CHICAGO — Amanda Wendel realized she had bad neighbors as soon as her son started walking.

When her little boy took his first steps and toppled over, her downstairs neighbors turned on their music. Loudly.

“They said that they’re turning on the music because he’s falling,” said Wendel, a stay-at-home mother who lives in the Chicago suburbs.

The neighbors, who rarely leave their home, now blast their music daily, from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m.

Wendel isn’t the only one dealing with neighbor issues. A 2015 Pew Research Center study found that 48 percent of people trust none or some of their neighbors.

If you’re at odds with neighbors, you’re going to have to face the problem, said Bob Borzotta, author of “Neighbors From Hell.”

The first step is to approach the neighbor carefully, directly and in person.

“When I say carefully, I mean without seeming angry or demeaning, because this makes people defensive, and it makes you look unreasonable,” Borzotta said.

“I say directly, though, because it’s important to address the concern unapologetically; you’ll otherwise seem like a pushover whose desires are not important.”

Borzotta advises against written communications because notes can be misconstrued, shared and even used against you in a harassment case.

If speaking with the neighbors doesn’t help and you live in a condo or a co-op, consider contacting the homeowners association, Borzotta said.

If it’s a noise problem, you could call the police. If it’s an eyesore issue — for example, the neighbor’s yard is littered with junk — call municipal ordinance officials to report possible code violations.

Alternatively, you could take legal action, said Michelle Freudenberger, a real estate attorney in New York, where the most common neighbor complaints are noise and offensive odors.