Resident leaves complaint about kids—then gets response note from neighbor

When a night shift worker left a note on their apartment block’s door, they probably didn’t anticipate a written reply—let alone one like this.

It has since circulated on Reddit by u/opesosorry, a 35-year-old woman, who lives in the rural building located in a small town in the Midwest.

The note read: “To whoever is running or letting children run [at 8 A.M. or 9 A.M.], sometimes earlier, PLEASE STOP! It’s coming from upstairs and it’s loud as hell. Some people here work night shifts, thank you kindly.”

The next day, another note was taped to it saying: “Problem solved”—and attached a clear bag containing earplugs.

She told Newsweek: “The earplugs made me laugh, because they match the absurdity of the note.”

Initially, the woman was “slightly confused” by the note as she has never heard children running. She wrote in the February 7 post that 8 a.m. or 9 a.m. “is a perfectly reasonable time for people to move about in their living spaces.”

While she is shocked by the drama, as it’s rare in the block of eight units, she isn’t entirely surprised.

In the post, she notes: “I currently live in small town Midwest USA; passive aggression is what this town does best.”

She told Newsweek: “In the Midwest, people are known for being “nice,” but it’s often kind of passive aggressive. Most people in my area are extremely non-confrontational, and this note is a prime example of passive-aggressive behavior.

“They could have simply slid the note under their upstairs neighbor’s door, but they decided to post a note for everyone to see.”

Reddit Reacts

So far, the post has over 870 comments – many from apartment dwellers sharing their experiences.

“I can attest to this. I wear foam earplugs every night but am still woken up to my loud obnoxious neighbors stomping around at 5am every morning,” said one user.

Another wrote: “I lived in an apartment for 12 years, and then inherited a farm house. Sometimes I catch myself basically whispering, or tip toeing around the house … Have to remind myself I could literally scream at the top of my lungs and the neighbors wouldn’t even hear me!”

A third commenter said: “8am is a normal time for kids to wake up, but when I worked night shift it was f****** awful having people blowing leaves or picking up trash right when I was going to sleep. Of course, I had to keep it down [though because] otherwise I’d wake everyone up. Ultimately [though], it was on me for having that job, I wasn’t telling everyone else to shut up. I don’t even like kids, but can’t be mad at them for stepping around when they’re getting ready for school.”

If you have a personal dilemma, let us know via [email protected]. We can ask experts for advice on relationships, family, friends, money and work and your story could be featured on Newsweek’s “What Should I Do? section.