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Living above someone else can be stressful, especially when you have young kids. Sometimes, though, it feels like no matter what you do, it still isn’t enough.

That’s what this family has been dealing with after their downstairs neighbor started complaining about their 4-year-old son.

The parents say they’ve done everything they can to be considerate, but the complaints just keep coming.

Now things have gone a step further. The neighbor hired an attorney and sent a cease-and-desist letter accusing the little boy of making all kinds of noise that the parents insist never happened.

With a witness on their side and no idea what comes next, they’re left wondering how they should respond.

Read on to see how this whole situation unfolded.

Received Cease and desist letter for child noise

I just received a cease and desist letter from my downstairs neighbor’s attorney accusing my 4-year-old son of aggressively stomping, running, hammering, playing with balls all day, kicking her door, and shouting in the hallway.

The letter asked us to respond within seven days, stating that we would comply.

All of those accusations are untrue. We are a working family and have been living here for almost six years. We are very respectful of our neighbors and have never had any prior complaints from anyone else.

Her son isn’t even home most of the time.

My son goes to school from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and is asleep by 9:00 or 9:30 p.m. We also spend a lot of time outdoors after school and on the weekends.

The downstairs neighbor moved in last year, and ever since then, she has made our lives miserable by banging on the ceiling whenever my son plays at home.

We’ve become so stressed because we constantly have to remind my son to be quiet, but he’s just a normal 4-year-old. He’s not even home most of the time—only about three to four hours a day at most. The co-op management checked our carpets, and everything is in compliance.

Luckily, someone else witnessed it.

Recently, some older kids got into our building and were running downstairs and kicking people’s doors. The neighbor immediately assumed it was my son. My son never even takes the stairs, and he’s afraid of heights, so he definitely wouldn’t be running downstairs.

Another resident in the building witnessed everything and said he would be willing to make a statement as a witness if needed.

Regarding the letter we received, I know she is bullying us and trying to scare us without any proof. What else can I do now? Should I hire an attorney?

Yikes! Dealing with situations like that are never fun.

Let’s see what the readers over at Reddit think.

No kidding! They probably will.

As this person points out, she needs to make sure it’s real.

This reader thinks she should ignore it.

For this person, that’s part of apartment living.

Nobody should have to feel like they’re walking on eggshells in their own home because they have a young child.

A four-year-old is going to make some noise, and that’s just part of apartment living. As long as the parents are making a reasonable effort to be considerate, they can’t be expected to keep him completely silent.

And sending a cease-and-desist letter feels like a pretty extreme response, especially if the neighbor can’t back up the claims. That’s not the kind of thing most people do.

At this point, the smartest move is probably to talk with an attorney, learn what the family’s rights are, and keep documenting everything. That way, if this neighbor keeps pushing the issue, they’ll be ready to protect themselves.