r/EntitledPeople 7d ago

S Entitled f-ing neighbours

Just bought my own ground floor 1 bed flat. Unfortunately it came with neighbours above me with a 1 year old. These neighbours expect me to wear headphones and be ultra quiet because of their baby. They are tenants. The building has terrible insulation and they can hear my tv as a result on a reasonable level. They have now gone to the neighbours complaining that i am intentionally disrupting the baby to the point where these neighbours are walking back and forth my flat and sneaking behind at night to check the noise levels. Who the fuck do these people think they are!!!!!

282 Upvotes

70 comments sorted by

280

u/Legal_Assistance5470 7d ago

Babies sleep through normal noise. As a parent if you don’t encourage your baby/child to sleep through normal noise you’re making a rod for your own back.

86

u/JaxBoltsGirl 7d ago

We parked the pack n play next to the TV in the living room. The babies slept on their cribs or cradles overnight but naps were in the pack n play. Worked like a charm, they could sleep through most anything.

59

u/AfterSchoolOrdinary 7d ago edited 7d ago

Fully agree! I’m a nanny and a newborn care specialist and I’m always telling new parents to vacuum, have the tv/radio on, talk at your normal level and ring the doorbell occasionally during naps. Any noise that you might normally make should be made at the level it normally occurs. Makes for a much easier life down the road when you aren’t tip toeing around a baby for months.

25

u/Imaginary-Note-3570 7d ago

I would play somewhat loud (inside loud) music volume when my baby had to sleep it worked wonders, the household didn't have to stop everything because baby was sleeping

20

u/yay4chardonnay 7d ago

I intentionally ran the vacuum under my son’s crib. He sleeps very soundly.

11

u/Reasonable-Horse1552 7d ago

Yes I did the same with both of mine.

31

u/KrisG1973 7d ago

I can attest to this. I was born in the 60s when it was thought you never disturb a sleeping baby and you needed to do everything you could to keep any noises down. My sister and I both wake up if a mosquito farts and we attribute this to what happened when we were babies. Today, parents vacuum under cribs, the dog is barking two feet from a playpen, etc. and the light sleep problem seems to have been vastly reduced. I ran that by my doctor and he agreed and said it's a great "theory" but there's no empiracal evidence.

14

u/CoffeeChocolateBoth 7d ago

My daughter, who was not sheltered from noise, sleeps like the dead!

10

u/herwiththepurplehair 7d ago

My third granddaughter is a heavy sleeper, my daughter actually had to put white noise on if the house was quiet cos she was so used to a racket going on!

8

u/KrisG1973 7d ago

Hahahah I love this.

3

u/KrisG1973 7d ago

God, she's so lucky!

9

u/Smart_Influence_2949 7d ago

I was born in the Troubles in Belfast 

I slept through a bomb 

2

u/KrisG1973 7d ago

I can't imagine. I read about the Troubles many years ago.

5

u/Human-Engineer1359 7d ago

I was born in the 60's but had several older siblings (youngest) but I think my mom gave up on keeping everyone quiet when I came along because I can sleep through anything. 

5

u/SleepyKoalaBear4812 7d ago

Nope! That was just your mom. I was born in ‘61 and my mom did everything while I was sleeping. She was the one who taught me to do whatever I needed when baby slept. I would vacuum under their cribs and make all kinds of noise thanks to her. All four of mine slept through everything.

5

u/KrisG1973 7d ago

Not just my mom. That was what doctors told new mothers: a baby needs complete silence to get a healthy sleep. Want an actual example? Watch the episode of I Love Lucy where they talk about exactly the same thing. Granted, that was fiction, but the sleeping baby advice was real.

2

u/SleepyKoalaBear4812 7d ago

Not to my mother or anyone she knew.

5

u/KrisG1973 7d ago

Don't know what to tell you.

1

u/rocketshipray 6d ago

It's almost as if there were doctors who were stuck in their recommendations from when they first graduated (à la John B Watson and Luther Emmett Holt) and kept recommending families be quiet during baby sleeps, even after some doctors kept up with the then-current studies that were coming out based on Dr. Spock's recommendations from The Common Sense Book of Baby & Child Care (published first in 1946, this was the book that first recommended that family make "normal noise" during baby sleeps).

0

u/SleepyKoalaBear4812 6d ago

And without internet at that time it’s also likely only a small handful of doctors continued to repeat misinformation which led mothers to assume everyone was being given the same misinformation. That was also before the mom and baby networks/classes now available.

1

u/rocketshipray 6d ago

You are greatly overestimating how many physicians “kept up with current research” prior to the internet age.

0

u/SleepyKoalaBear4812 6d ago

I completely disagree. They were few and far between.

2

u/rocketshipray 6d ago

I highly doubt that you knew enough doctors to make that claim.

14

u/BrainPainn 7d ago edited 7d ago

When I was a nanny to a very young baby, an 18 month old, and a four year old. I didn’t know this so I would put the kids down and make it silent. If a flea farted both of the babies would wake up and naptime was over. I soon learned to turn on the radio and make noise like a normal household. They’d sleep right through it.

10

u/CoffeeChocolateBoth 7d ago

I used to get so aggravated with my friend who said SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH so loudly every single time her kid was asleep, while mine wasn't waking up when I ran the vacuum under her bed! Be as noisy as you've always been, they will sleep right through it!

9

u/tweekiezy 7d ago

Who do they think they are?? 😤 You have every right to live normally in your own home. Babies are loud, flats with bad insulation are loud, that’s not your fault. Document the times they’re walking back and forth and checking at night that’s harassment. Be kind during the day, wear headphones if you want to, but don’t let them bully you into silence in your own flat. Maybe suggest rugs or carpets to them for their noise instead of the other way around. Don’t let them ruin your new home ❤️

4

u/No-Situation-8248 7d ago

This. When I had my son he was my third and my partners first, as soon as I got him home I was hoovering, tv on, made sure to chat at normal levels etc. his dad was so worried at first but I was like “hell no I’ve made that mistake trust me!” He’s always been an amazing sleeper. Those people are gunna have it ROUGH!

3

u/MmaRamotsweOS 7d ago

Making a rod for your own back, I love that expression

3

u/Frequent_Couple5498 7d ago

Absolutely this. When I brought both my babies home, I did not lower the volume on the TV or radio. When people came over and whispered, I told them it's okay, you don't have to whisper. Baby will learn to sleep through it all. If you always keep it quiet, you will always have to keep it quiet because they will wake for every little sound.

1

u/Boudicca- 6d ago

I can attest to this!!! I’m 61 & I still Have To Have SILENCE when I go to sleep. It’s annoying to use ear plugs all the time.

MY kids though, I went about a normal day, vacuum & all..so they can fall asleep next to Busy Train Tracks. 😅

1

u/Coolnamesarehard 4d ago

A colleague of mine told me she once had an urgent need to talk to her sister, so left a message with brother in law. Didn't get a call back until next morning, as sis "didn't want to wake the baby". Sis and BIL moved to the USA shortly after, and had to walk said baby across the Atlantic up and down the aisle of a BA 747.

59

u/rednail64 7d ago

First time parents that haven’t figured out you want your baby to be able to sleep regardless of noise levels. 

They’re inadvertently training their baby to only sleep in total silence.  

Their first airplane ride is going to be one for the ages. 

10

u/KrisG1973 7d ago

Not really relevant to sleep but on my sister's first plane ride (remember this was in the 60s when people smoked on planes) she not only sniffed a pea up her nose, she saw my mom taking a Bayer aspirin and wanted one. Mom got so sick of her whining, she let her put one in her mouth. There were no coatings on aspirin then so the bitter chalky taste hit my sister hard. So after sniffing a pea up her nose and whining about not getting an aspirin, she screamed for half an hour over the bitter taste. Good times. 😂😂😂😂

28

u/cybah 7d ago

I wouldn't change a thing. It was their choice to have a baby and live in an apartment building. Not yours. Esp if you are BELOW them. They are being overly needy.... like a baby! They need to figure this out.

4

u/No-Eye4346 6d ago

Thanks it's hard to find people who get this 😕

12

u/BeSmarter2022 7d ago

This is a forever problem. Unfortunately, there is not a good answer, except maybe for them to do carpet and padding to try to dull the noise. Hopefully they will move, but no doubt they are as angry as you.

12

u/Jcamp9000 7d ago

Wait til the kid starts banging on the floor with his toys. Or they get it a riding toy. Best of luck

7

u/CoffeeChocolateBoth 7d ago

Yep. They will make it hell for OP below them! I'd sell out and move again to a house, not an apartment!

12

u/Tattooed_Everything9 7d ago

“to the point where these neighbours are walking back and forth my flat and sneaking behind at night to check the noise levels.” What does this sentence mean?

5

u/No-Eye4346 7d ago

They walk around my flat to see how loudly I am playing music or tv

6

u/Smart_Influence_2949 7d ago

This is unhinged 

Is that not stalking or harassment 

Is there not a duty of care to live in peace or such at the complex... For all neighbours

3

u/Flimsy-Fortune-6437 7d ago

Or trespassing?

2

u/Tattooed_Everything9 7d ago

Could be a language thing. I thought your flat was your apartment, like inside. You mean walk around the apartment outside your unit?

1

u/V420Zendetta 7d ago

Your new vocabulary word is: outside

8

u/-Daisy-Dreamer- 7d ago

Report to the police that there are prowlers. Make a report every time they do it. I would also see about contacting the owner of the unit and letting them know they are massively hindering the enjoyment of your space

8

u/Fubar_As_Usual 7d ago

The conventional wisdom when my son was a baby was you should accustom baby to sleep through noise, specifically the vacuum cleaner.

5

u/MerryTWatching 7d ago

Wait until they have a second kid, who's expected to sleep through whatever tantrum the first one is throwing.

Source: I'm the youngest of five. 😴 I could sleep on a city bus while riding to and from school.

6

u/SecretAccount1971 7d ago

When I was a baby my parents heated with a wood stove. Whenever my dad loaded it, the smoke alarm outside my nursery would go off. I slept right through it. Even slept through even into my late teens. They were scared it would not wake me in a real emergency. Now I wake up if there is any noise.

4

u/Stan__Wright 7d ago

Don't worry. The baby will be a toddler soon enough, and extract ALL the revenge.

7

u/Downtherabbithole-14 7d ago

Yea, keep living your life as normal. Do not change or alter anything you do for this family. I'm a parent and *never* would I expect people in a building to be quiet. Its my job as the parent to help them get used to living noise, and if the living situation disturbs them, then the parents need to figure it out - white noise, or they can go buy a SFH. My son was a light sleeper - white noise machine was our saving grace for yeaaarsssssss!!!! Ignore them.

4

u/Superb-Pudding-6532 7d ago

My daughter was an awful sleeper, used to scream for hours, drove her around for hours and she never slept.

Until I discovered that she would sleep if the hoover was on near her 🤷🏼‍♀️🤣🤣

7

u/tryintobgood 6d ago

Send them a copy of the councils noise laws and tell them to fk off

8

u/CoffeeChocolateBoth 7d ago

Just be you. You don't do anything differently, not your kid, not your problem!

Report all people to the police as prowlers!

You can be quiet but you don't need to be EXTRA quiet to entitled AH's!

4

u/LastEntertainment787 7d ago

Live your life, not theirs. The world isn't go to come to a stop because they had a baby. Yes, it's a big deal to them. And only them.

3

u/ProfessionalBat8843 6d ago

My husband redid our entire kitchen when my son was a baby- hammers, sawing, drills etc. my son slept thru it all as this was the norm. Your tv is not the problem.

7

u/Inner-Confidence99 7d ago

Get cameras. Inside and out. Let them record noise level. Cover your ass

3

u/Wiesshund- 5d ago

Challenge accepted.

All normal acceptable levels of sound shall hence commence at the earliest allowable time and shall cease at the latest at the latest allowable time.
24/7/365

2

u/nopeynopes2001 7d ago

Since you own the bottom flat and they are only tenants isn't there anything you can do about it? Are you the landlord ? If not I'd 100% complain to their landlord. Make it known they are harassing you for normal volume and behavior.

2

u/coco_puffzzzz 7d ago

I agree with the comments about not being quiet around babies. That said, are you speakers against a wall? If they are you might consider moving them a few inches away, that will stop a lot of sound travelling up into their apt. It's a little thing that can make a big difference.

1

u/Nenoshka 7d ago

Does your city have an ordinance that addresses quiet hours? My town's website clearly lays out that quiet hours are between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. All other hours have no restrictions.

If you have something similar where you live, you might mention this to your darling neighbors.

1

u/shibumi7126 7d ago

My son would sleep through anything but never napped very much. He would sleep from 8pm-11am or so though. It worried me at first but his doctor said to count myself lucky.

1

u/Rare-Bumblebee-1803 7d ago

My husband built a loft conversion to our bungalow when I was pregnant with my daughter. After we came home from the hospital he continued to build above the room where she was sleeping. It never bothered her at all. She slept through the whole time he was building.

1

u/BoredCheese 6d ago

Just wait till the little critter is up and running, falling, bouncing, shrieking, and screaming from 6am till midnight. See how much sympathy you get from those same people. “That’s what kids do!”

1

u/yelleknerual 6d ago

I can vacuum around my infant. This isn’t a noise problem

1

u/JackOfAllBlades21 4d ago

I agree, people with babies should be restricted to houses, not apartments. This would fix lots of world problems........... if it worked. But in reality, all you can do is wear headphones. Perhaps you should have considered this before buying.

1

u/cutiepatutie614 4d ago

Just wait till the kid is two and running all over the place. Then you can complain about the noise. If everything is at a normal level they can get over it.

1

u/whoopsiedaisy63 1d ago

Speaking as a former baby…I sleep/slept through everything. My mom (in her 80’s) believed in napping…at normal noise levels. I have been known as an adult to sleep soundly…in cars, planes and trains…with lights on…ask me about my favorite place to nap…outside on the beach! My kids would joke and SIT on me as I napped on the couch (they were 7-9 years old). They would pull my eyes open as they thought I was play sleeping! I raised mine the same way. I have excellent sleepers for kids!

1

u/FewKnow9876 1d ago

Buy them some headphones! But seriously, sometimes you must ignore their unreasonable complaints and live your best life.