Neighbour's note about her baby leaves new mum ‘in tears’, sparking community debate
- Replies 24
In the quaint, typically serene suburbs where camaraderie among neighbours is often taken for granted, a surprising conflict has emerged, leaving a new mum in distress.
The tranquillity of a ‘friendly’ Australian neighbourhood in Redcliffe, Queensland, was disrupted when Tiffany, a new mum who preferred to keep her last name private, found herself at the receiving end of a neighbour's grievance about the sounds of her infant son.
Tiffany's discovery of the note left anonymously in her mailbox was a jarring experience that brought her to tears.
‘I was just checking my mailbox and saw a letter,’ she recounted.
‘I was pretty upset by it, like, I was in tears.’
The A4 paper bore a message that was both a plea and a complaint, voicing the frustrations of an unnamed neighbour—or neighbours—over the cries of her four-and-a-half-month-old baby.
The note read: ‘I’m writing this on behalf of your neighbours and wanted to reach out to you regarding the noise level coming from your residence, particularly the crying of your baby.’
‘While we understand that babies cry and a newborn can be tough, we can clearly hear everything from the early hours of the morning, throughout the day and into the evening.’
‘The prolonged and frequent crying has disrupted your fellow neighbours. Some of us work from home and others are shift workers. We have tried closing our windows and doors and even have turned on appliances with the TV and radio and the crying is still being heard,’ it continued.
In a bid to maintain neighbourly decorum, the note concluded with them saying they valued ‘being good neighbours and respecting each other’s space’.
They then requested Tiffany and her partner John to keep their rear doors and windows closed ‘while the baby is feeling unsettled’.
Tiffany and John, who had invested in their first family home—a standalone 1950s three-bedroom house—were taken aback by the complaint.
Their home is situated near a bustling main road ‘with a reputation for hoons’ and close to a high school, a police station, a service station, and a ‘very lively’ ibis colony.
‘I have a feeling it might be the upstairs neighbour in a unit complex behind because I have heard them slam their window a couple of times,’ Tiffany speculated.
‘Their windows overlook our backyard but they’re set back quite a distance from the house.’
Addressing the note's content, Tiffany defended her baby as ‘pretty chill’ and ‘settles quickly’, rarely crying throughout the night.
She labelled the complaint ‘unreasonable’ and expressed how new parenthood was already a ‘challenging and isolating’ journey without the added pressure of neighbourly disputes.
‘When you read the undertones, you know the reason they’ve used that language is to cause guilt,’ Tiffany explained.
‘It’s to make them not feel as bad by making it sound like it’s from multiple people because I think deep down they know how unreasonable it is to complain about a baby crying in suburbia.’
She also mentioned that there are more constructive ways to handle this type of disagreement.
‘If they’d come and had a chat with us and said, “Hey, look, we work these hours and these are the times that it’s really bothering us,” we would have been open to a conversation. But I won’t be closing my windows, and we’re not going to lock our house up or muzzle our baby,’ Tiffany asserted.
Tiffany shared the incident on social media, and it quickly gained traction, sparking a debate with over 160 comments and almost 300 reactions.
‘As a new mum myself, this really hurt reading this,’ one commenter lamented. ‘As if we don’t have enough to worry about already.’
‘Ew they could have offered to help you out,’ another said.
‘That person obviously has never dealt with a newborn,’ a third chimed.
Another commenter described the note as ‘rude and pathetic’.
Others, however, found the note to be a reasonable request, not perceiving any malice in its tone.
‘I see nothing abusive in the wording or attitude of this letter,’ one remarked, saying that the request to close the rear doors and windows was ‘very reasonable and well-considered’.
‘I don’t see any harm in it,’ another agreed. ‘It’s not an aggressive letter or anything abusive or threatening. Even says he wants to be good neighbours.’
According to the City of Moreton Bay website, the council could investigate noise regulation breaches related to various household activities such as air conditioning, amplifiers, blasting, construction, gardening equipment, power tools, and refrigeration equipment; however, there is no mention of a baby's cry.
A spokesperson suggested that residents try to resolve noise issues amongst themselves.
They advised, ‘We encourage City of Moreton Bay residents to engage with their neighbours first about any noise complaint.'
‘Your neighbour may not realise the noise from their household is affecting other persons. Council only regulates certain noise issues.’
Meanwhile, the Queensland Police noted that ‘a noise complaint can be made at any time of the day and can be made about music, instruments, gatherings of people, a motorbike or vehicle, or a car stereo on a road or public space’.
Tiffany’s case is a scenario that many parents can relate to, as the challenges of raising a newborn often spill over into interactions with neighbours.
However, such incidents could also spark broader discussions about community dynamics and the need for understanding and empathy, especially in shared living spaces like apartment buildings or suburban neighbourhoods.
This was echoed by a similar yet different situation in which a Western Australian couple received a heartwarming gesture regarding their crying baby.
Have you ever faced a similar situation? How did you handle it, and what advice would you give to Tiffany and other new parents in such predicaments? We invite you to share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.
The tranquillity of a ‘friendly’ Australian neighbourhood in Redcliffe, Queensland, was disrupted when Tiffany, a new mum who preferred to keep her last name private, found herself at the receiving end of a neighbour's grievance about the sounds of her infant son.
Tiffany's discovery of the note left anonymously in her mailbox was a jarring experience that brought her to tears.
‘I was just checking my mailbox and saw a letter,’ she recounted.
‘I was pretty upset by it, like, I was in tears.’
The A4 paper bore a message that was both a plea and a complaint, voicing the frustrations of an unnamed neighbour—or neighbours—over the cries of her four-and-a-half-month-old baby.
A new mum was left ‘in tears’ after discovering a neighbour's note about her baby's crying. Credits: Shutterstock
The note read: ‘I’m writing this on behalf of your neighbours and wanted to reach out to you regarding the noise level coming from your residence, particularly the crying of your baby.’
‘While we understand that babies cry and a newborn can be tough, we can clearly hear everything from the early hours of the morning, throughout the day and into the evening.’
‘The prolonged and frequent crying has disrupted your fellow neighbours. Some of us work from home and others are shift workers. We have tried closing our windows and doors and even have turned on appliances with the TV and radio and the crying is still being heard,’ it continued.
In a bid to maintain neighbourly decorum, the note concluded with them saying they valued ‘being good neighbours and respecting each other’s space’.
They then requested Tiffany and her partner John to keep their rear doors and windows closed ‘while the baby is feeling unsettled’.
Tiffany and John, who had invested in their first family home—a standalone 1950s three-bedroom house—were taken aback by the complaint.
Their home is situated near a bustling main road ‘with a reputation for hoons’ and close to a high school, a police station, a service station, and a ‘very lively’ ibis colony.
‘I have a feeling it might be the upstairs neighbour in a unit complex behind because I have heard them slam their window a couple of times,’ Tiffany speculated.
‘Their windows overlook our backyard but they’re set back quite a distance from the house.’
Addressing the note's content, Tiffany defended her baby as ‘pretty chill’ and ‘settles quickly’, rarely crying throughout the night.
She labelled the complaint ‘unreasonable’ and expressed how new parenthood was already a ‘challenging and isolating’ journey without the added pressure of neighbourly disputes.
‘When you read the undertones, you know the reason they’ve used that language is to cause guilt,’ Tiffany explained.
‘It’s to make them not feel as bad by making it sound like it’s from multiple people because I think deep down they know how unreasonable it is to complain about a baby crying in suburbia.’
She also mentioned that there are more constructive ways to handle this type of disagreement.
‘If they’d come and had a chat with us and said, “Hey, look, we work these hours and these are the times that it’s really bothering us,” we would have been open to a conversation. But I won’t be closing my windows, and we’re not going to lock our house up or muzzle our baby,’ Tiffany asserted.
Tiffany shared the incident on social media, and it quickly gained traction, sparking a debate with over 160 comments and almost 300 reactions.
‘As a new mum myself, this really hurt reading this,’ one commenter lamented. ‘As if we don’t have enough to worry about already.’
‘Ew they could have offered to help you out,’ another said.
‘That person obviously has never dealt with a newborn,’ a third chimed.
Another commenter described the note as ‘rude and pathetic’.
Others, however, found the note to be a reasonable request, not perceiving any malice in its tone.
‘I see nothing abusive in the wording or attitude of this letter,’ one remarked, saying that the request to close the rear doors and windows was ‘very reasonable and well-considered’.
‘I don’t see any harm in it,’ another agreed. ‘It’s not an aggressive letter or anything abusive or threatening. Even says he wants to be good neighbours.’
According to the City of Moreton Bay website, the council could investigate noise regulation breaches related to various household activities such as air conditioning, amplifiers, blasting, construction, gardening equipment, power tools, and refrigeration equipment; however, there is no mention of a baby's cry.
A spokesperson suggested that residents try to resolve noise issues amongst themselves.
They advised, ‘We encourage City of Moreton Bay residents to engage with their neighbours first about any noise complaint.'
‘Your neighbour may not realise the noise from their household is affecting other persons. Council only regulates certain noise issues.’
Meanwhile, the Queensland Police noted that ‘a noise complaint can be made at any time of the day and can be made about music, instruments, gatherings of people, a motorbike or vehicle, or a car stereo on a road or public space’.
Tiffany’s case is a scenario that many parents can relate to, as the challenges of raising a newborn often spill over into interactions with neighbours.
However, such incidents could also spark broader discussions about community dynamics and the need for understanding and empathy, especially in shared living spaces like apartment buildings or suburban neighbourhoods.
This was echoed by a similar yet different situation in which a Western Australian couple received a heartwarming gesture regarding their crying baby.
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