Children in the German capital Berlin are to be exempt from strict laws on noise pollution.

Germany has strict laws to ensure children are seen but not heard

An amendment to the city’s law now makes it “fundamentally and socially tolerable” for members of the younger generation to make a racket.

Berlin has become the first of Germany’s 16 federal states to adopt such legislation.

But all Berliners – children included – must continue to respect the official quiet time at night and all day Sunday.

Until now, only church bells, emergency sirens, snow ploughs and tractors have fallen outside the stringent rules on excessive noise in Germany.

In Berlin alone, hundreds of complaints are made each year about noise levels in kindergartens and children’s playgrounds.

Some day-care facilities have even been forced to close after local residents have gone to court in search of a quiet life.

Now Berlin’s local government, the senate, has passed a law giving children the right to be noisy, the first law of its kind in Germany… Continue reading