For the childless WFH-er trying to concentrate, it's not much fun when kids noisily use the communal areas of apartment buildings as a playground. I know this from experience. Thankfully, noise-cancelling headphones are pretty good these days.
This is a very Anglo-spheric perspective, and it's because you guys can't build nice apartments
I grew up in a nice apartment in Eastern Europe, the building had an enclosed courtyard and was a safe place for dozens of kids to play and socialise. You would let out kids without supervision, there are always adults around and they all know each-other. If something serious was going down, they would intervene and call relevant parents.
There are always old grandmas sitting on the bench, gossiping and eating sunflower seeds, they were the biological CCTV system. You could also always look out the window and see what your kid is doing.
Courtyard here is "don't step on grass', 'don't make noise', 'don't play games', so what the hell is it for?
Quite frankly English and Americans just don't get how to build nice cities at all, that's why they always want to move to the suburbs or some village.
It would not be hard to design an enclosed communal area visible to all of the units. Lots of early suburbs had a communal design where the play area faced into the kitchens of the houses.
You can easily have a family in an apartment if it has 2-3 bedrooms in it. That’s a very common design in Eastern Europe and other parts. It’s only in NA do people believe that you can only have a family in a SFH
Its a real shame our cities aren't multi-generational; it can be done, eg Tokyo. For the most part people move to the 'burbs when they have children, which is fine, but it shouldn't be the only option.
In the USA it seems, everywhere else lots of families live in apartments, houses are expensive and/or far away from jobs.
> Children/large families can be noisy.
Yes, they can. You can also get a single neighbor blasting music at ungodly hours.
> they benefit from safe outdoor space to play.
There is this invention called parks, you know about them? It's open space which can be used by anyone.
> For the childless WFH-er trying to concentrate, it's not much fun when kids noisily use the communal areas of apartment buildings as a playground.
Complaint to your hoa or something.
You haven't described a problem for the families with children, you've described a problem for others (you) who are using the building in a way it wasn't designed for.
Your kids, maybe. This isn't a ubiquitous perspective. But, some people don't tell their kids "no" about anything, so...
I'll teach mine to mostly yell in big open spaces, while biking, on a playground, during sports.
I don’t know where you’re coming from as for safety. A single family home doesn’t imply safety and an apartment building can have both indoor and outdoor play areas.
Personally, I love the sound of kids - it creates an atmosphere of energy, joy, love, a lack of cynicism (such as found in certain HN posts :) ) ... It's a wonderful work environment and a palliative for working with (many) adults.
(Sadly, they grow up to be adults like the rest. How does that happen? We suck at raising kids - they come out worse than when they were at 6 or 10 years old.)
But, lots of parents today let their kids scream as if they're being fucking killed, like they're in some form of serious danger - for hours. When the "serious danger" is their sibling chasing them.
Aside from being rude, this can be really disconcerting.
Because, if you truly live in a community of people who care, some of your neighbors are stopping what they're doing for a minute to listen & make sure the child "screaming bloody murder" is actually fine.
It is NOT rude for kids to yell. It is rude to live in a building where kids yelling can distract you. The problem is the building though, not the people/kids inside.
It is not rude for kids to yell and laugh while playing.
It is rude to let them keep screaming as if they're being hurt, in pain, or facing danger.
It is rude if they're screaming for hours.
If I did what I described, my parents would have simply picked me up, carried me into the house, and into my room (until I was done alert-screaming like I was in danger and needed help).
We get it, (from your repeated replies) - you are not motivated in the same way.
Just don't look at me strange when I look at you strange, if your kid is kicking and screaming in the middle of the walkway. That seems to be another commonly "uncontrollable" behavior of children, for some parents.