some help in developing their parenting skills by reporting them?

Good luck with your decision and the outcome, I don't know a great deal about social services but from what other people on this thread have said I doubt you would be identified.

PasturesNew

Report it. I'm sure Rose and Fred West were nice neighbours ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_West

Felicity

Just to add (if it helps) we are very fortunate to have fantastic neighbours and I very much value our relationship, however if they were behaving this way towards a child and I didn't feel that I could approach them about it I would definitely seek help elsewhere for the childs sake.

Again, good luck!

mum2one

As the neighbours are private, then you would need to contact environmental health, who would say keep a diary for 3 weeks, and depending on the findings is how they act, once they are contacted they usually contact the party saying a complaint has been made, but no names given. Both NSPCC and Social services you dont leave your name, just give them as much info as you can, as the other poster suggested keep a diary as this would back up what goes on. xx

naijapower

You need to contact EH and they would give you a sound diary which needs completing. As it gets worse, they would serve them a Noise Abatement Notice under Statutory Nuisance legislation within the Environmental Protection Act 1990. And if it continues, they might take them to court etc

pogofish

Just to second all the good advice above.

Start keeping a diary of the noise & look-up the details of the antisocial behaviour unit at your local council. The hours where they should strive to keep noise to a minimum are 10pm-8am & broadly where kids are involved, most authorities accept a principle of reducing noise from around 8pm. Saying that, excessive noise at any time can be deemed a nuisance but you will have to work a bit harder to prove it.

Kids & noise are a difficult issue at best & most authorities do recognise that youngsters will inevitably produce a certain amount of disturbance & we have to live with that. What you describe sounds way beyond it and it points to other parenting issues as well.

If you want to report anonymously about the kid's treatment, most social work departments/NSPCC maintain a hotline - again the local website will be where you start.

misgrace

Please, please try and do something regarding the emotianal and perhaps the pyhsical abuse of this 3 year old child, a baby really.

I know you are probaly scared of rocking the boat, incase you are over-reacting, but you have to something, as you wouldnt be able to live with yourself if something happened.

The thing is also, that sometime the social workers are easily duped by the parents, (look at baby P), but perhaps if like the OP mentioned you keep a log of the shouting and screaming, the times, how long it goes on for, and perhaps have a tape recorder at the ready, at least you have the proof, just in case they get fobbed off.

Is there any chance of putting feelers out to the neighbours on the other side of them, perhaps they hear it too.

Errata

The OP is concerned that the parents may find out they've contacted social services or the NSPCC - they won't because of those organisations treat concerns with great confidentiality. However any discussion the OP may have with neighbours may get back to the parents.
As the OP has concerns about numerous incidents that have already occurred of the child not being treated well, I'm not sure what purpose keeping a diary of further events would serve.

shinjukumaster

Good advice above. Its a tricky situation, but do something now - as it will only get worse. Keep a record of all events.

janey_uk

Absolutely report this to social services. It's not about noise, it's a moral duty to the child. You might be the only people who can help.