Do 5-year-old boys belong in apartments?
A 5 year old boy, no rugs, and a downstairs neighbor with an allegedly noise-sensitive dog. Who has the moral authority--the neighbor or the family? On UrbanBaby, this fact pattern is under debate. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the venue, the majority of commenters agree that as long as the hours are reasonable (here, 5:30 pm- 7:30 pm and alternate weekends) and the activity reasonable (here, running to the bathroom, not jumping or playing ball), then the neighbor needs to understand that "a 5 year old kid lives like a 5 year old kid and makes an expected amount of movement and noise and either accept it, get a sound machine to block out the noise, or move. I hate people who move in and expect kids to be still. And tell her to get valium for her dog!!" But not everyone agrees: "I hate to say it, but I would not keep a 5 year old boy in an apartment...some kids really need to run and as much as I left kicking and screaming, the city is not the place for this." Thoughts? (UrbanBaby.com)