Woman considers calling CPS on neighbors whose 6yo twins who cry all day. AITA?
When this woman isn't sure if she should talk to neighbors about their kids, she asks Reddit:
'AITAH for complaining to my neighbors about their kids crying?'
My (26F) neighbors have 2 twin daughters that never stop crying. I work from home and it gets on my nerves a lot because it stops me from concentrating sometimes. My dog has developed a fear and gets anxious every time they start crying again (this doesn’t happen when he hears other kids cry).
The incessant crying has been going on for about 3 years, which is when they moved in. The kids are healthy, but they’ve developed a habit for crying that I think is not normal for their age (6 y/o) but during all this time I have tried to be patient and suck it up. That changed last night though, they were crying for more than 2 hours straight.
By 4am, my parents, brother and me had not had one ounce of sleep, and we all had to work today. I was desperate, so I knocked on my neighbors door and asked politely if they could do something about the crying.
The parents (especially the father) got defensive and started asking what is it that I wanted them to do and that if they knew how to stop them from crying they would have done it already.
I came back home and I was appalled because I felt it was unfair. If my dog had been barking for hours straight in the middle of the night I would have sure as hell gotten complaints. My question is, was I insensitive? AITAH?
Let's see what internet users had to say.
goddesasharah writes:
NTA, I know you cannot just make the kids stop crying, but they should try to addressed the issue about their kids crying for everything all the time, is not the first time, you can tolerate if is a one thing, not all the time. This looks like a no rules home to me, and you are suffering from it.
southfront8 writes:
YTA. You can't magically make kids stop crying. And I bet you don't know what issues they might have either. And as the dad said, if they had a way of stopping the crying they'd have done it. And you sure didn't have any ideas of your own did you? If you have concerns about their welfare then there are organisations to contact about that. But this sure doesn't seem like you're worried about the kids. Go out and get some earplugs and take steps for yourself to reduce the sound. As you say, it's been going on for 3 years, plenty of time to have done something yourself.
schimago writes:
NAH. One of our autistic kids went through two periods where he could cry (or scream, or both) for hours, nearly every day. He did it at home, at his grandma’s home, at school, with his aunt…
The first time he was about 4 and had almost no language. The second time he was about 12 and was having issues with OCD that the doctor initially refused to address. Both periods went on for several weeks while we figured out a treatment/behavior plan and worked on increased communication and appropriate methods of soothing.
Teaching in a special education school, we had several other students who could cry for hours at an age when it no longer seems appropriate. It’s possible these twins have a disability (or multiple disabilities) as opposed to being ignored or abused, but if it’s been happening for three years, my guess is that the parents are overwhelmed and have no idea what they’re doing or how to curb or reshape these behaviors.
Calling CPS isn’t ideal, but since you never know and it’s better safe than sorry, I would do so. Some states have programs through social services that help families with disabled and neurodivergent kids, so if they fit that bill, this may lead to getting help.