Apartment living, bang from below but we weren't being loud, no music or loud TV. ?

Question

Just about an hour ago I hear a loud banging from below us. 5 - 10 quick and loud bangs that were strong enough my husband and I could kind of feel them. What I am confused about is that's what we used to do or hear when I used to live in an apartment in during my college years when the person above or beside was being too loud too late.

The only thing that was going on in our apartment as my two children (3 and 6) were playing around in their room. They weren't being loud but they may have been jumping around on the bed and goofing around but it wasn't loud enough one room away for me to hear, so it was nothing that I reasoned was bad or loud. The sound was directly below my husband and I on the couch and we jumped when we heard the noise from below and both of us were like...what the 'ell? But just in case the knocks were for what our kids were doing we told our kids to pull out coloring books and play super quiet for a while.

I just don't know what to think or do.

Should I assume it was a message from the apartment below and if so how should I react to it? How quiet is polite for apartment living? can they play around during the day? What kind of playing gets too loud? I would never let my kids roughhouse, jump on the bed or dance around early in the morning or after dinner but should I keep them from doing those types of playing most or all the time? I've never had kids live above me so I don't know what the people below us may be going through what they may actually be hearing...or if they are just overly sensitive. I mean I kinda don't know why, if they were "informing" us, they couldn't have come and told us. Then I would know what to tell my kids was bothering the neighbors (stomping or running or if they were dancing, I don't know since they weren't being loud enough for me to notice).

ahh, help please, I want to be a nice neighbor and yet let my kids be kids during appropriate hours.

Answer 1

Communication is key if you want to live peacably among your neighbors.  Politely ask them if they felt there was too much noise coming from your unit.  Maybe they were doing something that caused the loud bangs and it coincided with your kids jumping.  I would want to know if I was disturbing my neighbor.

Answer 2

Perhaps they were nailing something? Hanging a picture? I wouldn't jump to conclusions....just ask them next time you run into them.  

Answer 3

It could have been about the noise as I live in a two storey house but we live in the downstairs and have 5 kids. I know when they are upstairs visiting their grandma as even though mostly they try to be quiet the noise seems to travel really well. It could be just that they were hammering something in that area or something else. But if you are concerned then next time you bump into them just ask. But also be mindful that if they say it was too noisy that they are just kids and they should expect some degree of noise. It would be normal not to have the kids make noise and have fun. Good luck.  :)

Answer 4

Ask them what was going on. You have rights too, your children have the right to play at as you say appropriate hours. Maybe your neighbours do not agree but you cannot punish your children just because of overly sensitive neighbours, I know I wouldn't. I would gently tell them: my kids have the right to play happily