Let’s Protect Children’s Laughter

High-pitched shrieks and laughter of school children sans school, playing and laughing in the snow pierce the morning stillness. This may be a welcome and nostalgic sound for some, bringing back fondly cherished memories of good times as a child and of course if they are your children it is just as likely to bring a smile to your face! For others it may represent an unwelcome level of noise, maybe even something akin to an intrusion on quiet enjoyment. But however you feel on that topic, be it nostalgia or imposition, fundamentally, every association has an obligation to its membership and persons permitted use by those members to ensure safety. If only for the survival of the association and reduction of liability, it is critical that safety is addressed within reason and fairly.

When looking at safety it is important not to discriminate—that includes against children. It is important to understand that legally, and for the purposes of association rules, a child is a person just like an adult is a person. A child playing in the common area is a person who has been granted permission to use that common area by a member. When the neighbor children are playing in the association field or park, they are authorized by the member household they are associated with, and they are persons not children.

What does this really mean? Well it means we must view all house rules both extant and proposed, through this lens: it means that rules need to be written so that they apply equally regardless of age. The Association must treat adults and children both as persons to comply with Fair Housing laws. This is a critical key when considering the wording of any House Rules or Rules and Regulations (R&Rs).

Some examples of rules that should be removed or revised:

• Pool is only for use of adults 21 or over after 8pm

Rules that exclude by age should be rewritten or removed—a rule like this one is probably ready to be removed

• Children must wear bicycle helmets when riding a bicycle

Rules that only apply to an age group are discriminatory and should be rephrased to be neutral. In this case 'persons riding a bicycle must wear bicycle helmets' would be a suitable alternative

• Children must be supervised by an adult at all times

A rule like this will be found unenforceable—its an unfair burden on parents and there is precedent of an association in Colorado which ran afoul of the Fair Housing Act for similar wording

• Curfew for children

Multiple courts have ruled that minor curfews cannot be enforced by an association or landlord—however if your local municipality has a curfew that still applies

• Children may not play “in common areas” (i.e. outside)

This has lots of precedent as well and could result in a maximum civil penalty of $19,787 for a first violation as well as opening the Association up to civil litigation—better to do away with rules like this

• Children must not make too much noise

This is an interesting one as there is more detail that must go into it. The Association cannot prohibit or regulate children running, laughing, giggling, shrieking, and making normal amounts of noise in the common areas during regular daytime hours. The Association can however take action against unusual or excessive noise, for example a person practicing her trombone at 2am every morning, and by extension a rule such as “All persons will respect quiet hours between 9pm-7am and refrain from any unusually loud or disruptive noise.” It would be wise to specify a decibel rating—some simple searches online will yield examples of municipal codes that could be mirrored.

So, what can an Association do to promote child safety without discriminating? As mentioned above, rules need to be written to uniformly apply regardless of age. They should be phrased to speak to persons not to children and apply the same to everyone.

Encourage, don’t legislate, send out communications to your community encouraging members to:

• Slow down when driving through the neighborhood

• Talk to their children about safety

o Proper safety gear (helmets, knee pads, etc)

o Encourage children to check in periodically

o Go over emergency procedures

Be safe out there and watch for persons at play!

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