Running Child Upstairs
Hello. I have been living in my condo for 5 weeks. Immediately upon moving in, I realized that the child in the apartment above mine runs the length of the apartment–whose layout is the same as mine– anywhere from a few minutes to as many as 45 minutes at a time. About two weeks ago…
Hello. I have been living in my condo for 5 weeks. Immediately upon moving in, I realized that the child in the apartment above mine runs the length of the apartment–whose layout is the same as mine– anywhere from a few minutes to as many as 45 minutes at a time. About two weeks ago after having to listen to that for 45 minutes, I went upstairs, introduced myself and politely stated that running for 45 minutes non-stop was jarring and that I couldn’t even hear my TV. The father asked me what he wanted me to do. I told him that the solution was up to him and his wife. I remained polite but clear about the noise being unnerving. He insists on my giving him a solution. I noted that in cases like this carpeting seemed like the solution. He said, “I won’t install carpeting. Anyway, I don’t think it will matter.†I told him not be so negative after pushing for a solution. He wanted us to agree on a schedule. I said, “It’s obvious I’m not home all week from 8 am to 8 pm. However when I come home, I’d like to be able to relax and hear my TV or just read.†He said, “That seems reasonable.†For the most part, there hasn’t been running after 8 pm during the week. The thing is, the weekends are unbearable with that child. I came home on Sunday night around 5 pm and by 6 pm I had to put in earplugs. Ditto for tonight. What would be my next step? He has said NO to carpeting. Am I being unreasonable? Should I stay quite about that noise? Should I just go to the condo association? Try with him again? I’d like to get along with my neighbors but it has to be a two-way street. The only thing, I am obviously the one in the weaker position. Thank you!
i was wondering this the other day.. are there child-free buildings in new york city? or is that illegal here? it seems like it would be a great ammenity for some. i know the complex of Melrose Place is a child-free apartment building, but that’s fictional.
8rob*
Some of these replies are unbelievable. Children should be taught that the apt is not the place to be running around in incessantly and the reasons therefor, i.e., people live downstairs and it is disturbing to them. Fear not,you won’t harm the child irreparably. As a matter of fact there may be an unintended consequence. You might be building character and teaching a novel concept; respect of others.
dont worry.. he’ll be off to college in 10-12 years.
I’m reminded of a scene from the first season of Mad Men.
There is a birthday party at the Draper home. One child is yelling and running through the halls until he is slapped by a man who is not his father.
Imagine if that happened today in Park Slope.
“even my DOG knows not to run around indoors!”
In many ways, dogs are more intelligent and trainable and less stubborn than young children.
Actually, dogs are more intelligent and trainable and less stubborn than many adults…
bagus: that kind of attitude where kids can do whatever they want cuz “they are kids” and we dont want to stifle their creativity and energy blah blah blah is terrible and totally makes other peoples lives miserable who choose not to bear fruit. there’s a gazillion and one other activities the kids could be doing instead of stomping around annoying downstairs neighbors. how would you feel if someone above you practiced the drums non stop all day and night? dont stifle them!!!
and im SURE if this was just an occassional thing the original psoter wouldnt have posted about it. clearly it’s on-going, and that just isnt right.
*rob*
“I’m surprised there are so many on here who think it’s normal or acceptable for children to be running around indoors. When I was growing up, we were never allowed to run around indoors. That’s what outdoors is for. For the poster who mentioned that playground equipment may be too dangerous for a small child, nothing is more dangerous than a home.”
The age of the child was never specified. As the father of a toddler, that is the age group I’m thinking of. It’s amazing how much noise a little child makes when he walks. They have no concept of carefully shifting weight from one foot to another. Every step is like a little jump. Not sure how old they have to be to get a normal walking gate…
If the child is 4 or 5, then, yes, parents should reason with the child and the child could spend more time running around outside.
If the child is younger than that, you can’t really reason with him. You can bribe him with children’s DVDs and cookies or you can lock him up in a crib or playpen or you can constantly pick him up and physically stop him, but those are pretty much your only options.
And your “nothing is more dangerous than a home” statement is absurd. I don’t know what your home is like, but mine is definitely less dangerous for a 1-3 year old child than a city playground.
Most of the playground equipment I’ve seen provide kids plenty of opportunity to climb up to 3-6 times their height and then fall to the ground.
Has anyone here ever tried to make a toddler/preschooler sit down when they have extra energy to burn off?!!??
We had a similar situation with upstairs neighbors….3 year old doing laps for what seemed like hours at a time. We couldn’t understand how they could let it happen and practically cursed the parents. Our kids are now 5, 2 and 2. Now we understand it….we should’ve been giving our upstairs neighbors sympathy.
(There is a drop ceiling between us and the downstairs neighbors who swear that they don’t hear anything bothersome. And for the record, our kids are in bed by 8.)
As a human being, I realize that I went through an inconvenient period called “childhood” where sometimes I did insensitive things like “playing”…I occasionally went so far as to do these things while adults were attempting to engage in important activities such as watching TV.
I know that other people, especially children, can be terribly inconvenient…