Neighbor Running an Obnoxiously LOUD Home Daycare

[Pestle]

I strongly dislike kids screaming when they play, it isn't safe. If I hear a kid screaming I want to KNOW they are screaming because something is wrong, not have to guess.

OMG same. My own 8yo is the worst perpetrator of this. "Are you dying? You are screaming like you're dying. Should I be calling an ambulance right now?"
"Sorrrrrrrry."

[AmyKidsCo]

I strongly dislike kids screaming when they play, it isn't safe. If I hear a kid screaming I want to KNOW they are screaming because something is wrong, not have to guess. We have a big grassy area behind our house and neighbor kids play out there a lot, sometimes screaming. I never know if it's something I should go check on or if they are just playing. I try to teach our kids to only scream if they are hurt or scared, NOT when playing.

I totally agree! When my kiddos get too loud I tell them "my neighbors don't want to hear that noise." I do allow them to scream by the music wall in the far back of the yard. Those neighbors are hoarders and heaven only knows what critters are living in the piles of junk they have on the other side of the fence.

[Unregistered]

Day care

I can completely relate. My neighbor ( here in LA ) let's the kids scream all day. The babies cry sometimes for an hour straight.. ( she told me she let's them "cry it out". We had a police intervention as all the neighbors were infuriated. The one behind had to sell their home to escape it. She blasts music outside for dance time 30-45 min straight( Baby Shark etc... ) I work from home ( Covid) and I own my house. I can't escape it and can't have meetings between 9am - and 12 noon. It is crazy how she let's these kids scream at the top of their lungs and never tells them to stop. The police come and make comments about how I am clearly not a mom ( WTF? ) When friends come to stay ( yes even with their kids ) they are horrified by the behavior. Day cares should not be allowed in residential areas unless they are indoors. These kids are outside all day.

[Rockgirl]

Day cares should not be allowed in residential areas unless they are indoors. These kids are outside all day.

I sympathize, and agree that your neighbor’s daycare noise does sound excessive, but we’re not all like that. I don’t allow screaming, even outside. Outside voices, yes. Screaming, no.

[Meeko]

I have my daycare in the basement of our home. 16 kids. My husband works upstairs in his office which is directly above the playroom.
He has Alexa play fairly loud rain sounds all day. It blocks out a LOT of the noise from below and he finds it actually calming to listen to. It is rain in a forest, so sounds of rain falling on the leaves etc..
We actually sleep with the same sounds playing at night. I am a light sleeper and so sounds from the road etc wake me a lot. Playing the background noise works wonders.

[hwichlaz]

I sympathize, and agree that your neighbor’s daycare noise does sound excessive, but we’re not all like that. I don’t allow screaming, even outside. Outside voices, yes. Screaming, no.

California law specifies that children have the RIGHT to care in their own neighborhoods and it is thus protected.

Also, at the time of the original post there were Covid waivers in effect that allowed small daycares to have additional children.

[Snowmom]

Day cares should not be allowed in residential areas unless they are indoors.

That's a pretty bold and ignorant statement.

There are two providers, including myself, who have in home daycares in my neighborhood. We both have up to 12 kids. Our homes are more orderly, peaceful and QUIETER than the overwhelmed stay at home mom of two up the street from us. She's 5 doors down from me and I can hear her yelling and her kids screaming while INSIDE MY HOUSE full of kids.
Loud people are just going to be loud, no matter the circumstances... daycare, no daycare, 1 kid, 8 kids.

What you're saying above is the equivalent of putting restrictions on how many children a woman can birth or adopt. It's just nonyabizness.

[Sunshine69]

Day cares should not be allowed in residential areas unless they are indoors. These kids are outside all day.

You should take this up with your state’s daycare licensing dept. Most states require providers allow a minimum amount of time outdoors every day as long as it is not above or below certain temperatures. Your solution is sure to cause a childcare shortage. I wouldn’t run a daycare where kids couldn’t get outside to play. They would destroy my home without the release of energy outdoor play provides.

I wonder if all my neighbors would be willing to pay for the damage to my home just so they don’t have to listen to my daycare kids outside. I haven’t heard a single complaint from any of my neighbors though. They all make their fair share of noise. I live in a single house development is a fairly rural area and I’m still bothered by neighbors who have family/marital spats in the wee hours of the morning, several neighbors who like to rev their Harleys and loud cars, neighbors having parties, lighting fireworks, planes from a nearby small airport, helicopters from a National Guard base, blasting from a local quarry that shakes my home, the trucks that pick up the materials from that quarry, etc. There’s noise everywhere. Sometimes I have to close my windows and turn on the a/c or a sound machine so that my daycare kids can nap or I can sleep at night. I have the right to relocate if it gets to be too much.

[Rockgirl]

California law specifies that children have the RIGHT to care in their own neighborhoods and it is thus protected.

Also, at the time of the original post there were Covid waivers in effect that allowed small daycares to have additional children.

I wasn’t the one saying there shouldn’t be daycares in residential areas....I have one, myself.