How do I survive living in an apartment with a 2.5 y/o

@glall2u2 Definitely don’t go out of your way to leave your house to appease someone else!! Your daughter isn’t doing anything wrong, she’s being a toddler. I don’t think this neighbour has any grounds to say that to you, honestly is her problem. She should consider moving somewhere where people don’t have young children if she doesn’t liek hearing them.
 
@glall2u2 That's part of apartment living... Listening to your neighbors. They can whine but as long as you're at a reasonable volume most of the time you're fine. You might have to deal with your neighbor complaining at you but that's also part of apartment living.
 
@glall2u2 My first daughter is that age and she loves to jump around. There's no stopping her from making noise. At night, we start whispering and say it's time to quiet down. Or it's quiet time. And she will whisper and play quietly as well, most of the time. But, you have to be right there with her. For example, if we need to clean up her blocks, we clean it up together, whispering to each other and see how quietly we can put the blocks in the box.

Though, in the end, the downstairs neighbors can complain all they want but she's two and we are doing our best. No one can hold it against us, and I assume no one can hold it against you either.

I know you don't want to be rude, so just talk to the landlord if they come to your door complaining again. It's not your fault.
 
@glall2u2 We had a similar issue in March-April here in Berlin when we both my wife and I had to work 100% from home. One neighbor complained. What we did was to ask almost all the neighbors in the building. No one else complained and then we felt relieved. Several said that it is normal to have loud children.
My recommendation would be to try to keep communication with your neighbors and maybe propose/ask what time frames during the day are more sensitive.

By the way, the complainer left the building one month ago. Maybe she went to live to the countryside. :)
 
@glall2u2 It would be reasonable for your neighbor to look for new housing if they aren’t satisfied with where they are now.

Have your child avoid wearing tennis shoes or hard shoes in the house, use socks or slippers with rubber bottoms to help prevent slipping. The alternative is very soft soled shoes like moccasins.

Don’t let your child jump off furniture. It’s fun, but loud downstairs. When your child plays with hard toys, try to keep them on the carpet or rug (or a rug on top of carpet, even better) for sound management.

Other than these basic guidelines, you’re doing a good job. It’s your neighbor’s responsibility to deal with basic kid noise, not yours.

When winter comes, you bundle up, and go outside. Warm drinks in a thermos help a lot. Dress in layers that can be stripped off as she gets hot, and replaced when she is finished playing so she doesn’t get chilled on the walk or ride home. Buy mittens, not gloves, and buy a few pairs that are identical. When you lose one mitten, you have backups to replace it. Buy mitten clips or strings to help keep them from getting lost. They will still get lost, but not as soon. In a desperate situation, put cute socks on her hands to stay warm. If she gets cold, then put her in a warm bath when you get home.

When kids of any age get and stay fussy, put them in a warm bath even if it’s not bath time. Never leave them alone in the bath, not even for a second.
 
@glall2u2 I live in an apartment building that's really old, so we get noises galore. I also have a neighbor who has a child that basically runs up and down the place. Its somewhat muffled, but I enjoy that kid. Whenever I see the family their always so nice to me.

I used to be a Residential Advisor who had to deal with tons of noise complaints, I've come to understand that there are two types of noise: Noise from people you like, and noise from people you dont know.

I noticed this in myself, when I became bias on who was making noise and whether or not I was annoyed by it. Ex: the group down the hall that give me grief on check ups, I would get ticked off by the change that dropped out of their pockets. But the group who would say hi and go to my events, I never mind their noise even if they were loud.

This is a long shot and the advice itself is dubious, but try to have some time to talk outside the apartment. Invite them for a walk, coffee, etc. It's pretty unusual I know, but the more I get to know my apartment mates the less I get annoyed by them.
 
@glall2u2 Help her find an outlet for that energy thats healthy and not so loud. Singing or a musical instrument is prolly ur best bet. If shes making lots if noise then maybe noises are her thing
 
@glall2u2 It's not your fault. Your children needs to play she can wear headphones. Do you best but understand you baby needs to play not sit in front of a tv all day. Apartments are terrible to be suck inside. It's easier for your neighbor to leave than it is for you. Don't feel bad. Covid is hard for everyone. She needs better earplugs. Maybe get your daughter a bunch of fun books
 
@glall2u2 You are being reasonable about your daughter and activities. Thats just too bad for the neighbor. She should know that living under people has noise and as long as you aren't doing indoor aerobics, you are fine.
 
@glall2u2 Ignore them, the only time as a neighbor I have ever thought about saying anything to a neighbor was when a baby was crying for help and ignored by parents for hours.
 
Thank you all so much for your tips and support! We've already started a few. Hearing everyone's supportive comments has been soooo helpful!! :)
 
@glall2u2 There’s nothing a toddler can be doing that’s that loud. You’ve got a neurotic on your hands that should pack up and find new housing. Super loud music I get, screaming all the time I get. A toddler? Come on.keep doing your best mama. This Covid has most of us sensible people locked up. It sucks. I feel for you. Ignore her. Let the management know about your neurotic and likely they’ll ignore her complaints. I used to always pick an upstairs apartment (being a neurotic myself) when I rented. She should have done the same, too bad so sad. 😂
 
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