How To Handle Nasty Neighbours With Love

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Living in an apartment or condo with small children can be a little tricky at times. People don’t like noise. Babies make a lot of noise. It has been a serious issue for our family, causing a lot of friction between us and the neighbours. When the problem followed us from one home to another, I knew I had to put an end to it.

Upon arriving home from the hospital with my newborn baby, instead of receiving well wishes from my neighbours, I got noise complaints. Naturally, I was upset that some people could be so ridiculous. Things turned ugly and it got to the point where we didn’t enjoy being at home. We moved.

And then it happened again. One afternoon, Tiana was cranky due to the flu and was loudly protesting her nap. Obnoxious pounding on the walls was followed by a conversation with my building manager about the multiple written notices he had received reporting a crying baby. This time I decided to handle things a lot differently. Instead of flexing my muscles and getting my hands on a bulldozer (mighty tempting), I baked oatmeal chocolate-chip cookies for everyone: the neighbours on my left, the neighbours on my right, and the building manager. Don’t worry, the cookies weren’t an apology. They were tokens of peace, accompanied by my gentle request that they act more reasonably.

Their positive reactions alone made it worth dropping the bulldozer fantasy. I may even have new friends. At the very least, I now have neighbours who trust that disturbing their peace is not my purposeful intention but just the way the cookie crumbles somedays.

Moral of the story (an NPH remix): when you get mad, stop being mad and be AWESOME instead.  I did it with cookies. Be awesome any way you know how. Just be sure to include peace, love, and sincerity in your awesome sauce.

Have your neighbours complained about your baby being too loud? How did you handle it?

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