Dad baffled after neighbour complains he's been chopping tomatoes 'too loudly'
When you're living in a flat with downstairs neighbours, it's common courtesy not to stomp about or make their life a misery. But how would you feel if a neighbour claimed you'd been preparing food "too loudly"?
This is the odd predicament one family has found themselves in after a resident complained about the noise they make walking around their flat and when "chopping tomatoes." The strange list of concerns came to light after the mum of the family in question turned to Mumsnet for advice. Keen to know how far she should go to appease her downstairs neighbour, she explained the woman has had a problem with their noise level for years.
"Not long after I moved in, so this is 5 years ago now, the lady who lives downstairs caught me one day outside to tell me that we should walk around more quietly because it's disturbing her and called me specifically 'a heavy walker'," she wrote.
At the time, the mum was happy to agree as her family had just moved in, but they soon found the resident had several complaints. "Once she even came upstairs because my partner was 'chopping tomatoes too loud' according to her. So all these 5 years she's been complaining to [housing association] and they of course have a duty to inform us, just a informal chat, no warnings or anything. And we never had loud parties, music, just normal everyday sounds," her post continued.
She added that she understands her neighbour's frustration, as she faces a similar problem in her home "made out of cardboard." "We can hear everything upstairs, the baby crying, talking.." she noted.
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However, the mum now wonders how far she should go in order to keep her son quiet during the day. "I constantly have to tell him not to jump, run, throw heavy things on floor. You know, active kids stuff. I mean… if I lived downstairs I also wouldn't want to listen to kid running or jumping excited all day but can I let kid be a kid?" she questioned. "I try to be understanding to other people around me, that's like common sense to me I guess."
Unfortunately, commenters struggled to come to a consensus. One person wrote: "I have 4 kids and they don't run or jump in the house. An excited bounce every now and then but they get told not to do it all the time. They can jump, run and yell outside." Another questioned: "Why is he running and jumping in a flat? You need to set boundaries as this isn't actually ok."
But the mum replied: "So how do I explain to 2 year old that. 'No, don’t jump excited when the Numberblocks come on TV.' 'No, don't throw ball down the corridor at the middle of the day and run after it laughing.' 'No, don't run and scream happy when Daddy comes home from work and you're excited to see him.'
"Basically walk slowly in a straight line and don't make any noise? What kind of life is that?" Elsewhere, someone else commented: "She sounds utterly ridiculous and I'd probably disregard the complaints of someone who thought that stating someone was chopping tomatoes too loudly was a valid complaint.
"Hearing your neighbours is part and parcel of flat living. Absolutely ensure your son isn't hooning about, bouncing off the walls, but don't feel you need to curb normal household sounds."
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