Can noise from kids be anti social behaviour?

jimbms

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

Well, I'll remember that for my degree studies in Acoustics. Especially the bit where I have been used as the guinea pig for the tutorial group precisely because I can hear sounds at lower and higher frequencies than the conventionally accepted range.

Then I am afraid you are one of those people often found here that happens to not only have some exceptional power the rest doesn't but also conveniently has a degree in every subject argued about. No further discussion needed.

slimgym

I don't know I agree with the Mosquito but for it to have got far enough for someone to install one it's required multiple failings from parenting, council, police etc. I couldn't care less if people want to make noise, but that should not be at the detriment of people who want it to stay quiet. There are places to make noise and around peoples homes isn't one of them.

It seems common sense and decency is being lost and there are no laws or rules which adequately protect the decent people anymore.

We're on the market to move too - it's not to say that's going to foist someone else with the problem - they might be people with kids themselves or that kind of noise might not bother them.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

jimbms wrote: »

Then I am afraid you are one of those people often found here that happens to not only have some exceptional power the rest doesn't but also conveniently has a degree in every subject argued about. No further discussion needed.

Nope, no other degree studies, just the one I'm talking about here.

I just didn't fry my ears in clubs/workshops or with headphones the way others chose to.

Argue all you like if you want. I can hear the wretched thing, the distance thing may be due to my living in a flat, so the distance is shorter as the crow flies, but the frequency is definitely something I can hear. I wish I couldn't though.

heretolearn_2

We live on a little cul-de-sac too and the kids here have boomed in numbers over last year, and they've all suddenly got old enough to play out. It does get noisy at times but they are not a bad lot so I just grit my teeth and try to remember being 8 years old myself!

I am the meanie person in the street though - I'm quite happy to yell out the window at them when they go too far, resulting in lots of 'sorry's' and disappearing kids, so I think I scare them a bit (fine by me). We have a car port and the other night some little boys were using it as a goal, quick yell out the window about 'what if that hits my car! Go and use your own garage as a goal!' and they scarpered! But I don't mind them coming into the garden to collect lost balls etc, or just general playing noises. It's a balance between them being able to play - and I thoroughly approve of kids getting outdoors - and not causing too much disturbance.

I know when we were little we were the bane of one house in our street where the man worked night shift. We TRIED not to play outside their bit, but of course it happened sometimes, and we'd get told off. These days people would probably try to get an ASBO on us.

Kids need to be kids.

shadowknightz

Bloody kids! They see fit to kick their football full pelt at all the neighbours' cars and houses. There is now a dent in the car across the street! Not only this but the woman who lives next door has two kids and every day goes across to her mum's, leaving the kids in the house to do what they like, which results in a lot of screaming and banging when they get into fights. Whenever they have one of their arguments all you can hear is kids running up and down stairs and throwing things.

I had someone official from the council over to discuss the estate and talk about putting a "no ball games" sign up, and while this was going on, the children next door got into another huge fight involving loud banging so the council person is now aware of what I have to put up with. She said she'd send an official warning to the house in question threatening their tenancy if it keeps up. The woman who lives there is a quivering and cowering person who has "bad nerves" and because of this apparently cannot do any job on the market whatsoever because she's been leeching benefits for the past 15 years. The idea of her being evicted because she thought it was okay to leave us to hear her screaming brats all day is a nice one.

unholyangel

I can sympathise. Kids playing doesnt really bother me. Its when they play "lets see who can scream the loudest" or stand roaring "mum" instead of using their legs to walk 20ft i get annoyed.

Our court really shouldnt be played in as a lot of cars are parked there and several cars (including my flatmates) has been damaged/had a window smashed due to the kids.

Police arent interested in any of it. I work nights so summer holidays is a nightmare for me trying to at least get some sleep. I love winter as the kids are indoors early. What most people dont stop to realise is that they might work 9-5 or might not work at all, but there are people who have to work shifts (nurses, paramedics, doctors, police etc) and while they may think it is fine for their kid to be screaming blue bloody murder at 3pm, that 3pm may be someone elses 3am.

I would love to use earplugs but if i do, i might not hear my alarm clock. As a result, i've not had more than 4 hours (usually i get 2-3 hours) sleep in the past 8-9 months (previously the area i lived didnt have any young children)

ceridwen

kevinyork wrote: »

Well this thread seems to have just been re-ignited.

Out of interest, I posted this thread in mid July 2009. Shortly afterwards, realising that

a) we could not continue putting up with the noise and

b) that in reality there is absolutely nothing (legal) that we could do about it we put our house on the market. We got an offer in September and moved out in November 2009!

I cannot tell you the relief that came from moving out and the stress that was lifted off us. We now live in a quiet village in a small close of a few houses occupied mainly by retired couples. There is one family in one of the houses but we are surrounded by open fields so we never see the kids (who are lovely anyway). It is so quiet and the only noise are the Birds! Fingers crossed it always stays that way.

I would advise anyone who is considering purchasing on a medium to large new housing development to think about their proximity to areas where kids can congregate and how that would impact upon them.

Well - you have certainly given me food for thought as to the type of location (not) to choose a house in if I ever move. So - thank you for pointing out the type of problems I wouldnt even have thought of...

Fortunately, in the area I'm in there are only the odd few "problem kids" and they are a bit away from me.

Some people are too selfish to bring their children up properly and their kids are then a nuisance to other people - thank goodness I don't live in an area like that.

Sorry to hear that you had to go to all the trouble and expense of moving to get away from all those noisy kids - hope you enjoy your new home:)

vic_sf49

I know the OP eventually solved their problem by moving, but other people with a similar problem should try to disrupt the kids while they're playing.

If the kids and their parents won't take suggestions to keep the volume down whilst outside, encourage them to play somewhere else. If a game of football / skateboard competition / bike track springs up every day in front of your house, get in your car and slowly drive up and down the road.

They will get sick of interrupting their game to move, and hopefully will shift to the play area or elswhere. If their parents complain to you, it'll give you a chance to get your side across. If they won't listen, it's a road / cul-de-sac so what come back do they have?

Of course if they stick to the pavements, you might have to rent one of those mobility scooters to achieve the same result......although can they legally be driven on the pavement?

unholyangel

vic_sf49 wrote: »

Of course if they stick to the pavements, you might have to rent one of those mobility scooters to achieve the same result......although can they legally be driven on the pavement?

It was my understanding it is only legal to drive them on the pavements and in most cases it is illegal to drive them on the roads unless you have a valid driving licence, a class 3 mobility scooter and your scooter can attain 8mph. Class 3 invalid carriages need to be registered for road use, be licensed in the 'disabled' taxation class and display a nil duty tax disc.

Although i find it interesting as if you were to drive a motorbike or actual scooter at 8mph, you would likely be stopped by police (yes you can be stopped and given a ticket for driving too slow!).

lola34

Theres a small group of children in our around our street and the surrounding that get together and play now its the holidays it can be until 9pm (I can hear the horrified gasps!!) but children are children, I know we can't watch them all the time, but my windows are open when they are round here to keep an eye on whats going on, yes they shout and argue, think I even did that as a child as I would have thought did many of the posters on here, they play football but away from any cars and peoples flowerbeds, as for shouting and swearing children learn from their parents so if the parents shout and swear the children will follow suit. At the end of the day they are children, let them be children and play outside, it also depends on their age we have a few 'green' areas nearby but as the youngst is 6 I prefer to have him nearby, so if it skateboarding / bike ramps then they are probably older so could be asked to move, perhaps they just don't realise the noise/ inconvenience they may be causing with the games.