If you live in an apartment block or terraced house, you are going to have to expect a certain level of noise, as it goes with the territory. If you are lucky, you'll have neighbours that are considerate and who make efforts to keep any disruption at a minimum.
So what do you do if your neighbours are constantly noisy and the culprit is their toddler? It's a dilemma one person is facing on Reddit. The tenant readily admits that they are is not perfect by any means, but the child's constant stomping and thumping in the room above her apartment is beginning to get to her.
"My neighbours in the apartment above me have a small child," the anonymous person explains. "I have never actually seen the child, I just know because my flat-mate told me they do. They never seem to bring the child anywhere.
"The child runs (stomps) up and down the hallway in their apartment above us every day and every night. From 7am to midnight. This goes on for hours with no break. I don’t understand why they don’t bring the child outside for a walk or some exercise."
They are exasperated and understands they need to tread carefully, but the situation is having a serious impact on them. The tenant also explained that they have nowhere to turn for advice, as the landlord won't help.
"The complex manager never ever does anything to maintain or intervene in the complex or any matters relating to it, so that’s a dead end. I’m trying not to lose my cool but this child’s running is so loud and constant that I can hear it in the shower, over the television and it wakes me up first thing in the morning."
The Reddit poster has no noise issues from her other neighbours. They are also painfully aware they may even create their own noise at times, but make quick steps to reduce any disturbance.
"I have parakeets that sometimes can be loud for one or two minutes maybe 2-3 times during the day, sometimes not at all, but they are also affected by the noise in the environment around them.
"When they are loud I scold them and cover the side of the cage and they calm right away. So I know I’m not the perfect neighbour here."
Her Reddit post did not produce much in the way of solutions, but there were many who were experiencing similar noisy toddlers.
One person wrote: "My upstairs neighbours have a toddler who runs from 6:00am to around 10:00pm. It's constant pounding on my ceiling. Sometimes he throws really loud tantrums. I've spoken with the parents and they express empathy, but continue to use the excuse, 'well, he's 2 years-old, so there's not much we can do'.
"I've reported it multiple times to property management with no assistance. Last night I called the evening concierge, and he was blown away by how the parents refused to be accountable for their child's behavior [sic]. At this point I'm just going to start retaliating."
A similar experience for another: "We have similar neighbors [sic]. Kids running around from 10am until 1 or 2am some nights. I mean, who doesn't love being woken up in the middle of the night by stomping and banging when you start work at 5:30am, right? Ugh."
Finally, drastic action from another person who had to leave his home due to the noise: "I could've written this. Couldn't last a full year so I'm moving December 1st."
