Neighbor's screaming grandchild.....

Colleen

Colleen

Senior Member
Location
Pennsylvania
Just curious how you would handle a neighbor that's very close to our back yard (we're only separated by a 10' right-of-way) that has their 4 year old grandchild stay with them several days a week and screams constantly. Would you just ignore it? Believe me, it's very nerve wracking. There isn't any barrier between our properties that would block some of it out. We had an estimate last week on having a block wall built but it's way over our budget. I dread this summer.
 

Colleen said:
Just curious how you would handle a neighbor that's very close to our back yard (we're only separated by a 10' right-of-way) that has their 4 year old grandchild stay with them several days a week and screams constantly. Would you just ignore it? Believe me, it's very nerve wracking. There isn't any barrier between our properties that would block some of it out. We had an estimate last week on having a block wall built but it's way over our budget. I dread this summer.
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I would try talking to them.Child could have autism or something that causes him/her to scream.Would hate to call CPS if that were the case. But if you think the child is being abused then CPS should be advised to look into it.
 
terry123 said:
I would try to talk with them. If that does not work then I would call CPS. There is something wrong if a child is screaming non stop!
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And, with CPS dropping in to check things out and mentioning all the crying, maybe the people will take that as a hint to extend more effort in the department of helping control or redirect the child's attention/focus.
 
Colleen said:
Just curious how you would handle a neighbor that's very close to our back yard (we're only separated by a 10' right-of-way) that has their 4 year old grandchild stay with them several days a week and screams constantly. Would you just ignore it? Believe me, it's very nerve wracking. There isn't any barrier between our properties that would block some of it out. We had an estimate last week on having a block wall built but it's way over our budget. I dread this summer.
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Is the child out there in the backyard alone?
That would really trip my alarm bell.
 
There are many people that only think of themselves....I had a similar situation with a dog,constant barking, sometimes damn near all day a few years back. You could try talking to them ? But prepare yourself for the "so-what" argument.
 
rgp said:
There are many people that only think of themselves....I had a similar situation with a dog,constant barking, sometimes damn near all day a few years back. You could try talking to them ? But prepare yourself for the "so-what" argument.
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I don't bother talking to people like that anymore. I just call animal control and they shut it down fairly quickly. If it happens again, they get fined.
 
From the description of the O.P. , I think this is more of an annoyance thing than a concern for the child’s safety. There’s no mention of being worried about the child or thinking that the child is in danger.

So my response is yes it would be an annoyance so I’d turn up the radio , close the window and or put earplugs or a headset on with music piped in.

We can change our attitude about how we feel about our neighbours but we can’t change them or what they decide to do. You can go over there and ask if they could keep it down but then you are causing needless friction. I think it’s best to my your own business unless you witness abuse.

We once had neighbours who were dog breeders. We didn’t like all the excessive barking but their dogs didn’t care. We learned to tune them out.
 
No way would I tune it out. Austin has disturbance codes. Non-stop screaming is covered, along with dog barking issues. I'd definitely talk to the folks, first, and if I didn't get satisfaction, they'd be talking to the city Code Violation department and/or CPS, real soon!
 
C'est Moi said:
If the child is just making noise there is no reason to call CPS. Good grief, they have actual abuse cases to work on.
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I see the idea behind calling CPS as a sort of psychological action, where CPS bringing to the attention of the people, all of the crying that's being reported, maybe, possibly, the people might get the hint, no?

I mean anything IMO is worth a try...
 
Aunt Marg said:
I see the idea behind calling CPS as a sort of psychological action, where CPS bringing to the attention of the people, all of the crying that's being reported, maybe, possibly, the people might get the hint, no?

I mean anything IMO is worth a try...
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I have a friend who works for CPS. They don't have time to deal with the hundreds of actual abuse calls they get each day so I'm pretty sure a child making noise would not be a priority. Do you think these agencies have nothing better to do than handle silly neighborhood complaints? If you want to "bring it to the attention of the people", then walk over there and talk to them like a grownup.
 
Gaer said:
Nope. Tough it out.
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I think its worth offering them some sympathy too, as they're obviously closer to the noise being generated. These days with conditions such as ADHD the child could maybe be in that kind of complicated situation, and the grandparents are trying to give the parents a break from the constant noise.

My own child screamed more or less constantly from 6pm in the evening to mignight, up until she was six months old, (a condition called "six months colic"). We tried to get whatever medical assistance there was back then, and the choices were dope the healthy child up with drugs, or accept she'd grow out of it. We chose the latter, of course, and were comforted by the fact she was healthy, and slept well after the evening ordeal, (poor neighbours had to suffer a bit, but the house was detached, one neighbour elderly and pretty deaf, so she was fine, and the other two seemed to understand our problem).
 
JaniceM said:
This is true. As these agencies have limited time and manpower, too many children who are really abused continue to be harmed or even die because workers are sent on "wild goose-chases."
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The problem though is that you don’t know if it’s a wild goose chase or not. Non stop screaming is very much a red flag in my opinion.
So whose job is it to determine if there’s an actual situation or not? CPS or the police won’t know to investigate if they’re not called.
 
Ronni said:
The problem though is that you don’t know if it’s a wild goose chase or not. Non stop screaming is very much a red flag in my opinion.
So whose job is it to determine if there’s an actual situation or not? CPS or the police won’t know to investigate if they’re not called.
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Well, if it was extreme I don't think the OP should just ignore it, of course. I'm not familiar with her location, but if it's safe to do so she could pop up at their door with a "friendly hello" and see what's going on.
 
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grahamg said:
I think its worth offering them some sympathy too, as they're obviously closer to the noise being generated. These days with conditions such as ADHD the child could maybe be in that kind of complicated situation, and the grandparents are trying to give the parents a break from the constant noise.

My own child screamed more or less constantly from 6pm in the evening to mignight, up until she was six months old, (a condition called "six months colic"). We tried to get whatever medical assistance there was back then, and the choices were dope the healthy child up with drugs, or accept she'd grow out of it. We chose the latter, of course, and were comforted by the fact she was healthy, and slept well after the evening ordeal, (poor neighbours had to suffer a bit, but the house was detached, one neighbour elderly and pretty deaf, so she was fine, and the other two seemed to understand our problem).
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How would you feel if your neighbours called CPS on you because your child had 6 months of colic.
I’m not a mom but I’ve heard plenty of screaming babies. It’s not ‘that’ unusual.
 
Keesha said:
How would you feel if your neighbours called CPS on you because your child had 6 months of colic.
I’m not a mom but I’ve heard plenty of screaming babies. It’s not ‘that’ unusual.
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But the OP said the child is 4 years old.
Still, there could be plenty of reasons for the child's behavior, and I think she should try to find out what's going on.
 
Keesha said:
How would you feel if your neighbours called CPS on you because your child had 6 months of colic.
I’m not a mom but I’ve heard plenty of screaming babies. It’s not ‘that’ unusual.
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I thought my post was largely in agreement with yours, saying "Nope" etc.

In my case we had regular visits from the health workers and they were fully appraised of the screaming, and advised us on our options, so if CPS were called I imagine all would have been fine, (though I accept you'd have felt annoyed at the neighbours too). I was once unreasonable to mine, would you believe, for waking our child by cutting their lawn, (and I complained to them!).
 
JaniceM said:
But the OP said the child is 4 years old.
Still, there could be plenty of reasons for the child's behavior, and I think she should try to find out what's going on.
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I was referring to Graham’s situation in particular.
I’m still sticking to the fact that the OP made no indication that she thought this child was in any danger.

If she could hear this child crying ‘that’ easily then she could probably hear abuse happening if there was some. We also don’t know how long this has been going on for. Days, weeks, months, years?There’s not enough information and the information stated refers more to the annoyance than concern.
 
Personally, unless I had a close relationship with the people in question, I wouldn't even consider knocking on their door or approaching them regarding, as most people I know are not at all open to, receptive of, or tolerant of such forwardness by strangers.
 

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