Mother Is Being Evicted From Her Home Because Her 18-Month-Old Screams Through The Night

Oct 08, 2021 by apost team

Welcoming their new baby into the world is one of the most important and memorable moments in a parent's life. The feeling of holding your baby for the first time, the moment you can take the little one home to be part of your family, all the little firsts and precious moments - these are the wonderful things parents love their children for and the reason why we also refer to babies as "bundles of joy."

However, parents of newborns and toddlers know that their little bundle of joy can sometimes also be a bundle of noise and irritation. There's nothing abnormal about that - babies cry because they haven't yet managed to figure out human language and still need to make their needs heard. Very young children cry for all kinds of reasons: food, to be picked up and held or simply because something irritates or hurts them and they have no other way of communicating this fact.

Usually, as babies grow older, the screaming gets less and less and finally stops. This is because young children learn other ways to make themselves heard. Sometimes, however, children cry a lot and for far longer than usual. This is what one mother had to live through.

The mother, who did not specify her name or age, took to the internet to ask other parents for help. Her 18-months-old daughter kept screaming for no discernible reason at all hours of the night, all night. This not only kept the tired mother up but also annoyed her landlord so much that they decided to get rid of the young family.

The mother posted her worries and story to Reddit's "Parenting" subforum, where parents can ask each other for advice and talk about troubles they face. She began her original post by explaining:

"My 18-month-old just won't stop screaming. She screams this awful high pitched blood-curdling scream all day and I'm at wit's end. I want to just run away I don't even know how to deal with her anymore."

She went into further detail, explaining that there are seemingly no reasons for her daughter's scream fests and that she will also jump around wildly and throw herself against furniture for no understandable reason. "She's like a possed ferret and is constantly at risk of hurting herself," she wrote.

This is already stressful in and of itself, but the mother further explained that her daughter would also not stop making noise at night. The screams had been going on for months by now, so she was finally approached by her landlord. Said landlord lived right next door to them and had already mentioned the noise a few times, as well as received complaints from other neighbors.

The mother explained that "it's gotten so bad we're being evicted from our home because the neighbours can't stand the noise and because of my financial situation, I'm struggling to find another place to rent."

She also explained that this was perfectly legal, as she lives in the UK and her rent contract is due to end in four months. "They came to me a couple of months ago saying I could break the lease early if I find a new place otherwise they would be giving me notice 4 months before the end of my lease because they want me out."

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Already exhausted from her young daughter, the mother didn't know what to do in this situation and asked for help. She added that she understood her landlord's situation and felt with them.

"I honestly understand they are exhausted too and wanting to be kept up by a baby at night is the last thing they want, and I'm desperately trying to keep her quiet not to disturb them and failing miserably. [...] She's never hungry when she's screaming, if I try and pick her up or play with her it's usually met with violence, twice I've ended up in A&E from her scratching my eyeball. I don't even know if this is normal kid behaviour she's my first and I didn't expect this."

Many commenters pointed out that this behavior was not at all normal for 18-month-old children. Some told her to take her daughter for a visit to the family's doctor, as there might be a medical reason behind her unusual cries.

"My sister screamed constantly around that age because she constantly had ear infections and was in pain. There could be any number of reasons," one commenter said. 

"18 month old babies do not scream all the time unless there is a reason, and spoiled isn't the reason. Ask her doctor for a referral for an evaluation," another wrote.

Most commenters agreed that this excessive screaming most likely had another cause. While some saw medical reasons and ailments, some also mentioned that her daughter might be on the autistic spectrum or suffer from some other kind of sensory issue.

What do you think might be the issue here? Have you ever experienced a child that screamed much more than normal? Tell us what you think!