A woman living in an HDB flat recently shared a Xiaohongshu post in which she recounted an unexpected exchange with her upstairs neighbours.
“I don’t know if it’s because school holidays have started, but I can hear children playing and laughing from the unit upstairs. When they run, I hear ‘thump, thump, thump’ sounds,” she wrote. She also said it might be because the soundproofing in HDB flats “isn’t that great either”.
There was a night when the kids upstairs were making noise past 11pm. The woman waited to see if the noise would persist, and when it did the next afternoon, she went up to the unit with the intention of confronting her neighbour.
However, after pressing the doorbell several times and waiting for a bit, no one answered the door. So she left her phone number and a note to explain her visit.
In her note, she talked about how the thumping noise from the children running around has been disturbing her and she politely asked the neighbour to “remind the kids to be quieter”.
Later that day, she received a WhatsApp message from her neighbour, who apologised for the noise. They also explained that their doorbell was low on battery, and they weren’t aware she had paid them a visit.
Her neighbour then asked if she was at home as they would like to bring their children over to apologise in person.
“I went to the door in my pajamas, and though I expected there to be at least two children, I didn’t expect three girls of kindergarten-going age, two teenage girls, and their mum standing in a neat row,” she recounted.
Her neighbour then told her kids: “Next time, when I tell you all to be quiet, you have to stop being noisy. You’re disturbing auntie from working.”
The woman said she was overwhelmed by what happened and that her neighbour’s actions really warmed her heart.
“I would like to praise the mother for how she’s bringing up her kids,” the woman wrote, adding that she felt “very respected” by how her neighbour dealt with the matter.
The neighbour has also kept to her word, and she’s has not been disturbed by any noise since.
Netizens were impressed by how the whole incident went, with the majority saying they weren’t as lucky when they encountered similar situations.
One netizen said he was even told by a parent: “They are kids. What can I do?”.
Imagine how nice it would be if everyone could communicate with their neighbours with such maturity and kindness.
Photos: 嗨嗨嗨🍑/ Xiao Hong Shu