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Let Kids Be Loud

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Re: Let Kids Be Loud

#31

Post by marssaxman »

voxleone wrote: post #11

I'm noticing a reversal of social deference: -Then: Older generations had the cultural authority, and children were expected to conform. -Now: There’s increasing tolerance—and even privilege—granted to children (and parents), sometimes at the expense of quiet, order, or adult comfort. Hypothesis: This shift reflects a society aware of its declining birthrate, where children are becoming scarcer and more symbolically…

I think it is quite the opposite: what is novel is that this has come before the court at all. Nobody would have dreamed of expecting children to stay inside and be quiet all day during my childhood, nor that of my parents, nor their parents; rather, we were often made to go play outside.

Re: Let Kids Be Loud

#32

Post by BrenBarn »

Kids playing is great, but I think this article glosses over some important wrinkles.

A big one I see is that some parents seem incapable of distinguishing between "there are times when it is okay for my child to play noisily" and "my child's activities and/or noise level should never be restricted". Playing in a park is great --- that's what parks are for! Playing in your yard, or an apartment courtyard or the like, great. Playing on the sidewalk is fine. . . but remember that sidewalks are also for people to walk on, so if someone comes by the kid needs to realize that they should let them pass. But then we have parents who come into stores and let their kids grab things from shelves and play with them in the middle of the floor, and so on.

Part of accepting and embracing play is understanding that not every moment is playtime, and that even within playtime there can be subcategories with different expectations.

This article frames it in terms of noise, but in my experience a lot of the issues people have with noise are really issues about parents not understanding how to set boundaries for their kids, and teach their kids that behavior --- not just noise, but everything --- has to be adjusted for different situations.

Re: Let Kids Be Loud

#33

Post by gowld »

petercooper wrote: post #10

For years our neighborhood had an ice cream truck or two turn up a few days a week during summer, which we used to enjoy. This year, not a single one. I saw one of the trucks at a school fete and asked about it. The guy said one person had complained about the noise so the local council banned them after 7pm! With most of their sales falling between 6-9pm, they decided it wasn't worth it for one hour and moved on to…

Presumably, the problem was the truck music, not the ice cream sales. There's a market opening for a travelling ice cream seller who doesn't play loud, obloxously noise on loop after 7pm.

Re: Let Kids Be Loud

#34

Post by airstrike »

There's a difference between being loud in public vs privately. As a kid, I was never allowed to be loud in a restaurant, unless it was a restaurant for kids—and even then up to a reasonable limit

Re: Let Kids Be Loud

#35

Post by foxglacier »

Aurornis wrote: post #19

I always have a hard time interpreting these stories. Is this really a trend? Or is it an example of someone collecting anecdotes from all around the world and presenting it as a trend? The internet makes it easier than ever to search for anecdotes around the world that support an idea, but a collection of global anecdotes does not indicate a trend. There are billions of people in the world and some of them are crank…

If it was real, they author would have shown some data to support that. So yea, it's just random anecdotes to make it look like there's something for people to be outraged about.

Re: Let Kids Be Loud

#36

Post by callc »

klank wrote: post #23
johnfn wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe because he was trying to make small talk and you insulted his profession?

OP mentioned "lawnmowers, weed whackers, and gasoline powered tools". That has nothing to do with standard carpentry.

The carpenter may have thought the same sentiment is being applied to loud power tools such as table saw, jointer, router, …

Re: Let Kids Be Loud

#37

Post by thinkingtoilet »

petercooper wrote: post #10

For years our neighborhood had an ice cream truck or two turn up a few days a week during summer, which we used to enjoy. This year, not a single one. I saw one of the trucks at a school fete and asked about it. The guy said one person had complained about the noise so the local council banned them after 7pm! With most of their sales falling between 6-9pm, they decided it wasn't worth it for one hour and moved on to…

It's amazing how much power one person can have if we let them. I would organize people to talk to the people who made the ban and let them know you are unhappy. People pay so little attention to local politics that even an issue like this can result in someone being elected or not being reelected.

Re: Let Kids Be Loud

#39

Post by petercooper »

johnthedebs wrote: post #27
taylorlapeyre wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree, but with a caveat about ice cream trucks specifically. If they park in one spot and play the same jingle very loudly for hours on end (say, three to four hours in one location outside of your home), it is in fact insanely maddening.

I may be more sound sensitive than most, but if I could hear it loudly for even 5-10 minutes I'd be annoyed. 3-4 hours? While I'm at home? Absolutely no way; I'd complain too.

In the UK stationary ice cream trucks don't play music, only those travelling around, so you hear it for a couple of minutes at most as it winds around the neighborhood. I'd also be complaining if it was going on for hours :-)

Re: Let Kids Be Loud

#40

Post by didibus »

Kind of interested for someone to look into if hearing children noise is healthy, I could imagine it actually affecting one's hormonal response and such, but also maybe not.
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