A young mother in Redcliffe has been left distraught after receiving her neighbour’s note complaining about the noise from her 4-month-old baby’s crying.
“I’m writing this on behalf of your neighbours and wanted to reach out to you regarding the noise level coming from your residence, particularly the crying of your baby,” the letter said.
“While we understand that babies cry and a newborn can be tough, we can clearly hear everything from the early hours of the morning, throughout the day and into the evening.”
“The prolonged and frequent crying has disrupted your fellow neighbours. Some of us work from home and others are shift workers. We have tried closing our windows and doors and even have turned on appliances with the TV and radio and the crying is still being heard.”
The neighbour ended the note saying, “We value being good neighbours and respecting each other’s space but wanted to reach out and ask if it would be possible to close your rear doors and windows while the baby is feeling unsettled.”
Tiffany, 36, who asked for her last name to be withheld, discovered the typed note in her mailbox earlier this week. “I was pretty upset by it, like I was in tears,” she told Yahoo News Australia.
The letter, addressed vaguely “on behalf of your neighbours,” criticised the “prolonged and frequent crying” coming from Tiffany’s home, saying it has disrupted those who work from home or do shift work in the area. It asked if the new parents could close their doors and windows “while the baby is feeling unsettled” out of respect for the peace of the neighbourhood.
For Tiffany and her partner John, who bought their freestanding house near a busy road last year, the passive-aggressive message came as a huge shock. “I have a feeling it might be the upstairs neighbour in a unit complex behind us, because I have heard them slam their window a couple of times,” Tiffany said.
She described her baby boy as “pretty chill” who “settles quickly” and doesn’t routinely scream through the night. Calling the complaint “unreasonable,” Tiffany said “When you read the undertones, you know the reason they’ve used that language is to cause guilt.”
The new mum’s story quickly went viral after she shared the note on Facebook, drawing a mixed response. Many expressed outrage at the inconsiderate neighbour, but some felt the request to close windows during fussy periods was “reasonable.”
Moreton Bay Regional Council said it does not regulate noise from babies specifically, only certain equipment and construction. Police said noise complaints can be made at any time but did not indicate whether an infant’s cry would qualify.
Tiffany said she’s open to communication but has no plans to “muzzle” her baby to appease the complainer. “If they’d come and had a chat with us… we would have been open to a conversation. But I won’t be closing my windows.”
Published 6-May-2024