NY - Parents May Face Jail Over Kid's Backyard Noise

[Taximom]

I was going to comment that I'm sure an attempt to change the ordinance would be next. I thought I'd let the article speak for itself.

 

[LovingTheChaos]

And this is where I stopped reading. I have my answer.

LOL - I thought the same thing, & this is Long Island, after all. They aren't known for their 'good neighbor' attitudes. (disclaimer - I am sure there are people from LI who are wonderful neighbors, so if you are nice & from LI - I am not talking about you)

I am so glad I moved out of the burbs - my kids can laugh & scream & run & play & the only ones who might get upset are the horses next door - or maybe the squirels & the birds in the trees.

 

[eleven]

LOL, some people are reasonable in that town:

New York Parents Won't Face Jail Over Their Kids' Backyard Noise
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,285193,00.html

The complaints fell on deaf ears Wednesday night when Bayville's acting village justice dismissed a summons accusing the girls' parents, William and Rachel Poczatek, of violating a village noise ordinance.

AWESOME! I am right now listening to a group of about 10 kids playing outside, being very loud, and it's music to my ears. People need to let kids be kids, not little adults.

 

[jilly]

These are probably the same sort of parents who allow their children to run around wildly in restaurants and destroy merchandise in stores. They can't be bothered with the effort of teaching their children to be thoughtful of others and they're afraid of even temporarily displeasing their children.

You're probably right!

 

[southcitymom]

AWESOME! I am right now listening to a group of about 10 kids playing outside, being very loud, and it's music to my ears. People need to let kids be kids, not little adults.

I too love the sound of kids playing...

 

[jilly]

My cousin's children are screamers. I am talking high pitched, piercing your ear drums kind of screams. When they come to visit my parents' pool, they drive my father crazy because they are so ill-mannered. Meanwhile, my cousin (who is 40 years old) lays on a lounge chair and reads while ignoring the incessant shrieking. My father lays the smack down the second these girls enter his pool area. Initially I thought he was just being a cranky old man, but after one hour with these girls I could see he was right. IMO, this is every bit as annoying as the neighbor who leaves their barking dog outside all day. I think it is a bit ridiculous that these people may have gotten 15 days in jail for this, but I can certainly see where it is an annoyance.

If it's this high pitched 'shrieking' then I don't blame the neighbors. There's absolutely no reason for it. Like you, I don't believe in jail. The house behind me runs a day care and the kids are out all the time. They are doing the usual laughing and the odd scream of excitement but the woman controls it. It's a pleasure for me to sit out on the patio and listen to them because I do love kids.

My immediate neighbor on the otherhand has an electric lawn mower with the most irritating sound I've ever heard. Seems every time we're eating dinner he mows his lawn. :furious:

 

[LovingTheChaos]

Why isn't your son allowed to scream in the house? Shouldn't you embrace the sound?

As far as these kids in the article go, I can only assume that they aren't the only children in this affluent neighborhood or the only ones with a pool. Yet they are the only ones disturbing people. I think they must be extrordinarily loud and shrill for the situation to have gotten to this point.

The kids in my neighborhood seem to be allowed to be kids. They ride bikes, play ball, chase each other around. And they all yell a lot. But they do not emit piercing, high-decibal shrieks. Thank goodness.

Well - we don't know the whole story. One of the people who complained mentioned she had 5 dogs - There is no way she has 5 dogs & never irritated one of her neighbors - I could make just as many assumptions about her as some have made about the parents of these children.

Personally, I will take a screaming girl over a barking dog any day (or night) of the week. Our old neighbors had a barking dog that used to drive me out of my mind, I am a serious animal lover, I have 2 dogs, & I have worked with rescue groups before - but man, I used to have some bad thoughts about that dog!!!

 

[T-Rex]

The Post said six families signed a petition. Hello? Do these parents have NO parenting skills, and no consideration for their neighbors, whatsoever?

 

[jilly]

What is wrong with having a little neighborly consideration? Even if one neighbor complained, I would ask my children to pipe down. I suspect that this family have discussed this issue and the children are acting out and being even louder because their parents condone it.

Unfortunately, the children will be the ones who may learn the hard way when they are older that the world does not revolve around them.

I agree Nan about the consideration. Seems the lack of it is the norm these days - at least from what I've observed in my neighborhood. Kids Rule! We live on a cul de sac where our kids used to play road hockey at end where the circle is. Not anymore with the new families which have have moved in. 5-8 houses is too far to walk I guess. They want to play right in front of their house even if it's a few feet from where our cul de sac joins the main road which is dangerous. And do you think they stop playing when they see a car coming? Not a chance. They have to make their shot! Eventually they'll saunter over to the side to let you by. If you say anything then you are the enemy!lol

 

[LovingTheChaos]

By the way - you asked another poster "Why isn't your son allowed to scream in the house? Shouldn't you embrace the sound?" -

My children are not allowed to scream indoors because it is rude, & I would not want them doing this at my home, at your home, in the mall, in a restaurant, etc. We teach "indoor voices", as opposed to outdoor voices, which can be louder.
I have a 2 year old who sometimes does the high pitch screech, outside & I do correct her for it, but I will never stop shouting, laughing & playing when we are in our own yard, or in the playground, & I may actually join in on occassion!!

A.

 

[White Rain]

I know when my kids get in the pool they love to scream "cannonball" at the top of their lungs and then do one. I'm glad our neighbors don't seem to care as I love to hear them having the times of their lives and being happy, joyful kids.

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. — It's what kids do: Squeal in delight when they're having fun. But to some Long Island residents, those squeals are unwelcome noise and they want two neighborhood girls to pipe down when they're playing in their backyard pool.
The girls' parents, William and Rachel Poczatek, were hit with a notice of violation after neighbors in their bayfront village of Bayville complained that Ashley, 11, and Chloe, 5, played too loudly.
"I just can't believe it," William Poczatek said in a telephone interview Wednesday, hours before a scheduled appearance in village court to answer the charges. "What, are you telling me that a kid can't make noise? It's not fair."
The Poczateks were charged under a village ordinance for violating a noise code usually reserved for "the shouting and crying of peddlers, hawkers and vendors which disturbs the peace and quiet of the neighborhood," their attorney said. They could face a fine of $250 or 15 days in jail.
Neighbors in this posh community on Long Island's north shore contend, however, that this isn't your ordinary splashing, giggling and merriment coming from the Poczateks' yard.
"I have five dogs," said neighbor Sheila Brown, who complained to village officials about the racket. "Five dogs don't make this much noise. This is not something that started yesterday. They have been asked politely, but this is an ongoing issue far beyond children just playing in the pool."
more at link: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,285193,00.html

I guess I tend to think of this situation in the light on Shasta Groene and others...I was a sexually abused child, also lived thru lots of home violence, physical and emotional as well, there was never anything to laugh/and or scream at about myself, except in HORROR....so for me to hear the sheer happiness of a child having fun fills me with the sort of happiness I never got to experience.
How many of you out there that thinks a kid can be TOO loud in experienceing childhood joys would look Shasta Groene/others in the eye and tell her she was being too loud?

 

[txsvicki]

I noticed that the complainer in the story has 5 dogs. There must be some ordinance against having that many dogs in a residiential neighborhood. But, the fact that is supposedly a posh neighborhood sums it up for me also. The kids yelling and playing probably annoys the nieghbors who is probably like Mrs. Drysdale (from the Beveryly Hillibillies) with their 5 dogs sitting out on the patio. I hope the poop scoop daily because the smell of that would be much worse than kids playing.

 

[Txmom]

Well, I guess I will live in the country forever. Even though my children are now grownup (somewhat)...I expect to have grandchildren in the next 5-10 years. And if everyone wants to play and scream and yell, they can. Come to think of it, in a couple of hours when I go to mow the lawn, I just might turn the radio up as long as I can get it so I can hear it above the lawnmower.

I agree that I would rather hear kids having fun playing and that includes screaming and yelling, than listen to the dogs barking nonstop.

 

[GreenEyedGirl]

Why isn't your son allowed to scream in the house? Shouldn't you embrace the sound?

As far as these kids in the article go, I can only assume that they aren't the only children in this affluent neighborhood or the only ones with a pool. Yet they are the only ones disturbing people. I think they must be extrordinarily loud and shrill for the situation to have gotten to this point.

The kids in my neighborhood seem to be allowed to be kids. They ride bikes, play ball, chase each other around. And they all yell a lot. But they do not emit piercing, high-decibal shrieks. Thank goodness.

You don't have kids, do you? We use our inside voice inside, which is much quieter than our outside voice, if we must be loud. Which, by the way, he can be. Kids should be aloud to be kids.

 

[Crow_Ascending]

On their main page, Yahoo currently has a tape of the screaming the neighbors have to put up with. Evidently these houses are very close together and I don't think anyone could disagree that these are not 'normal sounds of children playing.' It's interesting that the parents of these girls say 'the children are never allowed to play in the pool past 9:00PM. Nine PM is pretty late to have to put up with these ear-piercing screams.

 

[southcitymom]

On their main page, Yahoo currently has a tape of the screaming the neighbors have to put up with. Evidently these houses are very close together and I don't think anyone could disagree that these are not 'normal sounds of children playing.' It's interesting that the parents of these girls say 'the children are never allowed to play in the pool past 9:00PM. Nine PM is pretty late to have to put up with these ear-piercing screams.

Thanks for that. Very interesting. I don't think 9 p.m. is so late in the summer to be in a backyard pool and I didn't think those kids play screams were out of the ordinary in any way shape or form. I wouldn't even call them ear-piercing. I definitely disagree with the opinion that they are not the normal sounds of children playing.

I surely hear louder around here but the houses in my neighborhood are spread out.

My almost 5-year-old could break glass with his enthusiastic soprano tones.

The parents of these girls should of course teach them boundaries and respect for others, but I think there's no way that what I hear would reach the legal level of disturbance of the peace.

I'm so glad this case was thrown out.

 

[Crow_Ascending]

Parents NEVER hear the noise their own children make. The noises are way out of the decible range of 'normal kid sounds' Especially that reverberating 'rebel yell' coming from the 5 year old. Did you see the man who actually had to spend his own money building a sound baffle to try and block that out?

 

[whitywendy]

AND PEOPLE WONDER WHY KIDS TURN TO DRUGS OR FOOD TO MAKE THEM HAPPY.

These adults have forgotten what is was like to be a child. Or is it because: WELL I DIDN"T GET TO BEHAVE THAT WHY SO WHY SHOULD THEY ETC... GIVE ME A BREAK. IF YOU DON'T LIKE KIDS, SO BE IT. BUT KEEP YOUR NOSE OUT OF OTHER PEOPLE'S FAMILY LIFE. IF these kids are in your face screaming like that, I would understand. But kids outside on their own property, playing and having fun, yelling/screaming/hooping it up is completely NORMAL. We have taken away almost everything from our kids and replaced outdoor activity with a TV/COMPUTER/VIDEO GAMES. There are no sidewalks for kids to ride their bikes, roller blade, skateboard and if there are sidewalks, YOU ARE STILL NOT ALLOWED TO DO THESE ACTIVITES. WHY, because ADULTS have decided they don't want kids to interact with them IMO. I SAY GO GET A LIFE then you won't be bothered by the HAPPINESS OF OTHERS.

I agree with White Rain. The sounds of children having fun and loving life is the best gift even given to me. Life is full of sadness, with parents killing their kids and kids killing their parents, let alone a complete stranger doing it, all of US including the POSH, need to remember that the US is a free country to live in, which includes your right to free speech, whether it is at an acceptable level to you or not. SO GET OVER IT.

I am not even going to stay my opinion on this woman with the 5 dogs, or the the other, I think 6 families that signed the petition. Please note: 6 families does not include the kids from the family, so it should state 12 other adults.......

 

[whitywendy]

Parents NEVER hear the noise their own children make. The noises are way out of the decible range of 'normal kid sounds' Especially that reverberating 'rebel yell' coming from the 5 year old. Did you see the man who actually had to spend his own money building a sound baffle to try and block that out?

Apparently, you have forgotten the joys of your own childhood. Or you were never a child to start with.

 

[JBean]

This is a common courtesy issue to me. Clearly this is a nuisance to some. It is not about being right or worng. It is about respecting everyone's space. The neigbors want to enjoy their day off in the backyard too.
Kids can play outside without being annoying. They just have to tone it down. Good grief, this is not a lot to ask.
I would at least compromise with the neighbors. That is the way life works often times. I got many complaints when my 5 boys were in the pool and I listened and made an adjustment. I had to go ask my kids to pipe down many times and I had no problem doing that.My kids were not allowed to scream in the backyard!? Especially ongoing..that is just silly. Why would anyone think little girls screaming is a good thing? That is hilarious. I would tell my kids to quit screaming myself. Save that for the rollercoasters.
I have a much higher noise threshold than most. I come from a family of 8 and after 5 kids of my own , heck i don't even hear it anymore. But not all people are like that and I respect it.

Regarding the dogs, was there a complaint about them? I don't know what that has to do with noisy kids?
I don't think this should be handled in court. I think the parents need to undersatnd that they don't live in their neighborhood alone and should be more repsectful of neighbors.