Playground Has To Close Because Kids Were Too Noisy

An elementary-school playground in the Netherlands was forced to close because children were making too much noise while playing. The school in Nijmegen will have until the end of October to ban children from the playground or else they’ll be fined. The fun apparently came to an end after residents in the neighborhood complained that the noise threshold for the residential area was greatly exceeded by the children.

The move has of course touched off a fierce debate, with the director of the elementary school calling it “unfair” to the children. “It’s a bizarre situation, and it is absolutely unfair to the children,” the director told a local newspaper. “Especially now we’re constantly being told that children have to go outside and exercise more.” Opponents of the playground argue that the students were causing an unacceptable noise level of 88 decibels, exceeding the 70-decibel limit in residential areas.