Let Kids Be Loud • Hacker News Board

Re: Let Kids Be Loud

#161

Post by junga » Thu, Jul 10, 2025, 10:27 AM UTC

klank wrote: post #48

didibus wrote: post #40

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.

Anecdotally, children making "children noises" is calming for me. It was not until after I was a parent myself though. Like many things in life, once I had the connection in my own personal life, it is now very easy and automatic for me to empathize and support other children. It feels deep, like more an automatic response.

Can't exactly remember how I reacted to children noises before I had kids myself. But I must admit that nowadays noise from other kids makes me smile because 'not my problem'.

Re: Let Kids Be Loud

#162

Post by stirfish » Thu, Jul 10, 2025, 10:28 AM UTC

southernplaces7 wrote: post #156

subjectsigma wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Former/recovering smoker. I hear this sentiment a lot (“Why would anyone ever smoke? It’s just dumbfounding”). I can tell you the reason people smoke is because it feels fucking great. It’s a terrible, terrible habit and the number of smokers of any drug should be zero, but I’m not going to lie to you and tell you it wasn’t relaxing and enjoyable.

Second this. It's not like us smokers, or at least most of us, are sitting there hating every minute and aspect of having a smoke but unable to stop. We maybe can't stop, sure, but it's also just wonderful while we're doing it.

I've found that I wanted to smoke long after I stopped enjoying smoking.

Re: Let Kids Be Loud

#163

Post by schwartzworld » Thu, Jul 10, 2025, 11:16 AM UTC

southernplaces7 wrote: post #157

schwartzworld wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Funny, we have the opposite problem. Ice cream trucks in my area have become way too aggressive. I would give anything to ban them from our neighborhood, as they come through within the first hour after school getting out, causing daily arguments in houses with children. Sometimes more than once a day. Look, even if I wanted to give my kids ice cream every day after school, I am at home and would just get it from the…

Or these parents could, you know, learn to create limits and rules for their kids and teach them to respect those, instead of blaming the ice cream truck that spends a few minutes outside at a good time for sales because the parents can't get a grip on something so minor. That guy is trying to make a living, and the inconvenience is tiny for any one area where he spends barely any time. A lot of the so-called Karen c…

Spoken like someone who either doesn’t have kids, or at least has easier ones than mine. You think you’re just going to explain to a four year old the rules about ice cream and they’ll just be like “you’re right daddy. I forgot we had ice cream from the truck yesterday. I’ll grab some carrot sticks instead”?

It’s not really ethical to market that aggressively to kids, because kids just want. All the time they want. Most people here were children themselves once, or at least know people who have been children. If kids had the credit card, they’d spend everything on Pokémon cards and candy.

Here’s a better question before you call me a Karen: given that most people have freezers, who exactly benefits from daily ice cream truck visits? Not the parents, for reasons above. The kids find it frustrating too. The fact that they had ice cream yesterday usually doesn’t ease their disappointment.

Re: Let Kids Be Loud

#164

Post by ysavir » Thu, Jul 10, 2025, 12:03 PM UTC

johnfn wrote: post #147

ysavir wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The comment was not aimed at the carpenter. Nothing he was doing was loud, and nothing I've experienced with carpenters gives me the impression that they are loud or obnoxious. He was doing a great job. If he took what I said as a dig at his profession, that was his connection, not mine. My take away, after the fact, was that he may have been someone who enjoyed landscaping his own yard and owned several tools that I…

That's fair enough. But don't you think carpentry could be considered a loud profession, like the other ones you listed? I imagine carpenters as banging nails with hammers all day. :P

Hammering can get loud. But not louder than any motorized tool. And hammering being limited by the energy capacity of flesh and blood doesn't last for long bursts, maybe a few minutes at a time. In contrast, motorized tools let out an egregious, sharp hum that can last for an hour or two without pause. Both might draw someone's attention and frustration, but when comparing them objectively, one is clearly worse than the other.

On top of that, carpentry is done on site and isn't mobile. Someone doing carpentry as a hobby will likely be in a garage or some enclosed space that absorbs and muffles the sound. Carpentry being done professionally is temporary and will stop once the construction is finished. Landscaping, though, is everywhere and without end

Re: Let Kids Be Loud

#165

Post by arp242 » Thu, Jul 10, 2025, 12:41 PM UTC

BrenBarn wrote: post #32

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,…

I agree there are some kids and parents who are just unreasonably and/or obnoxious loud in unreasonable moments; I don't think anyone really denies this. I've seen kids race on scooters in supermarkets while the parents were right there. Ugh.

But at least some of these complains have been about really quite reasonable and limited noise levels. For example at my last apartment some kids played out in the courtyard during summer. It really wasn't that often or all that loud. There were a few people who complained as if the kids were out of control, but that wasn't the case at all.

Re: Let Kids Be Loud

#166

Post by taeric » Thu, Jul 10, 2025, 1:22 PM UTC

subjectsigma wrote: post #127

taeric wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Certainly, there were plenty of "dude, really?" moments when kids would go over on limits. It is hard not to think we haven't pushed the limits down to zero, though. Granted, using smoking as an example is hilarious to me. I confess near zero sympathy for that going away. If anything, I'm pretty sure I'm more dumbfounded that people still smoke in any real numbers.

Former/recovering smoker. I hear this sentiment a lot (“Why would anyone ever smoke? It’s just dumbfounding”). I can tell you the reason people smoke is because it feels fucking great. It’s a terrible, terrible habit and the number of smokers of any drug should be zero, but I’m not going to lie to you and tell you it wasn’t relaxing and enjoyable.

Oh, I know that that must be the case for a lot of folks. The movie Trainspotting did a pretty good job communicating some of that.

The surprise on my end is usually that new people smoke. Anyone that had already developed the habit, I am not surprised still does it. In that regard, it is not unlike any other drug.

I also realize I should count myself incredibly lucky that smoking does not impact me at all. I literally feel nothing when I try a smoke or cigar. Can barely even taste it. Reminds me of my grandfather who used to smoke to be social. When he found out they were bad for you, he just stopped. Had no withdrawal at all. Yay genetics. :D

Re: Let Kids Be Loud

#167

Post by wink » Thu, Jul 10, 2025, 1:27 PM UTC

alfalfasprout wrote: post #62

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…

TBH a lot of it is also a cultural shift toward being selfish. You notice it here in the comments as well. Combined with "karen" culture, people are more empowered than ever to complain about things. They forget that when they were kids, they'd be loud, play in their neighborhood, and get up to no good :) It's a real shame, this mentality is what's moved us away from a feeling of community.

Sometimes it's also just the individuals.

We have a small playground here and for a number of years there were exactly 3 people being loud and obnoxious. One mom and her two sons. None of the other kids ever bothered me. :P

Re: Let Kids Be Loud

#168

Post by taeric » Thu, Jul 10, 2025, 1:28 PM UTC

nano521412 wrote: post #146

taeric wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is downright depressing seeing all of the people pile on regarding the food truck. I can almost understand setting a volume limit on it, if there are some that are going overboard. After all, I'll gripe to my kids for yelling while in the same room with me. But banning or justifying a ban!? And, I'm fine that we disallow extreme things such as sonic booms. Yes, that should remain banned. For really good reasons. N…

It's just that annoying. If your city aren't so car dependent maybe kids can get their snack from real vendors in commercial area instead lol

Trust me, it isn't that annoying. Having sea lions that won't stop barking all day is annoying. Coyotes in mating season is obnoxious. A rooster that has decided to not be quiet is annoying.

So sure, kids doing kid things can be loud and obnoxious. But it is not really any more annoying than anything else. The ice cream truck playing a jingle is just not that big of a deal.

Now, I do suspect some folks have obnoxious trucks that play far far louder than they need to? In this vein, it is a lot like cars going down the street. At a base level, it makes noise and it doesn't really make sense to complain about it. That said, it is extra obnoxious to have people trick out cars and motorcycles to be loud on purpose. And those I have no sympathy for getting banned.

Re: Let Kids Be Loud

#169

Post by taeric » Thu, Jul 10, 2025, 2:38 PM UTC

moron4hire wrote: post #92

loco5niner wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ice cream trucks are specifically obnoxious especially in a neighborhood or a park. I would also complain. They would fit in fine at a carnival or similar. I've always found it odd that most people would complain if someone sprayed water all over them, but are surprised when people complain the same way about obnoxious noise. I do live next to an elementary school and enjoy listening to the children playing. Like the…

Ice cream trucks are a weaponized guilty trip against parents. The kids whine and complain about wanting ice cream and I'm already having a hard enough time modeling good food habits for them. If it were once a month I wouldn't mind, but it's been every day for the last month. Like, dude, nobody needs ice cream that much. Please stop starting an argument in my house. Incidentally, we just replaced all the windows in…

What? If you can't tell your kids no without feeling guilty, it actually sounds like you need more places to tell your kids no? If they are whining about it, set the expectation that whining and not accepting a no is, itself, unacceptable?

This one is an odd area where I would think budgeting would be a good lesson. Set a budget aside for how much they can spend per day and per month on ice cream. If they have the funds, they can get it. If not, make it clear on when they exhausted their budget. In this regard, it should not be an open question on whether or not they can get something. And any "no" will be a direct result of something they have control over.

Re: Let Kids Be Loud

#170

Post by loco5niner » Thu, Jul 10, 2025, 2:56 PM UTC

taeric wrote: post #169

moron4hire wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ice cream trucks are a weaponized guilty trip against parents. The kids whine and complain about wanting ice cream and I'm already having a hard enough time modeling good food habits for them. If it were once a month I wouldn't mind, but it's been every day for the last month. Like, dude, nobody needs ice cream that much. Please stop starting an argument in my house. Incidentally, we just replaced all the windows in…

What? If you can't tell your kids no without feeling guilty, it actually sounds like you need more places to tell your kids no? If they are whining about it, set the expectation that whining and not accepting a no is, itself, unacceptable? This one is an odd area where I would think budgeting would be a good lesson. Set a budget aside for how much they can spend per day and per month on ice cream. If they have the fu…

Oh man, I've got young kids and there are so many battles. I don't need more battles, please. Especially artificial battles purposefully created by intrusive marketing jerks.