Neighbors Against My Daycare

[DCBlessings27]

No Neighbor Complaints

I know this is an old thread.

Daycares in my city as fairly common in my area of town. I've never had any of my neighbors complain. We go outside during the weekdays in the morning or afternoon-- never in the evenings. I have retired neighbors, and they still haven't even complained about my daycare. The lady directly next to me has even let her granddaughters come play with my daycare kids. A neighbor behind me is very friendly and keeps her dog from barking at the kids. My daycare kids don't yell and scream--they play.

[Lightbeautyflower]

I had a very similar issue. My neighbors are the town bullies for a lack of better word. They have an issue with anything and everything and will take anything to the higher power to fight it.
When I first moved in and they found out my daycare was following me it turned into a nightmare. They constantly bad mouthed me, my personal life and my children. Funny part is that this is a couple that worked with my father and respected my family. Until they decided that a daycare was not right for there neighborhood. Some complaints they had before I even opened were traffic, noise, the "type" of people I would be taking and what toys would look like in my yard. They didn't want to see any of it. They considered toys an eye sore.
Come to find out the only reason they were fighting my daycare was because the villiage would not let the husband park his commercial business trucks in his driveway. They couldn't have a business and I shouldn't either.
This woman faught dirty. I have a (at the time) 10 year old son who along with the other kids in the neighborhood played outside. I don't allow my dck's outside without me. We also live within feet to all our local schools. Meaning my son and neighborhood kids have to walk and are not offered a bus.
This woman in a nasty attempt to shut me down called CPS and my state registar and told them that I allowed my dck's outside alone unsupervised. Resulting in 2 toddlers almost getting hit by a passing bus. So the state came, investigated and saw I only had 2 infants unable to even walk went out to my yard and saw clearly by the lack of grass that when I did have kids they were safely away from the road and that I had barriers set so they couldn't pass. Oh I forgot to mention the day this went down we had gotten in an altercation. She knocked on my door during business hours and she was cursing me out in front of the kids for running a business in my home. I told her in the nicest words I could at the time where to go. I DID call my registars office b4 she did and warned them that I thought she would be up to something.
The outcome was I was found not guilty she got in trouble for reporting false claims and a couple months later she was on me for something else.
NOW 6 years later they compliment me on what a great business I run and how she never hears the kids. I still don't trust her by any means but somethings I do to "avoid problems" are

Ask parents not to turn around in her driveway
when I do have the kids outside we never scream
If they do we go inside
If a baby has a cranky day and is crying alot i will close my windows and use the ac instead
I do make sure to clean the yard up at night

Oh and finally I painted the side of my house that they see an ugly color so maybe they would stop looking over

Good luck and do not let them get to you. You have every right to run your daycare. Hopefully over time they will adjust like my crabby butts did!

Thank God for your post. I'm new to the business and have to go through the same proccess of obtaining a conditional use permit through my city zoning office. I am now more confident about starting my business as I have not had much help from family or friends. Thanks again.

[Meeko]

Thank God for your post. I'm new to the business and have to go through the same proccess of obtaining a conditional use permit through my city zoning office. I am now more confident about starting my business as I have not had much help from family or friends. Thanks again.

The original post is an old one,,,but I had to get a permit before doing a group size day care.

The city put a notice outside my day care house and then I had to go to a hearing and see if any of my neighbors showed up. I was very nervous as I have a few neighbors who like to complain for a living.

The city guy told me while we waited, that even if anyone DID show up...they would have to have a VERY good argument in order for me to be denied.

Saying that they thought there would be noise etc is not good enough. The city will not turn down an application unless neighbors can PROVE it will be a disturbance

Not one soul showed up to the hearing. We waited until 5 minutes past the meeting time and then the man told me I was approved!

[Unregistered]

Fed up

I am afraid I agree that it can be unfair to neighbours to run a daycare from home if your house is very close to your neihbours and your adjacent gardens are small. I personally do not think this should be allowed unless you have a sufficient large garden so as to not disturb your neighbours. we are all entiteled to some peace in our own homes.
I live next door to a small daycare centre. She seems like a nice lady and she does not run it every day. However, I have 2 special needs kids myself, my husband works out of state and I only get a couple of hours to myself 2 days a week. so when I am kidfree I like to go out and enjoy my garden and read a nice book. I should be allowed to do this I think. I am stressed most of the time and need a break. However when I do this all I can hear is her talking to the kids as if she is standing next to me saying yellow over & over again. I just want to throw a god damn brick at her. They are all toddlers so they scream in a high pitched voice and just make a racket in general. My kids are noisy but I control it. I do not allow them to run around the garden screaming as it is not fair to my neighbours. Would I like them to be able to run wild in the garden. Yes!!! But given are gardens are all so close and very small I just do not think its fair. Why can she not do the same?????? There should be guildlines put in. Also we as the neighbours should not be the ones to have to put into place noise reduction walls or windows. We are not the ones making a profit from all the bloody noise are we??? Plus I rent so cannot just put in double glazing or a new wall. I feel like the only way I will ever get some peace is if I move and that I think is unfair. We all need to make a buck but if you want to run a childcare move into a house with a big garden. I dont waat to be a moany old cow so I have not said anything to them but I just want to have peace and quiet on my kid free days. I just do not think you should allowed to run any kind of noisy business from a residential home unless you put in noise pollution solutions.... There I have had my whinge!!!

[renodeb]

This post really caught my eye because when I first opened my home child care I got a compalint in the mail. It claimed that I was running an illegal business out of my home and that children where running around the neighboorhood unsupervised and that it was going to raise the insurance rates and lower property values. I called our home owners association and they had to keep me on hold while they looked into it. Ofcourse I was right and was well within my rights to run a licensed fcc. Luckily those neigbors have moved. We are very quiet as well. Some people just have nothing better to do but make trouble. Im so sorry that your having to go through all of this and I hope all of this gets resolved soon.
Debbie

[Lesparza]

Why?

Why would my neighbor make a daycare center next to my home in a residential area? A high volume year round, afternoon, children outdoors screaming while palying daycare. My home is where I come to to escape the everyday work environment. At least I thought that when I bought the house. It was not disclosed that there was a business next door.The parents picking up children drive on my grass while using my driveway as access, they honk intermittently for three hours a weekday night and sometimes Saturday to call their children. Their headlights shine in my windows and into my eyes unless I close all shades and curtains most times in the evening. They are God fearing, sweet, wonderful people who speak very little English(the only langauge I speak)....HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Unregistered]

Unwanted daycare (mine)

I know what is it like. Opening tomorrow; I'm afraid my neighbors are going to picket when my clients come to drop off and pick up. That will end my business. Has this ever happen to anyone else?

[Unregistered]

Peace and Quiet Please

We bought a house two years ago and did not realize nor were we told that there was a daycare caddy corner behind our house. The houses are close together here, but noone else makes any noise but the daycare. I can see clearly into the back yard where they have very used play equipment and I can tell you that there is NEVER an adult in attendance unless they are coming out to tell the kids to come inside. The kids yell as loud as they want while outside and for many hours per day, I cannot go outside without earplugs to work or enjoy my back yard. I feel that this is an infringement on my right to peaceful enjoyment of my home but our city does not regulate this noise! The only time there isnt noise is when its too cold or rainy for the kids to go out. Thank God we live in Oregon the rainiest state in the Union or we would never get peace and quiet!!

I think that if people want to open a daycare they should consider their neighbors first of all and do everything they can, like plant tall arbors, build a sound wall or whatever they have to do to keep the noise at a minimum. Why not start with good relations? What would make a person want to hurt their neighbors in this way? A selfish person who thinks that they have the right to do anything they want on their property would be the answer to that.
I have a dog and if he barks outside for longer than 15 minutes I can be fined up to 640.00 by law in this city. What about children screaming at the tops of their lungs for over three hours per day? Noise is noise. Nip it!!

[Unregistered]

I too live next to daycare. The noise goes through double glazed windows, wall insulation, and on into bedrooms, down the hall into the living room. Day care has built covered patio to the fence line for kids. They have installed speakers that play kiddie music aimed across the patio into my yard. Often the music is playing but no kids are even outside.

Day care providers take heed. The rest of us have rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I understand small claims court is one avenue for those whose peace and quiet is disturbed. Think it through and put yourself into your neighbors' shoes.

[Starburst]

Okay can someone please lock this already? It's a very old post (over three years old) that keeps getting brought up by unregistered people who have issues with their neighbors and take it out on other providers. Look, we are sorry that you are having issues with your neighbors but we are not your neighbors, talking to us won't resolve the problem- you need to address your issues with them. We understand your point of view but every provider (and neighbor in general) is different.

There is a lady on my street (who doesn't have a daycare, just 3 kids) but we always hear her screaming and cursing at her kids (they are all under 10) and they are always riding their bikes in our drive way and in the street blocking our driveway. 2 weeks ago her kids went to our front porch and tried to take a swing at a stray cat with a PVC pipe. I yelled at them to get off our property and said I would call the cops if I saw them try to hurt any more animals, and later that day when I went to get mail I heard the middle one (about 6 or 7) was calling me a "Fat @$$" and then hiding behind another neighbors car. She also swears at my roommates "Slow the *^#! down!" when they are driving down the street at a normal speed (we live at the end of a down slope cul-de-sac) because she is dumb enough to let her kids play in the middle of the street. Today two cars (friends of hers) parked in the middle of the street blocking our drive way when my uncle was trying to back out. She doesn't even own her house, but acts like she owns the neighborhood. In fact, right now I am in my room upstairs and I can hear her yelling from the street at her kids. The point is, its not just child care providers, there are all kinds of people who are disrespectful and rude to their neighbors. When I start my business I plan on having a clause where they must not disrupt my neighbors and have a lot of rules out of respect for my future neighbors (not planning on starting it at my current house with that banshee next door) because I would like the same respect but that doesn't mean that they will give back the same respect and they may still find something to complain about that may or may not relate to my business.

But seriously there should be a limit when certain threads with certain situations that need immediate answers (not including polls or random fun question threads that don't require fast responses) are more than 1 or 2 years old on the public forum they get locked, you can still see them for information purposes but not allowed for people to post and bring up a very old thread that is resolved.

[Former Teacher]

Okay can someone please lock this already? It's a very old post (over three years old) that keeps getting brought up by unregistered people who have issues with their neighbors and take it out on other providers. Look, we are sorry that you are having issues with your neighbors but we are not your neighbors, talking to us won't resolve the problem- you need to address your issues with them. We understand your point of view but every provider (and neighbor in general) is different.

There is a lady on my street (who doesn't have a daycare, just 3 kids) but we always hear her screaming and cursing at her kids (they are all under 10) and they are always riding their bikes in our drive way and in the street blocking our driveway. 2 weeks ago her kids went at our front porch and tried to take a swing at a stray cat with a PVC pipe. I yelled at them to get off our property and said I would call the cops if I saw them try to hurt any more animals, and later that day when I went to get mail I heard the middle one (about 6 or 7) was calling me a "Fat @$$" and then hiding behind another neighbors car. She also swears at my roommates "Slow the *^#! down!" when they are driving down the street at a normal speed (we live at the end of a down slope cul-de-sac). Today two cars (friends of hers) parked in the middle of the street blocking our drive way when my uncle was trying to back out. She doesn't even own her house, but acts like she owns the neighborhood. In fact, right now I am in my room upstairs and I can hear her yelling from the street at her kids. The point is, its not just child care providers, there are all kinds of people who are disrespectful and rude to their neighbors. When I start my business I plan on having a clause where they must not disrupt my neighbors and have a lot of rules out of respect for my future neighbors (not planning on starting it at my current house) because I would like the same respect but that doesn't mean that they will give back the same respect and they may still find something to complain about that may or may not relate to my business.

But seriously there should be a limit when certain threads with certain situations that need immediate answers (not including polls or random fun question threads that don't require fast responses) are more than 1 or 2 years old on the public forum they get locked, you can still see them for information purposes but not allowed for people to post and bring up a very old thread that is resolved.

I could not agree more!

[Hunni Bee]

I don't think that's fair.

I could see if people were replying to an old thread and were being rude or abusive, or stirring up an old argument.

But if these people are legitimately still having this issue and are seeking advice for it, who are we to say they can't post their opinion? Because they're unregistered and we're not? Because we don't want to see it?

I do get what you are saying, because it does get annoying when people reply arguing in a 5 year old thread. But many people google a phrase, then one of these old threads comes up, they read it and reply, not realizing the last post was 3 years ago.

Plus, there are some new.users that have not read some of these threads and they may be useful.

[Starburst]

I wasn't trying to be mean but those last unregistered comments really got under my skin like they had an anti-home daycare type of mentality, and even some of the earlier ones did the same and it was still years after.

These ones irritated me the most (posted in 2011):

Sorry but a daycare in a neighborhood is just a plain nuisance. Loud and inconsiderate of everyone else. With screaming kids and yelling adults. If you yhink this is fair then at least give me some of the money your making. I'm tired I suffering so you can make a buck. Found this site trying to find the right people to call to complain.

(posted 2012)

I live in a quiet neighborhood. My neighbor across the street operates a large family daycare for up to 14 kids. I work hard and want to relax or watch a ball game when I get home from work. I like to open the window to let in a little fresh air. Every day at 5 pm my neighbor trots the little rats out to play screaming games in the front yard. You wouldn't believe how loud these kids can scream from 5pm to 6:30 monday through Friday. But the rats aren't what I object to. Kids screaming are really not that annoying. The adult daycare providers that monitor the screaming games scream the loudest to encourage the children. I didn't know you could scream that loud saying go,go go or byeee byyyeee. It seems like these are the only english words these daycare providers know because they are shouted at the top of their lungs everyday from 5 to 6:30. I have stayed home from work and the kids are not outside during the day when everyone is at work. They are only trotted out when the parents come to pick them up. I can see the other side of the coin where the neighbors are not happy with the constant noise, the complete disregard for the neighbors quiet enjoyment of their property. This law allowing large family darecare centers of 14 children in residential neighborhoods is a crime. It should be repealed and these daycare providers that disregard the beauty and quiet and peace that neighbors bought property here to enjoy are the strongest argument to repeal this stupid law.

I do find those comments to be very rude, do they not realize this is a site for people who are interested in the child care business, not people who hate child care- because there are websites for that. I was just trying to make the point that not every home child care provider is like that and they shouldn't take their anger out on other providers because even people who don't have daycares can be bad neighbors and people who have daycares can still be good neighbors- it all depends on the person. Also everyone has a different tolerance level and some people's boiling points are lower levels than others. and like you said some people type key words and find this forum and it could cause issues for future provider whose neighbors hear about all these complaints and try to stop the daycare before the provider has a chance to prove themselves to not be like that. Yes I do think there should be training about keeping the neighbors happy before you get licensed or in workshops for child care providers. But we don't know who their neighbors are and we are not their neighbors so we cant help them other than to tell them they need to talk to their neighbors or contact their neighbor's licensor.

[Blackcat31]

I don't think that's fair.

I could see if people were replying to an old thread and were being rude or abusive, or stirring up an old argument.

But if these people are legitimately still having this issue and are seeking advice for it, who are we to say they can't post their opinion? Because they're unregistered and we're not? Because we don't want to see it?

I do get what you are saying, because it does get annoying when people reply arguing in a 5 year old thread. But many people google a phrase, then one of these old threads comes up, they read it and reply, not realizing the last post was 3 years ago.

Plus, there are some new.users that have not read some of these threads and they may be useful.

I also agree.

This is definitely NOT one of those threads that needs to be locked or closed.

I think that threads like this are good because sometimes someone just needs to vent or maybe re-read other posts within the thread to gain a different perspective about their situation.

I didn't read anything in this thread that warranted locking it. No one called anyone names or insulted anyone specifically.

Most people that posted that were complaining about living next to a child care have legitimate complaints and honestly I truly understand where they are coming from. Heck, I AM a provider and I wouldn't want to live next door to a child care.

If I knew BEFORE I moved in, that's one thing but when a neighbor opens a child care AFTER, I can see how it would disrupt or disturb the mood of the neighborhood.

That is why some states and cities have ordinances to govern this kind of thing.

The only advice I can give anyone complaining about living next to a child care is either start being proactive in your city council meetings or talk with your neighbor and try and work it out between the two of you. If you have to live next door to each other, I'd much rather compromise so each of you can be happy instead of BOTH of you being miserable towards each other.

[MyAngels]

I don't think that's fair.

I could see if people were replying to an old thread and were being rude or abusive, or stirring up an old argument.

But if these people are legitimately still having this issue and are seeking advice for it, who are we to say they can't post their opinion? Because they're unregistered and we're not? Because we don't want to see it?

I do get what you are saying, because it does get annoying when people reply arguing in a 5 year old thread. But many people google a phrase, then one of these old threads comes up, they read it and reply, not realizing the last post was 3 years ago.

Plus, there are some new.users that have not read some of these threads and they may be useful.