A mother has spoken of her anger after a neighbour told her to keep her three-year-old daughter quiet in her own home.
She said her daughter had been running up and down her hallway early in the morning when the neighbour, who lives in the flat below, complained.
The 'absolutely fuming' mum took to Mumsnet on a Sunday morning to explain that the incident had taken place that very morning, acknowledging that it was early.
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She wrote: "Hi all. Wondering if I'm being unreasonable to be hacked off? We've literally just had a knock on the door from our downstairs neighbour.
We live in a maisonette, we're in the top flat he's on the bottom. He said 'Listen, can you tell your kid to be quiet and stop running around?'"
The mum continued: "I am honestly speechless. We have a three-year-old and a newborn. Yes, she was running up and down the hallway and laughing, but she's three and doesn't understand she needs to be quiet at certain times of the day. We've lived here for four years, and never had any issues or complaints from other neighbours or the ones who lived below previously.
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"I am absolutely fuming but I don't know if I have a right to be. To me, if you live in a shared building you run the risk of hearing noise. And it's not as if we're playing music or running the washing machine. You know, noise you can prevent or limit. Does he expect us to gag and tie up our child?"
Users of the parenting forum were divided about the issue, with some taking the side of the neighbour and others agreeing that some noise is all part of the parcel of living in a shared building.
One wrote: "Your neighbour can't move into a ground floor flat below a family with young children and expect silence. It is normal family noise."
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"I think your family needs to be able to relax in their own home," agreed a second. "A toddler running about is normal. You will just have to tell him politely that this is normal family life."
Others, meanwhile, said that the mother should have at least tried to keep her toddler quiet at such an early time of the day.
"A three-year-old can usually understand the instruction not to run," wrote one critic. "Considering it's still early on a Sunday morning, you are being unreasonable."
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"Before 8 am on a Sunday? I wouldn't be too impressed," wrote another. "Yes, neighbours have to accept some family noise, but it sounds as though you weren't even trying to keep your three-year-old quiet. You should be more considerate."
The mum went on to explain that while she does tell her child to be quiet, she 'sometimes forgets herself' because of her age and added that they have a carpeted hallway.
What do you think of the neighbour's request for the child to 'be quiet'?
Topics: Real Life
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Emma Guinness