A mother of a four-month-old baby has been left distraught after she found a letter in her mailbox that “left her in tears”.
Tiffany, from Redcliffe in Queensland, found the anonymous note in her mailbox which addressed the noise coming from the woman’s home, particularly from her son.
“I am writing this on behalf of your neighbours and wanted to reach out to you regarding the noise level coming from your residence, particularly the crying of your baby,” the note, which the mum shared on Facebook, began.
“While we understand that babies cry and a newborn can be tough we can clearly hear everything from the early hours of the morning, throughout the day and into the evening.”
It said the prolonged and frequent crying had disturbed the neighbours, some of which work from home and others who are shift workers.
“We have tried closing our windows and doors, and even have turned on appliances with the TV and radio and the crying is still being heard,” the note said, before asking the mum to close her rear doors and windows while the baby was feeling unsettled.
The note left the mother in tears, and stunned by the message as the family-of-three live on a busy road that features a police station, high school, petrol station and has a “reputation for hoons”.
“When you read the undertones, you know the reason they’ve used that language is to cause guilt,” Tiffany told Yahoo News Australia.
“It’s to make them not feel as bad by making it sound like it’s from multiple people, because I think deep down they know how unreasonable it is to complain about a baby crying in suburbia.”
She said her baby was pretty relaxed and “settled quickly” and she thought there was a better way to raise the issue the neighbours had with her child.
Some defended the mother, with one saying; “Dear Neighbours, Screw you. Have a nice day.”
But many were actually not on the mum’s side.
“[I am a] mum-of-two and if noise was affecting my neighbours I’d have the windows closed at the time. It’s call consideration,” one said.
Another said: “Does she want sympathy because she has a baby? The note advised neighbours are shift workers, they have turned up their TV, etc to block out the noise … anyone who has heard a baby in the supermarket clearly knows baby noise can be louder than EPA recommendations.
“If the child is crying constantly, the mother should be seeking medical advice for her child or keep her doors and windows closed in consideration for her neighbours, who are not required to be subjected to the noise.”