how early is too early for kids to be outside playing

[PatsGirl]

While I think 7 am is a bit early and think 8 is probably more acceptable for any loud noises, I'd rather have a kid playing basketball than a neighbor mowing his lawn. On the other end, I think all noise should end by 10 pm. We are an "early to bed, early to rise" family with no real close neighbors so none of this is an issue most days, just giving my 2 cents.

 

[kidshop]

Must be that regional thing again.

Our sprinklers are not allowed to be running during the day. The cycle must be finished by 7am as anything later is considered a waste of water as it evaporates too much in the heat. The town encourages sprinklers to be running during the middle of the night. Ours run from 2am to 4am.

As I mentioned, our entire neighborhood is up and running by 7am on weekends. Kids are outside, mowers are going, parents are coming in from their runs and bike rides. In the summer, 165 kids start swimming at 6am, tennis courts are full at 6am to get games in before the lessons start at 7.
In the fall, football and lacrosse practices start at 7 on the community fields. A bouncing basketball at 7am would be nothing around here.

Nobody would go ring a doorbell at 7, but there usually are plenty of kids and adults outside at 7.

We also all look out for each other in our neighborhood.

That sounds like some nightmare episode of the twilight zone to me! . Do you you have to sign something to move in?

Our neighborhood has houses on large (half acre+ lots), a moderate amount of kids, and I would classify it as sleepy. I never hear anything early or late. No barking dogs, no screaming kids except for afternoons now, and no mowers.

It's heavenly!

 

[soccerdad72]

If one child shooting baskets is that loud, it's obvious the kid needs the practice.

 

[Minnesota!]

I don't think it's to early, 7:00am seems like a reasonable time for kids to play but I guess I'm in the minority.

We're early birds here, so a kid being out at 7:00 (before it gets too hot) feels normal to me too. We just didn't let DS call for other kids until 9:00. - The rule was "if they see you out, they can join you, but you can't ring the bell until then".

My thoughts, exactly.

Our neighborhood is full of early risers (us, included). My kids rarely sleep past 6, 630 on weekend...

The kids (mine and neighbor ones) were out playing basketball, AAMOF, around 7 this past weekend. The kids who attend public school in my neighborhood catch their bus at 710 and they all seem to play a quick game of horse before they go to the stop...so well before 7. Has never bothered me.

 

[elaine amj]

I groan when noise starts that early, but roll over and figure it's my problem. Some of my neighbors cut the grass at 7am. Recently, one spent a week doing something that involved hammering noises at 7am. Awful. But I would not dream of complaining about it. My problem that I am sleeping in, not theirs.

 

[HM]

How about once hunting season starts and the guns start going off right as dawn breaks? That's not the way I like to wake up....but I do most of the fall and winter.

 

[JanaDee]

How about once hunting season starts and the guns start going off right as dawn breaks? That's not the way I like to wake up....but I do most of the fall and winter.

LOL Most people here don't sleep with their windows open in late November.

Actually, we don't sleep with our windows open at all, since there is one guy in the neighborhood that goes to work at 4:30am and thinks everyone loves to hear his very loud motorcycle rev over and over at that time.

 

[aprilgail2]

I disagree. If the noise ordinance is lifted at 7am (6 in our town), then the only people who are being rude are those that expect others to follow their self-imposed idea of what the noise ordinance should be. After the noise ordinance lifts, it is on the individual to figure out how to sleep through normal yard and child noise. As somebody upthread said, get better windows, get a noise machine, it is up to you to figure out how to keep it quiet for you. It is beyond rude to ask others to be quiet because you like to sleep in. What about people who work a night shift? Should people not mow till 3 or 4? You cannot please everybody, so the only thing you can do is to abide by the town ordinances. Those of you who say no noise till 9 or 10 would absolutely hate our neighborhood. Take our swim team that I mentioned before. The community pool is right smack in the middle of houses. As I said, we can hear the kids 5 blocks away. Meets are on Saturday morning. Set up starts at 5:30am. By 6am, about 165 of our kids are in the water warming up. The DJ is playing music, the start buzzer is going off every few minutes. By 6:30, the other team has shown up with another 150 - 190 kids. At 7:30, the meet starts. That is over 300 children + parents laughing, cheering, screaming. If your house is not close to the pool, you are definitely close to one of the athletic fields as they interspersed among the houses. Our neighborhood is designed around parks surrounded by houses. Soccer games, football games, lacrosse games, baseball games all start at 7am to get all of them in during the day. Again, cheering parents and kids. It is LOUD in our town at 7am on a Saturday.

Wow I would be moving out of that area FAST! There is no way I would want all that racquet on they only 2 days I can sleep in! A DJ a 6 in the morning?. No bloody way would that fly here! Not would any type of sports prior to 9am. That is just nuts.

 

[HM]

LOL Most people here don't sleep with their windows open in late November.

Actually, we don't sleep with our windows open at all, since there is one guy in the neighborhood that goes to work at 4:30am and thinks everyone loves to hear his very loud motorcycle rev over and over at that time.

Interesting that you thought our windows are open. Nope. We can hear it plain as day though the walls/window panes. The game lands are not much more that 200 yards from our house. And there are usually several guys out there at at a time. Blam Blam Blam.

You must have great insulation in your abode.

 

[Laura66]

Interesting that you thought our windows are open. Nope. We can hear it plain as day though the walls/window panes. The game lands are not much more that 200 yards from our house. And there are usually several guys out there at at a time. Blam Blam Blam.

You must have great insulation in your abode.

I can sympathize with you. Our windows are pretty much closed all year round because of allergies. We can definitely hear a basketball bounce next door or across the street. That's why I never let our kids play too early or too late!

 

[JanaDee]

Interesting that you thought our windows are open. Nope. We can hear it plain as day though the walls/window panes. The game lands are not much more that 200 yards from our house. And there are usually several guys out there at at a time. Blam Blam Blam.

You must have great insulation in your abode.

Yes, we do have great insulation, but we don't live close enough to a hunting area for it to be a problem. We can still hear gunshots during hunting season, but they are muted and not something that would wake us up in the morning.

 

[HM]

OP, I'd love for kids to be playing outside at any time in our neighborhood. It's so rare to see a kid out playing, it's heartbreaking. Same with their parents. You hardly see anyone out and about. Everyone seems to spend their time indoors.

 

[sam_gordon]

Wow I would be moving out of that area FAST! There is no way I would want all that racquet on they only 2 days I can sleep in! A DJ a 6 in the morning?. No bloody way would that fly here! Not would any type of sports prior to 9am. That is just nuts.

Just because something is different than what you'd like does not mean it's "nuts".

Our builder must have done a good job with the insulation in our house, because even when the kids are shooting baskets, it's not very loud in our house. In fact, the only place you could hear them is our bedroom (the hoop is outside below our bedroom window).

While I agree no one should be yelling, I see (or hear) no problem with kids shooting basketballs, and while yard/repair work may annoy me, I'd let it go. Maybe that's the best time for that family to do the work (kids events or work prevent later in the day).

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

I'm so glad I have no problem sleeping though any of this.

My schedule is pretty inconsistent and sometimes I sleep weird hours so I'm glad outside noise doesn't bother me.

 

[Metsfan520]

Just because something is different than what you'd like does not mean it's "nuts".

Our builder must have done a good job with the insulation in our house, because even when the kids are shooting baskets, it's not very loud in our house. In fact, the only place you could hear them is our bedroom (the hoop is outside below our bedroom window).

While I agree no one should be yelling, I see (or hear) no problem with kids shooting basketballs, and while yard/repair work may annoy me, I'd let it go. Maybe that's the best time for that family to do the work (kids events or work prevent later in the day).

I'm sorry, but I kinda agree with that. I don't have a problem with kids playing (even shooting hoops) or yard work early on the weekend. But a DJ? at 7 am on one of the 2 days a week I get to sleep past 5 am? Sorry, that's a bit much for me. I couldn't live there.

 

[rigs32]

I'm not a morning person, I've never been a morning person. No amount of trying to be a morning person has ever worked for me. I am always confused by people who think it's better to be a morning person. I can be just as productive in the evening hours as you were in the morning hours.

My city's noise ordinance is that no sounds should be heard across the property line between 10pm and 8am. I think that's very fair and accommodates all but night shift workers.

 

[Kellykins1218]

I can sympathize with you. Our windows are pretty much closed all year round because of allergies. We can definitely hear a basketball bounce next door or across the street. That's why I never let our kids play too early or too late!

I don't even hear the ball when my husband & kids are playing in our own driveway let alone any of the neighbors

 

[Zooshoveller]

7 am is fine IMO. Even yard work. I live in the Deep South, and would rather be woken up by a lawnmower than have my neighbor pass out from a heat stroke.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I don't think it's to early, 7:00am seems like a reasonable time for kids to play but I guess I'm in the minority.

This - 9:00? I'm already thinking about lunch.

 

[Hrhpd]

Wow I would be moving out of that area FAST! There is no way I would want all that racquet on they only 2 days I can sleep in! A DJ a 6 in the morning?. No bloody way would that fly here! Not would any type of sports prior to 9am. That is just nuts.

I have to agree it is kind of nuts

But it is the culture around here. It is what we are used to. Physical activity, sports, etc is literally a cult around here. It is a secondary religion. I myself am not an athlete, and since my morning routine does not include training for some triathlon, I belong to a very, very, very small minority. I think Nike makes their most profit around here on their spandex sports gear.

If somebody dared tell a child to stop doing some outside activity, it would not go over well here. They would be considered the rude ones. It is all perspective on what you are used to. If somebody kept their child inside till 9-10 am, people would assume the child was sick or grounded.

The residents are clamoring for MORE activity fields, because the dozen we have are just not enough.

So, yes, I have to agree that we live in a nutsy area that values sports and physical activity over sleep. Guess that is how we consistently rank #1 or #2 healthiest in the country. But it is the norm, the culture, so nobody questions it and everybody is good with it.

As for the DJ, he has his speakers set up so they don't carry over the neighborhood. It is hard to hear at the other end of the pool, let alone in the houses next door. It is more the voices, even just normal chatter of 300 - 500 people at 7am in the morning that is loud.