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The original was posted on /r/AmItheAsshole by /u/ThrowRAnew_user on 2023-09-08 16:30:15.
My husband and I live in a detached home in a densely populated city. Although the homes are detached, they are very close together (less than a foot apart)walk-up style homes. Our bedroom is in the back of the house and has a balcony overlooking our small yard. Because of the proximity of the houses, our balcony is right next to our neighbor’s similar balcony and is also overlooking their small yard. We’ve lived here for about three years and have never had noise issues with neighbors, because everyone is sensitive to the proximity of the houses. This includes a bunch a college age guys who used to live in the house prior to the current renters, who would often have bonfires and listen to music but were always respectful of sleeping hours.
A young family with a kid who’s about 2 years old moved in a few months ago. We met the parents and they seemed really nice. As soon as they moved in though, they started taking their screaming toddler outside to play every morning as soon as he wakes.
Since then, we have been woken up every singe morning, including weekends, between 6:30-7:30am to a screaming toddler right outside our bedroom door. We haven’t said anything and have tried getting a loud noise maker and insulating the exterior door with soundproof insulation, but the kid’s shrieks are still impossible to sleep though. I am pregnant and am having a hard time sleeping and am generally exhausted all the time, so this is driving me crazy.
This morning, we were woken up at about 6:30. I decided to poke my head out the door and politely asked my neighbor (the kids mom) if she wouldn’t mind waiting until a little later to start playtime outside. I explained that I was pregnant, the location of our bedroom, and that we had tried other noise reduction options with no success.
The mom flipped out on me. She told me I was insane for complaining about a toddler, that I was going to be a bad mom for not giving grace to people with kids, that I needed to get used to it, and was generally yelling at me in front of her kid. She also said she was going to start bringing the kid outside even earlier now. Her husband came out and also started yelling at me, to the point where I couldn’t hear them because they were yelling at the same time. I told them it was nothing against their kid, but that I needed to be able to sleep.
When I realized they were incapable of having a civil conversation, I told them I was going to have to put in a noise complaint. They told me I was TA for calling the police on a two year old. I called my mom and she agrees it’s rude to call the police on young parents, but I feel like I’m going insane without sleep. I also worry that when my baby is born in a few months, my newborn will be woken up by their screaming toddler. The police came and the neighbors didn’t answer their door, so they cops told me there was nothing they could do but to call back if it keeps happening. AITA?
Edit: the noise ordinance expires at 8am on weekdays and apparently later on the weekends, so they are in violation. The ordinance applies to noise above conversational level, which the shrieking certainly is. I also initially called my city’s non-emergency number with the intention of entering a complaint there, and was transferred to the police - I didn’t not call the police.