My 2 Second Shelf Life

I'll Get You, My Pretty...

This morning I was listening to talk radio on the way to work and the topic was this couple who have been fined $250 because their two daughters screaming in the backyard pool are bothering their neighbours.

"Still, Bayville code enforcement officer Albert Criscuolo last month issued a notice of violation to William Poczatek, 43, ordering him to keep his children quiet. The Poczatek children were "screaming and shouting" and causing "an unreasonable nuisance," according to the notice. Criscuolo could not be reached for comment.

The fracas came to a head on June 12 when the couple hosted a party at their Perry Avenue home for their 11-year-old daughter and her friends, said Rachel Poczatek. The next day, the couple received the summons.

Rachel Poczatek said she does tell her children to be quiet, but they should be allowed to play during the day.

"I don't feel my kids are doing anything wrong by being outside," she said."


The host took call after call from people who said, "they're just kids for Godssake!".

Yes.
I agree...but for a bunch of neighbours to get together to shut your kids up...they must be pretty friggin' loud.

We used to have neighbours who had a trampoline from May to July, and then a mesquito breeding above ground pool that they never covered for July and August and then back to the trampoline for the month of September.
Their kids and a bunch of other people's kids shrieked from morning until night. We have good windows and air conditioning so it was tolerable...but if I had to endure that every day with my windows open, I wouldn't be happy about it either.

...and I love kids.

No one is saying that kids shouldn't have fun, but there's an underlying issue here.
It's called respect for others.
If it's every once in a while, it's ok...but if it's every day, those kids need to be taught consideration for others.

I dunno.
It's easy to say "oh, they're just kids having fun" when they're not shrieking in your backyard.