It’s Time To Have a Conversation About Doorbell Camera Etiquette

It seems like everyone has a doorbell camera these days but me. I don’t have to, because my next door neighbor has one and we share a porch since we live in a duplex.

The trouble is, the woman who lives next door is using her doorbell camera as a way to know when I’m outside so she can bother me. And she’s totally inappropriate.

Her family is a total disaster, the 4 small children scream and kick the walls and have temper tantrums from about 6am to as late as 11:30pm on a regular basis, and she lacks the cognitive skills and critical thinking to come up with positive parenting strategies, so she just yells. They are chaos.

Anyhow, I’m sure you can imagine the LAST person I want bothering me when I’m outside is that woman and her screaming kids but every time I took my dog outside to do his business, she’d come outside with her kids to chitchat and despite repeated firm requests to the mother for the kids to keep their distance from my leashed dog, they are shoving their faces in his, and overwhelming him. My poor dog is trying to take a crap in peace, and I think he has the right to do it without small children all over him. The woman doesn’t do anything but say, “be gentle to the doggie!”

I told her I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and am on a low dose of Chemotherapy that weakens my immune system, so I’m trying to stay away from people, especially school age children, and still didn’t get the hint to quit coming outside for no other reason than to start talking to me.

The other totally unacceptable things she’s done is come outside and ask if she can borrow money, and to say, “My daughter (6 years old) keeps pooping on the carpet, do you have one of those little carpet cleaners I can borrow?” I DO own one, but I flat out lied and told her no, I don’t own one. There were times I was on the phone and she could clearly see I was on the phone and would just stand there and stare at me, as if she was expecting me to end my phone call and talk to her. One time I asked her, “I’m sorry, do you need to tell me something important?” She just said, “oh no, I just came out to visit.” I said, “I’m on the phone.” She just stared at me and finally went inside.

I finally had enough and told her very plainly [paraphrased] that I can’t stand the constant noise and it’s miserable living next to her family, my sons and I can’t even sit at our kitchen table and enjoy a meal because of the screaming and to stay away from me when I’m outside, because I’m not her friend.

I’m not a mean person, but she failed to get the hint for 6 months that I don’t want to be friends or have conversations with her and her screaming children while my dog takes a crap.

I think there should be an unspoken rule that if you live in a shared community like a duplex, apartment, condo, or townhouse, don’t use it as a surveillance tool to keep tabs on your neighbors just going about their business. Neighborly interactions should be limited to chance encounters at the mailbox or bringing out the trash.

Am I right?