Neighbor Comes Banging At Mom's Door For Not Allowing Sons To Play With Her 2-Year-Old

Aug 01, 2022 by apost team

Moving can be extremely exciting but also incredibly stressful. Packing up your entire life and moving it to a new home can be a lot for anyone – especially those with children. However, once you make it to your new home, the fun can begin, and you can embark on a new adventure.

One mom moved into a new apartment around mid-2022 with her partner and her 2-year-old son. Everything seemed to be going pretty well, aside from some strange encounters with their younger neighbors. The mom explained how the boys that live in the apartment below her are about 11 and 12 or 13 years old. Despite being a decade older than her son, the boys keep asking if they can play with her son. The mom found this extremely odd, on top of the fact that the boys are known for being quite rowdy and generally troublesome.

Enough was enough, and the mom reached her breaking point. When the boys once again asked if she would let her son leave to go play with them, she said yes, but only because she was willing to go with them and supervise. The boys said they wanted to just hang out with her son, not her, but the mom declined.

This caused an issue with the boys’ mother, and she grew livid over the mom’s reaction to keeping her son away from everyone. So in mid-July 2022, the mom went to Mumsnet to ask users if she was unreasonable for not allowing her 2-year-old to play with older kids by himself.

Starting off her post on Mumsnet, the original poster (OP) talked about how she moved into a new apartment about two months prior. During the last few weeks, she dealt with her neighbor’s two sons – aged about 11 to 13 – constantly asking her if her son could go outside and play with them. “For reference, I don’t know them at all,” OP explained. “I have briefly said hi to their mum a few times but that is it.”

She continued:

“I don’t have an issue with these boys but I do find it slightly odd they want to spend time with a 2-year-old considering they have nothing in common. These boys are kind of known for being a bit rowdy.”

OP added that another neighbor warned her about how much trouble the two boys seemed to have gotten into. She had repeatedly said “no” to the boys whenever they asked if her son could go and play with them, but she decided that maybe it was time for a change.

Not wanting to make it “awkward” between herself and her neighbors, OP said yes when the boys asked if her son could come and play with them – but on the condition that she was going to come, too. They were going to a communal garden. However, this didn’t go as planned.

OP explained, “By that point, the eldest was getting annoyed and said he would be taking my son out by himself?! I declined, shut the door and thought that was that.” Unfortunately for OP, that was not the end of her problems with her neighbors.

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“This morning, mum comes knocking saying what am I playing at, and what my problem is,” OP said. She explained how the boys’ mother was “increasingly getting angrier” to the point she was screaming and shouting. Thankfully, OP’s partner came home, and the situation de-escalated, but only because he threatened to call the police.

“I really don’t think I am being unreasonable but mum has made me feel like I am,” OP said. “I am also concerned that they will not leave this alone. We only moved in two months ago so am worried my response will have caused so many issues for us.”

Many Mumsnet users commented that OP was not unreasonable for finding it odd that two older boys wanted to spend time with her son and that she had every right to decline their offer to hang out. One user commented, “How can you possibly think you’re wrong in this scenario?” 

Another person said, “I don’t think you are being unreasonable! Just tell them firmly but nicely he is too little to be out without his mummy but thank you for asking!” A third user added, “Super weird, a tad creepy and I would keep calm and just say no, given the age gap you don’t think your son would benefit.”

Another person commented, “It would be completely irresponsible to send your toddler out with a 12-year-old even if you knew them a bit better. The mum is insane, no one is entitled to spend time with someone else’s child, ever. Even if they’re related.”

What do you think about this mom’s encounter with her younger neighbors? Do you think she was being unreasonable? Let us know, and feel free to send this to your family and friends, too.