# Screaming Neighbor- Child Abuse or Just Plain Obnoxious?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screaming-neighbor-child-abuse-or-just-plain-obnoxious/209025>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [October 23, 2003, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screaming-neighbor-child-abuse-or-just-plain-obnoxious/209025 "2003-10-23T02:33:50Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\
**Post date:** [October 30, 2003, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screaming-neighbor-child-abuse-or-just-plain-obnoxious/209025/21 "2003-10-30T08:45:36Z")

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If you get on with her you could ask whether her yelling scares the shit out of her kid because it’s loud enough to wake you.

I’m pretty loud by nature (people in my office often remark) and I was inclined to yell at my kids because I didn’t believe in physical punishment. One day I saw my son about to hit his little brother and yelled at him. The kids had no idea I’d enterred the room and my yelling terrified **both** of them to tears. After seeing the looks on their faces (Wes Craven eat your heart out) I greatly toned down the volume.

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**Author:** ![whatami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/85f322/32.png) [@whatami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whatami)\
**Post date:** [October 30, 2003, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screaming-neighbor-child-abuse-or-just-plain-obnoxious/209025/22 "2003-10-30T15:44:35Z")

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Calling CPS is not always a bad thing. Many times they can help a family get into counseling for help, or maybe just the parent(s). I think that most of the time, contrary to the horror stories, they want to keep the family together.

When I was younger my parents called CPS themselves to get us all into family counseling because we couldn’t afford it. I think that made all the difference in the world for how we are today.

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**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\
**Post date:** [October 30, 2003, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screaming-neighbor-child-abuse-or-just-plain-obnoxious/209025/23 "2003-10-30T17:18:15Z")

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Do you know what school he goes to? Maybe you can phone the school with your concerns. They may then be able to take it from there.

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**Author:** ![Another\_Suzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a8b319/32.png) [@Another\_Suzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Another_Suzi)\
**Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screaming-neighbor-child-abuse-or-just-plain-obnoxious/209025/24 "2003-10-31T00:16:38Z")

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Report it for sure, it doesnt hurt, and its anonymous.  
I lived in a townhouse near another, and always heard the small girls next door crying and the mother screaming all the time.  
Once I saw her hitting her dog outside and I called the humane society too, haha.  
She was a fanatic with a bad temper…definately report it.🙂

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