A new mother was surprised to find a note in her mailbox complaining about the amount of noise her four-month-old son is making.
Tiffany, 36, said she burst into tears after finding the message written on a sheet of A4 paper from an anonymous shop in Redcliffe, north of Brisbane.
She shared a photo of the passive-aggressive note that went viral and sparked a divided reaction on Facebook.
“I am writing this on behalf of your neighbors and wanted to contact you regarding the level of noise coming from your residence, particularly your baby’s crying,” the note said.
‘While we understand that babies cry and that a newborn can be tough, we can hear everything clearly from the early hours of the morning, throughout the day and into the night.
Tiffany, 36, was “crying” after finding the message which had been written on a sheet of A4 paper by an anonymous Redcliffe local in Queensland.
‘The prolonged and frequent crying has disturbed his neighbors. Some of us work from home and others work shifts. We have tried to close windows and doors and we have even turned on appliances with the television and radio and we can still hear the crying.
“We value being good neighbors and respecting each other’s space, but we wanted to reach out and ask if it would be possible to close the back doors and windows while the baby is fussy.”
The note ended by asking for Tiffany’s understanding and appreciation of the matter.
Tiffany said Yahoo News Australia that the “unreasonable” note was a big shock and left her “quite upset.”
The Queensland mum explained she and her partner John bought their first family home last year near a busy main road with a “very lively” ibis colony and a “reputation for hoons”.
She responded by hitting the note, saying she thinks neighbors know how unreasonable it is to complain about a crying baby in the suburbs, before describing the struggle of new parenthood as “challenging and isolating.”
Tiffany insisted that her baby was “pretty calm,” “calms down quickly” and doesn’t scream throughout the night.
Tiffany was surprised to find a note in her mailbox complaining about her newborn son’s crying (file image)
The young couple considered that there are better ways to resolve the conflict and that “we would have been open to a conversation.”
“When you read the nuances, you know the reason they used that language is to cause guilt,” Tiffany told Yahoo.
“But I won’t close the windows and we won’t lock our house or muzzle our baby.”
The note sparked a divided reaction online.
‘As a new mother, it hurt me a lot to read this. As if we didn’t have enough to worry about already,” commented one Australian.
Another added: “This person has clearly never dealt with a newborn.”
While many agreed the letter was “rude” and “pathetic,” others thought the neighbor’s request was “very reasonable” and “well considered.”
‘It is not an aggressive letter or anything abusive or threatening. He even says he wants to be good neighbors,” commented one Australian.
“I don’t see any harm in it,” added another.
Moreton Bay Council can investigate breaches of domestic noise regulations, but Locals are encouraged to try to solve problems among themselves, saying that people may not Realize that the noise in your home is affecting others.