Ca – Apartment Complaining About “noise” From My 4-year-old Playing During Non-quiet Hours. Can They Force Us To Stop?

I live in an upstairs apartment in California with my 4-year-old son. He plays like a normal kid—Hot Wheels, tracks, blocks, magnetic tiles, building things and knocking them over. We have carpet in the bedrooms but not in the living room, which is where he usually plays.

Today around 3:20 PM (well outside of quiet hours), I got a voicemail from the leasing office saying they’ve received “consistent complaints” about excessive noise. They described it as a rolling/back-and-forth sound (which is literally just him playing with toy cars).

They also brought up patio “violations,” which honestly feels unrelated and piled on. For context:

They previously sent a newsletter about patio rules

I already removed my one plant after that notice

The curtains they mentioned were already taken down last week (they had gotten caught on our patio furniture and were leaning, but still within our patio)

Almost every other unit in the complex has curtains, umbrellas, or plants on their patios, which makes this feel selectively enforced

When I called back and explained the noise is just my toddler playing, they asked if I could have him play on the patio instead. I said no—it’s cold outside and not realistic.

Additional context:

He is not screaming, throwing tantrums, or doing anything intentional—just normal play

This is during daytime hours

We’ve only been contacted twice (once shortly after downstairs neighbors moved in, and now about 2 months later)

The downstairs neighbors regularly play loud music during the day and I’ve never complained

My questions:

Can an apartment complex require me to stop normal daytime child play noise?

Can they tell me to move my child’s play to the patio?

Does selective enforcement (patio items) matter legally here?

At what point does this cross into harassment vs. a valid complaint?

What should I be doing now to protect myself (documentation, written responses, etc.)?

I’m trying to be reasonable, but he’s 4 years old and normal living noise seems unavoidable. I just want to make sure I’m not putting my lease at risk and understand my rights.

Location: California