Definition: Given a real-life anecdote of a complex ethical situation, generate a suitable title that describes the main event/root cause of the situation. Imagine that the given text is a social media post, and you have to write the title of the post, so the users can decide to read the main text or not.
Input: I live in a flat, and recently we had some new upstairs neighbours move in. I haven’t met or seen them at all yet, but I’m about to lose my mind.

They clearly have a number of small children, which is fine. You expect some noise in a block of flats anyway, it can’t be helped, and I get that kids can be noisy but this is actual insanity.

From early morning to at least 10:30pm, every single day, they are tearing about the flat and screaming. Stomping SO loud non stop it’s all we can hear, and screaming and shouting and jumping, dragging or throwing things across the floor etc. 

As I say, this happening occasionally is to be expected, I don’t expect a silent home when I live in a block of flats. But in my opinion this is happening beyond what would be considered reasonable.

It’s not normal walking footsteps, it’s loud, constant thudding and stamping. The screaming and shouting and crying is relentless and very piercing. And as I say, this goes on ALL day EVERY day and until way past 10pm every single night.

At a weekend I’m completely fine with noise (we have other neighbours that at a weekend regularly have loud parties until 5am and I never complain - it’s a weekend so crack on in my books); but during the week I think this is just rude and inconsiderate. There’s no longer a moment of peace in our flat.

I totally get that kids are a different ball game to parties, you can’t tell people to keep their kids silent. But I really feel like more could be done to at least minimise some of this noise, at the moment it sounds like these kids are allowed to constantly run absolute riot.

Would I be an asshole if I said something? Maybe a (very politely worded) note through the door? I know notes are a bit passive aggressive but I feel knocking on the door could be a bit confrontational...

My flatmate also finds this infuriating, but her view is “kids will be kids, we can’t tell them to shut their kids up, it’s asshole behaviour”. Whilst I would usually agree with this, for example I’d never complain about a crying newborn or something like that that can’t be helped, I think this is just unreasonable from the neighbours. If not the level of noise, at least the time of night it goes on to (and duration).

So, would I be a massive asshole for telling these new neighbours to rein their kids in before I actually lose my mind??!

telling my upstairs neighbours to shut their kids up