# Kids stomping and playing



## kikimezz (Jul 10, 2008)

My husband and I live in a 2 bedroom apartment, I am a stay at home mom, my kids are boys 4 and almost 2. We are hoping to move sometime next year, but in the meantime we do our best to keep our kids from being too noisy. We are on the 2nd floor, the woman below is and always has been a bad seed, complains about everything and everyone, stalks the parking lot for special parking spots, just not a nice lady. Anyhow I try to be respectful non the less and keep my kids from being "overly noisy". She apparently tried to knock on door (thank goodness for noisy kids because I didn't hear!). She said in message she left for my husbands cell something about why I can't take them to park, and how she's trying to relax. Ugh I can't stand her, I do take them to the park, and to the gym to play, almost every day I take them outside somewhere! I never stay home anymore. What am I supposed to take them all day long to the park? Ugh!


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## dalia (Sep 3, 2007)

I would totally ignore her. If she doesn't like it, she can move. She sounds really cranky and will probably just find something else to complain about.


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## kikimezz (Jul 10, 2008)

Thanks dalia







you hit the nail on the head, she's totally one of those unfortunate miserable souls that is never happy. I say prayers for her when I walk past her door lol, she's been nothing but rude to me always when my husband is never around!
Thanks for the reassurance


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## GISDiva (Jul 13, 2007)

A new acquaintance of mine is having the exact same issue. They rented a condo and the man downstairs (who owns his unit, which probably makes him more bitter) has even gotten the cops involved (who were unimpressed, let me tell you), all because of one 2 year old boy who happens to be an early riser and has a nasty habit of *gasp* walking on a hardwood floor. Unfortunately, they're thinking of moving just to escape this guy, he even blew an airhorn at the ceiling at them one day and posted the whole thing on Facebook. 

Anyway. The cops said that they certainly won't do anything and that there just really isn't anything *to* do about it.


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## mamalisa (Sep 24, 2002)

My neighbor called the cops on my kids for sledding near her house. On a snow day. Near their own house. Because she sleeps during the day and they were disturbing her. People suck.


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## mamazee (Jan 5, 2003)

I knew this was going to involve an apartment as soon as I saw the word "stomping."

Part of living in an apartment is that there is some level of noise from the adjoining apartments. Obviously it's possible to make more noise than is acceptable, but it isn't fair to expect neighbors to make no noise whatsoever either. Kids that age don't weigh much and there's only so hard they can stomp. I think I'd keep them from going nuts as much as possible, but this sounds like her problem more than yours. If she doesn't want kids in adjoining apartments, there are some apartments made for people only age 50 and up, aren't there? But maybe she isn't 50 yet.

I guess OTOH if you couldn't hear her knock maybe they are getting too loud? I don't know your apartment layout but I guess I don't want to assume she is completely wrong when I don't know that much about the situation. Kids have to be free to make a certain amount of noise in their own house, but there's still the concept of "indoor voices" and "outdoor voices."

It can't be easy to live in an apartment with kids. I have lived in apartments, but not since I had kids. I remember living under a stomper, but it wasn't that big of a deal, and that was a large adult. There's no way little kids could make such a big racket just walking around. Unless they're jumping off furniture maybe? I guess I'd keep that from happening, but they can't be expected to not move around either.


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## kikimezz (Jul 10, 2008)

Thanks ladies. Our floors (except for the kitchen) are all carpeted so I can't imagine how bad it can be! I am wondering if she actually did knock or is making that part up. My place isn't that big so I can usually hear every knock, and every door opening in the lobby, unless I was in the kitchen maybe had the radio on, who knows! Glad to know I'm not the only one, she's older than 60 and never leaves her apartment unless she goes outside to smoke (thank The Lord for that one because I have an asthmatic kid!).


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## Polliwog (Oct 29, 2006)

I live in a condo townhouse with a carpeted upstairs. I am very sound sensitive and the sound of my kids hopping (not even jumping) off their beds makes me nuts. So much so that I took apart their bunk beds because even getting down from the ladder made loud thumps.

If I were you, I'd try to be a bit more conscientious about excess thumping and possibly limit the more active play to a specific part of your apartment.


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## Greenlea (Apr 21, 2010)

Quote:
Originally Posted by *Polliwog* 



> If I were you, I'd try to be a bit more conscientious about excess thumping and possibly limit the more active play to a specific part of your apartment.


Really? How can you get a 2 yr old to not excessively "thump"?? What does that even mean? Make them tiptoe?

I live in a 2 BR apt as well with my 4yr old and 2.5 yr old. We live on the 2nd floor. There are certain things I try to get them not to do - like chase each other in the house, jump off the couch or their bed, bounce balls in the house, etc. But they are young kids and I don't want to give them anxiety about not making noise. They like to wrestle and march and skip, etc and I just don't always stop them. DS2 likes to get up pretty early, like 6am - so I do make sure he isn't loud until its an appropriate morning time. But then they are in bed by 8:30pm or so and we're not home all day, so I really don't worry too much because I figure we're really not keeping our downstairs neighbors up at ungodly hours of the night and if they didn't want to deal with it they would not have moved into an apt and they most certainly would have made sure to get an apt on a higher floor.

Not only that, but I grew up with a Dad who hated pounding and thumping and we'd always get in trouble for it when playing upstairs in our room; in a house we owned. I never wanted my kids to worry too much about making noise the way I did growing up.

Now, our upstairs neighbors have 2 kids and they are stompers. They are pretty loud actually. Like sometimes it sounds like they are upstairs by themselves with a herd of elephants with them. We have not complained yet as having kids of our own, we can understand to some extent. The problem with them is they do not go to bed at a decent hour. The kids will be up until 10 or 11pm at night jumping around chasing each other. The other night the younger boy was in the stairwell at 12:30am having a tantrum! But honestly, when they are doing it during the day I hardly notice.


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## dalia (Sep 3, 2007)

When people complain about children being children, I just think that deep down they don't like children (which means they have some major issues). If you guys had a dog she would complain about that. If you had a goldfish she would complain. Some folks are in the habit of complaining. Be happy, raise your kids, be kind to her if you see her. The rest is her responsibility.


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## kikimezz (Jul 10, 2008)

I just found out that she's actually moving!! She will be gone in about 3 weeks! Yay! I wonder why she's complaining so much then, unless she's nervous about the new tenants moving in? I don't know, I always try to be courteous and kind and respectful especially with my kids playing and being noisy inside. Plus they are in bed by 7:45pm anyways!!


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## dalia (Sep 3, 2007)

Hooray!!!!


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## sassyfirechick (Jan 21, 2012)

Well that's good news! I was going to chime in that my parent's owned a 2 family up/down that I grew up in - we had the first floor 3 bedroom, and rented the 2nd floor which was 2 bedrooms. When the old guy, long time tennant, passed away, my parents were excited to clean up the place (he was a smoker) but were not sure what we'd get moving in and they though they got lucky when a friend of the family had an acquaintance look at the place - young couple with a baby. They moved in, and while the baby was quiet, the adults were not!! Every other conversation was "F you" and "go to hell!"...and apparently they had a lot of make up sex bc my parents go to hear it every night  Moral of the story, sharing walls with strangers almost never works out well!


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## kikimezz (Jul 10, 2008)

Omg that's insane! How can people talk to each other like that?!! I can't wait to sell our place next year!!


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## onlyAngil (Jan 17, 2008)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *dalia*
> 
> When people complain about children being children, I just think that deep down they don't like children (which means they have some major issues). If you guys had a dog she would complain about that. If you had a goldfish she would complain. Some folks are in the habit of complaining. Be happy, raise your kids, be kind to her if you see her. The rest is her responsibility.


thank you


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## jmarroq (Jul 2, 2008)

I think if it is late at night or early AM noise on a regular basis, I can understand her concern, but other than that....sorry! It's an apartment!

I have been that annoying neighbor to an extent...but only when the noise was excessive and went on past 11:00 PM or so and only when I had babies or young children who needed to sleep. I never approached the neighbors myself..I went through the leasing office or the landlord...or in a couple of cases the police (loud parties that occasionally led to fights).


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