Help! My neighbour’s kid’s piano practice is driving me crazy because the mum yells the whole time

SINGAPORE: A Reddit user took to the site to vent, as well as ask for advice, because they said that the piano practice of their neighbour’s child is driving them crazy.

In a post on r/askSingapore, the post author wrote that they are “still relatively new to Singapore” but that this situation is driving them nuts: every night at around 9:00 p.m., their neighbour’s young child, whom they believe is around four years old, has a piano lesson.

However, it’s not the child’s playing that is driving them up the wall, it’s the mum’s behaviour during the lesson, which the post author described as “like, full-on yelling for an hour straight. The kid manages a few notes, gets shouted at, cries, rinse and repeat.

It’s every night, and honestly, it makes my stomach turn hearing it. I don’t understand Chinese, so I can’t tell what’s being said, but the tone is unmistakable. I hate hearing it.”

The nightly scoldings make the post author feel bad for the young child, as well as upset with their mum. However, being a newbie to Singapore society, they’re unsure if what’s going on is merely a “different parenting style” or if a line into untoward behaviour is already being crossed.

“Do I just put up with it? Report it? Confront her? I want to help the kiddo. Thoughts?” the post author wrote.

Like them, commenters on the post were very sympathetic toward the child, whom many guessed might end up hating music for life.

“Man, I feel so bad for the kid,” wrote one.

“Send them my way (piano teacher here), I will scream at the parent for screaming away the kid’s passion for music,” chimed in another.

“Can confirm the screaming and beating destroy all passion, especially if the kid is forced to take these lessons in the first place,” opined a third.

“That’s crazy. 4-year-olds should be asleep by 9, not yelled at, and getting traumatised. How to get quality sleep when it’s like that?” wrote a Reddit user.

Others shared their suggestions for dealing with the matter, with one writing, “If you want a less confrontational approach, you can try reporting to the town council anonymously or stress that you want to maintain anonymity to avoid offending your neighbour.”

“I suggest either politely talking to the mom about the noise (don’t mention the screaming, just say it’s loud enough that you can hear) or slipping a note below their door,” another wrote.

Others suggested that the post author call the authorities and ask them to do a welfare check on the child, although they tended to believe the mum was behaving in classic “tiger mom” tradition, rather than being abusive. /TISG

Read also: Singaporean man baffled as neighbour accuses his family of making loud noises at 1am, says they’re all asleep by then