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Monday question: Loud kids
Here's a summer question that I bet a lot of us can relate to:
My neighbor has 3 young children who play outside all day. No matter what they are doing, it always involves screaming at the top of their lungs. My small first floor apartment doesn’t have air conditioning, so I need to keep the windows open. Because these windows open up to our shared driveway and backyard, it sounds like the kids are inside my house. They are so loud that at times I can’t hear my TV or entertain in my backyard. I have asked the children to settle down, but they rudely ignore me. I realize that kids are kids and have the right to play in the backyard but this is beyond intrusive. Would it be appropriate for me to speak to their parents? If so, how can I do it in a way that is non-confrontational but effective?
How do you think the LW should approach the situation? (We have a loud kid in our neighborhood, too, but the child sounds so exactly like Ralph Wiggum that we find far more amusement than annoyance in the situation.)
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About Miss Conduct
Welcome to Miss Conduct’s blog, a place where the popular Boston Globe Magazine columnist Robin Abrahams and her readers share etiquette tips, unravel social conundrums, and gossip about social behavior in pop culture and the news. Have a question of your own? Ask Robin using this form or by emailing her at missconduct@globe.com.
Welcome to Miss Conduct’s blog, a place where the popular Boston Globe Magazine columnist Robin Abrahams and her readers share etiquette tips, unravel social conundrums, and gossip about social behavior in pop culture and the news. Have a question of your own? Ask Robin using this form or by emailing her at missconduct@globe.com.
contributor
Robin Abrahamswrites the weekly "Miss Conduct" column for The Boston Globe Magazine and is the author of Miss Conduct's Mind over Manners. Robin has a PhD in psychology from Boston University and also works as a research associate at Harvard Business School. Her column is informed by her experience as a theater publicist, organizational-change communications manager, editor, stand-up comedian, and professor of psychology and English. She lives in Cambridge with her husband Marc Abrahams, the founder of the Ig Nobel Prizes, and their socially challenged but charismatic dog, Milo.
Who is Miss Conduct?
Robin Abrahamswrites the weekly "Miss Conduct" column for The Boston Globe Magazine and is the author of Miss Conduct's Mind over Manners. Robin has a PhD in psychology from Boston University and also works as a research associate at Harvard Business School. Her column is informed by her experience as a theater publicist, organizational-change communications manager, editor, stand-up comedian, and professor of psychology and English. She lives in Cambridge with her husband Marc Abrahams, the founder of the Ig Nobel Prizes, and their socially challenged but charismatic dog, Milo.
