AITA for wanting my neighbors kid to shut up?
I am a downstairs neighbor. I think I’m a pretty reasonable and compassionate one. I’ve been here for almost a year, and I’ve only made a complaint once. I understand that there’s nothing that can be done about thin walls or floors and so with that information I try to let things roll off my back or turn the TV up. But my upstairs neighbor has a child who is about 4 to 6 years old. This kid will shout Mom for 10 to 30 minutes at a time. Nonstop. “Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom!” - no breaks. Not every 10 seconds or every couple of minutes. Think of the “Family Guy” episode where Stewie does this. It’s very similar. My problem isn’t that the kid wants to call for his Mom. It’s that she actively ignores it and makes it everyone else else’s problem but hers. I don’t know if she’s trying to ignore the behavior to not encourage it, or if she’s just ready to pull her hair out and retreating in her bedroom. Which I completely understand … because I also have to hear it. But their windows are always open. And this start sometimes as soon as 6 AM. It happens about eight times a day, until they go to bed around 11 or later. On top of that it sounds like she’s rearranging her entire house every day. When she walks, it sounds like a herd of elephants. They also have three dogs which they routinely rough house with. I thought upstairs neighbors were supposed to be considerate and self-aware. I would probably be a great upstairs neighbor.
So am I the asshole for expecting her to try and explain to her son that there are people that also have to hear it and that he should stop? It’s getting progressively worse, and I am ready to make a complaint. When I first moved in, I made a complaint about how loud they were and it stopped for a long time. Now it almost feels like it’s on purpose. All the other stuff is annoying, but I can handle it. But listening to her constantly ignore her son calling out to her and not discouraging it - is making me so angry.