Noisy children

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roker said:
Noise is well accepted as pollution, interesting the early morning rubbish collection does wake us up especially with the reversing alarm. Also you should consider that a lot of society is on shift worker for our convenience.
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What if the OP's child was in the back room and the kids were in next doors back garden and playing basketball at 8pm. Would you call that noise pollution?
 
Maybe Yachtie if you could go back to the neighbours and say that things really got on top of you and you were totally stressed out and dont want to fall out with any of the neighbours that maybe they would appreciate that and be a bit more thoughtful towards you. Just wondering do you know these neighbours fairly well? Would you visit them on occassions? Bring your husband with you as its easier with two to explain. Tell them maybe you acted too quickly. I sincerely hope you get it sorted out soon as it must be really difficult for you.
 
Ignoring children is the only solution. I think this thread is further proof of the disconnect between Ireland of old and the celtic tiger era. Can you imagine neighbours calling the guards over noisy kids 20 years ago?

People are almost set in complain mode these days.
 
Calling the Gardaí for children playing probably earned Yachtie Douze Points in the Local Buachaill or Cailín Gan Geal Competition. The written complaints probably ensured overall winner each year for life also. But, what will eventually happen when Yachtie Óg gets a little older? Beware the Valley of the Squinting Windows.

In fairness to Yachtie the situation from his/her points of view were rolled out and in support of the sleeping child. There are many silent Yachties in every road, street and avenue in Ireland who ring our police for the least thing. Ireland has become a why-should-I-put-up-with-any inconvenience state which probably was an inheritance of the Celtic Tiger. Can you imagine your local police station where gardaí are returning from some unpleasant stabbing scene and the phone rings and some I'm-a-taxpayer looney wanting children's playing noise quelled on the road?

The thing is, Yachtie will be blamed for every future appearance of the Gardaí on the road. If a traffic fine is delivered, Yachtie will be blamed.
I think we have become a dispassionate people with the I-love-me and I am always right syndrome. I reckon the whole nation will have to take one giant chill pill and learn to live and let live.
 
Cease and desist all contact, all complaining and all conflict immediately. Do not approach your neighbours again for any reason.

The kids will get bored/forget about bothering you and indeed, playing basketball, after the next fortnight of rain that is inevitably coming down the tracks (its summer after all).

Also, remember the old saying “This too, shall pass”. These children will be older next year and will have moved on from playing outside to drinking their parent’s alcohol in the park.

I’ve lived in my current home for 6 years and the first two were mental with kids being really noisy until all hours and really making me lose sleep for fear that my house or car would be damaged. Never happened. Years of peace followed but now there is another wave coming through. They don’t (and won’t) even know I exist.

Kids don’t acknowledge the existence of anything they are not interested in. Don’t give them a reason to take an interest in you. But since you already have, stop.
They’ll find something else to do or someone else to annoy. By the time your little one is old enough to go out and do the same thing these kids will be long gone.

M
 
Do you know anyone who's kids you can 'borrow' for a few nights? Give them a basketball, or maybe more, and send them down in front of the house of the kid who owns the basketball hoop. Get them to play there for as long as possible. If they do get asked to move, well, they can't go down the road to your place as there's kids already playing basketball up there and 'we want to have our own game down here'. Might make those parents appreciate the noise that is being caused.. Or you could take the ignoring the kids approach, that might work as well.
 

Possibly phrased a little bit harshly Leper but pretty much along the same lines I was thinking. I can just imagine the Gardai being asked to come out because children are playing basketball at 8:30 in the evening - how dare they! And can you imagine the great excitement for those children when a Garda car comes along to watch what they're up to!
 
yachtie said:
Reinforcements from neighbouring roads came in and there were about 15 children with 15 balls on about 2 meters (with of the road), bouncing balls of our cars.
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I would not want to have 15 basketballs strike my car. I wouldn't call this type of behaviour "play".

Marion
 
Marion said:
I would not want to have 15 basketballs strike my car. I wouldn't call this type of behaviour "play".

Marion
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15 basketballs boucing off a car would do damage. If there was damage, then that is a criminal offence. Did the Guards just ignore the damage that was caused to the car? If there wasn't damage, they were obviously just trying to get a response and it worked. By the way, I know basketball clubs that don't have 15 basketballs. Must be some popular sport in that area.
 

I think that's an unfair post. In the 'Ireland of old' parents took complaints from neighbours seriously and did not just dismiss them with a 'kids will be kids' attitude. Children themselves also had a bit of healthy respect for adults and, if ordered to move away and play elsewhere, would do so. Too many parents nowadays just defend their kids against all complaints and all accusations raising a bunch of annoying little brats who turn into the kind of self entitled adults who can't see why they shouldn't play music at ear blasting levels, leave their dog out barking in the garden all night and basically do anything they like because it's their house and consideration for the neighbours shouldn't come into it.

I agree that calling the guards was a bit extreme, but I do sympathise with people having to put up with noisy kids constantly playing outside their house and getting cheek and provocation if they dare say a word to those kids and a disinterested attitude from the parents when they try to sort it out reasonably. It's hardly surprising that some people end up over reacting.
 

OP never mentioned that there were 15 basketballs
 
I cant believe some of the responses here.

Yachtie, it would drive me mad even without a child trying to sleep, and the fact that you asked for them to move on and tried to address it peaceably only to be met with 'its not your road and we can do as we please' which is an adults answer from a childs mouth if ever I heard it, just goes to show that the parents of these people are the ones to blame and not the kids themselves.

However, you have tried to solve it in peace, you have escalated it by calling the Guards, and still no joy.

The only answer is to make the area right outside your home unattractive to them using suggestions already given like mosquito, powerhouse etc..

In my day if we continued playing a ball game outside someones house who wasnt happy with it they would take the ball off us. Parents calling down would get roared at and Guards called would tell us that it was a civil matter. No one was bothered paying a solicitor for one ball so parents would tell us kids to move on and play elsewhere.

I am not suggesting you do the above - but it worked when I was a kid.
 
Thanks for all the replies again!

I want to reply to all of you but keep failing as I get emotional and I wouldn't want to come accross as flippant and rude to those who feel that we should shut up and put up.

I really appreciate all your feedback and it seems that majority agrees that ignoring them and not rising to the provocation is probably the best way to go. All my senses are on the highest alert and this isn't easy. Last night, a milkman came to deliver this morning's milk and collect payments (to / from several houses) for last week. Those boys went straight to him demanding that he moves his van and getting rather rude when he told them that he would 'in a minute'.
 

I'd definately ignore them in that case. God knows what you might draw on you.

I'd have fun with that mosquito thingie though (Just don't get caught!).
 

Nobody is saying that you should put up and shut up. People are simply pointing out that you seem to be upsetting yourself over kids playing basketball at 8pm on a summers evening. Fine it's annoying but at worst, they will have stopped by the time Winter comes. There are people trying to bring up kids beside houses that have constant parties that go on all night. Not trying to belittle your issue but I honestly don't see why you are letting it get to you to the extent where your senses are on highest alert. You make is sound like you are under seige and if that is the case, contact your community officer in your local Guards and ask him to talk to your neighbours on your behalf if you don't want to face them.

Not worth making yourself sick over.
 

You reinforce my point if anything; the parents who defend the kids are selfish and are only thinking of what would make their life more comfortable, which is also what the OP wants. If you live in an estate you're going to have to deal with noise, especially if there is plenty of kids and teens present. You control what happens from your gate to the back of your house, after that you're going to have to accept that not everything will run according to your needs.
If things go beyond a certain threshold then you need to be able to show some tact, and approach the kids or the parents in friendly manner. Once you put pen to paper you will reinforce the will of the parents to not let the uppity resident (their new percetion, not necessarily the reality)tell them what to do.
Dealing with neighbours is not the same as dealing with business, so keeping things informal is key.
 
The tip about wetting the road was a good one and not something that pople will cop on to when its done either. But don't throw in some builders sand for added effect
 

But the OP did try initially to sort it out informally but just met with bland, unhelpful attitudes. Of course you have to deal with noise on an estate, but parents should also be able to deal with complaints about their children in a manner that does not antagonise the complainant. I think asking that kids don't erect their basketball hoop right in front of your house instead of their own houses is a perfectly fair request and any reasonably copped on parent would just say 'yes, sure, sorry about that' rather than arguing about it.

I'm not saying going to the Guards was an effective thing to do. I'm saying I can see how people nowadays get antagonised to the degree that they over react because they've just had enough. Far too many parents nowadays are way too precious about their kids. If a neighbour doesn't want them playing outside their house, just tell your kids to play elsewhere. If they disobey you, ground them for a few nights, stop their pocket money, whatever. It won't kill them, and will avoid a lot of aggro.

I have, on occasion, had to ask kids to stop skateboarding right beneath my balcony or congregate in big gangs under my sitting room window when there's a green a few yards away. They just push off elsewhere, no hassle. Obviously better brought up than the brats Yachtie is dealing with.
 
MrMan said:
If things go beyond a certain threshold then you need to be able to show some tact, and approach the kids or the parents in friendly manner.
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The OP tried the friendly approach and on the third night was told, by children, that it wasnt her road and they could do as they wanted. Thats clearly coming from parents.

MrMan said:
Once you put pen to paper you will reinforce the will of the parents to not let the uppity resident (their new percetion, not necessarily the reality)tell them what to do.
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You see, this is the bit I dont understand. I wouldnt think the neighbour was being uppity, Id be annoyed that my kid was bothering the neighbours!

The reality these days is that this country is populated by selfish ignorant eejits who are raising the next generation of thugs.

Children, if they are bothering neighbours, should be put in their place by their parents. End of. This business of 'its not your road, we can do what we like' - from a CHILD! It says it all about the parenting going on.
 

And even if somebody did think their neighbour was being uppity (which I don't Yachtie) surely it makes more sense to say to your kids 'look, she doesn't want you playing there so just STOP! That's the end of it, no arguments ' instead of jumping to your kids' defence over every little thing. Then maybe they might grow up to be responsible adults who know how to consider others, rather than self centred, self absorbed horrors who think the world owes them a favour.

Been a lot of stuff in the papers recently about parents whinging and whining when their badly behaved kids eventually get thrown out of their schools by beleaguered principals. Too many silly 'no one can say no to my precious darling' parents around nowadays.
 
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