Infants at the movies

[sbell111]

I'm sorry, but I have no illusions that my 10 month old is ready for a movie theater. I don't care how much she's eaten, or if it's naptime, there is no way I would pay $9.50 for a movie ticket and drag her along with me. We can't even make it through a 30 minute sitcom, much less a 2 hour movie. She babbles and laughs and wants to get down and play, and every toy that would entertain her for even 10 minutes makes noise.

It has never even crossed my mind to take her to the movie theater...even a deserted matinee. I wouldn't enjoy the movie because I would constantly be worrying if and when she was going to have an outburst.

While your ten month old probably isn't going to be able to handle a movie, that doesn't mean that all babies of any age couldn't.

My wife and I took Princess Wigglypants to movies regularly until she was about five months old. Prior to that age, she would generally sit and watch the movie, take a bottle, and fall quietly to sleep. Now that she's eight months, we can't do this anymore because she is much more interested in trying out her vocal and mobility skills than she was back then.

I completely agree with this. As two year olds my kids knew better than to discuss others in voices loud enough to be overheard by them in a restaurant--so I guess they would have been better behaved than mamacatnv!

+1

I have kids and never took them to the movies when they were babies. Why on earth would I pay for a ticket and risk having to leave? Since you have children, you know they are frequently unpredictable and that their behavior changes from week to week particularly when they're very young.

A parent of a child is also capable of judging whether his/her child is likely going to be able to sit through a movie.

What logical reason would there be for taking an infant or toddler to the movies? I never took my DD until she turned 4. At that time she was mature enough to understand that you don't talk during the movie, that you don't scream, that you don't kick the seat in front of you, etc.

The answer to your question is the same for the parents of a baby as it is for a single childless person. They want to see the movie and believe that they can do so without bothering others.

Our local multiplex (locations in various places in Canada) has special showings for moms/caregivers with babies. I do so respect them for keeping this going, as it's not a huge money maker:

I wish that our local multiplex did this. The best that they offer is early matinees of non-first run kids movies.

 

[jrmasm]

While your ten month old probably isn't going to be able to handle a movie, that doesn't mean that all babies of any age couldn't.

My wife and I took Princess Wigglypants to movies regularly until she was about five months old. Prior to that age, she would generally sit and watch the movie, take a bottle, and fall quietly to sleep. Now that she's eight months, we can't do this anymore because she is much more interested in trying out her vocal and mobility skills than she was back then.
+1

A parent of a child is also capable of judging whether his/her child is likely going to be able to sit through a movie.
The answer to your question is the same for the parents of a baby as it is for a single childless person. They want to see the movie and believe that they can do so without bothering others.

I wish that our local multiplex did this. The best that they offer is early matinees of non-first run kids movies.

Funny thing is that if parents were truly capable of judging what their children can handle and how they will act, at least half the threads on this board about behavior would disappear. Seems that many people are not capable of judging their children and if they are, they ignore the reality.

Do some babies sleep through movies without disrupting others? Sure. Are babies generally quiet? No. So why take the chance of wasting your money and pissing off a lot of strangers? Makes no sense to me.

 

[Pakey]

I'd rather sit in a movie theater with a family with an infant and/or small children than sit in a theater with a group of middle school aged teenagers who were dropped off out front by a parent.

 

[mamacatnv]

I'd rather sit in a movie theater with a family with an infant and/or small children than sit in a theater with a group of middle school aged teenagers who were dropped off out front by a parent.

I tell them to knock it off too!

 

[Heidict]

Well since I have 5 kids I am not going to never take them anywhere because they have younger siblings. My kids have gone to the movies since they were infants. They have never screamed or kicked anyone's seat. They sit quietly and watch the movie. If we have an infant they are nursing so they just nurse to sleep and no noise there. We all just went and saw TS3 last week. Everyone sat just fine. Of course, if my kids were not capable of that we would split up and one parent would stay home with the child who we knew wouldn't sit and the other would take the kids to the movies. We have done that when we knew it was a movie some of the kids wouldn't be interested in. I personally would never sit in a movie with a loud kid. How would that even be enjoyable to me? Maybe I have been lucky that my kids sit? I don't know but to me there is no logical reason not to take them if they enjoy it and can behave appropriately. The movies are a big treat in our house because they are so expensive. Maybe that is why they sit nice since they don't get to go all the time?
We are very aware of others and don't want to ever infringe on people. In the same token I have been places with my own children and had to endure hellion behavior from other people's children and I do find that annoying. I think we can agree that parents need to be aware of their children and teach them to behave or realize that their child is not ready for whatever event if they cannot get it together.

See, having only one child, then I don't think about the logistics of having multiples and trying to juggle all the different age groups. I can imagine that it would be tough to have a family outing when their age difference range from infant to whatever. You sound fortunate though to have raised respectful children. They behave in public and when they act up and are inappropriate you deal with it instead of letting it drag on to disrupt everyone.

I understand where you are coming from because we were always able to take DD to restaurants. Didn't matter if it was a chain restaurant, a family place or some place nice. She always behaved herself. Never cried, jumped around or made noises. She would just sit and color or talk to us. There are people out there who can't take their kids out to eat because they act like animals and I think we may have seen a thread or two about that.

The answer to your question is the same for the parents of a baby as it is for a single childless person. They want to see the movie and believe that they can do so without bothering others.

I wouldn't be able to relax and enjoy the movie, worried that by DD would be disruptive to the other movie goers. Not to mention, I didn't want to have to get up and leave in the middle of the movie because she started crying or babbling or whatever. You pay an arm and leg to see a movie these days and gosh darn it, I wanna see it all.

There may be babies and young children out there that can sit quietly or sleep in in the theater, but I think the crux of the problem is what the parent does when the child gets disruptive.

 

[luvmy3]

I have kids and never took them to the movies when they were babies. Why on earth would I pay for a ticket and risk having to leave? Since you have children, you know they are frequently unpredictable and that their behavior changes from week to week particularly when they're very young.

Funny, my children are not unpredictable at all. I know exactly how they are going to act when we go out, because they were always expected to act a certain way. When a parent knows their own child, sets the rules and makes their kids mind they don't have to worry about behavior changes from week to week.

I guess your "me time" is more important than everybody else's time?

She said her baby slept through the movies, and I don't recall where she said that her baby screamed teh entire time but she stayed so she could enjoy her "me time" and continue to watch the movie.

 

[sbell111]

Funny thing is that if parents were truly capable of judging what their children can handle and how they will act, at least half the threads on this board about behavior would disappear. Seems that many people are not capable of judging their children and if they are, they ignore the reality.

Do some babies sleep through movies without disrupting others? Sure. Are babies generally quiet? No. So why take the chance of wasting your money and pissing off a lot of strangers? Makes no sense to me.

We ran the risk of wasting half of our movie ticket investment, but there was never a risk of bothering the other patrons.

This financial risk was worth it for us. You would choose differently, obviously, but your choice has no bearing on ours.

 

[sbell111]

I wouldn't be able to relax and enjoy the movie, worried that by DD would be disruptive to the other movie goers. Not to mention, I didn't want to have to get up and leave in the middle of the movie because she started crying or babbling or whatever. You pay an arm and leg to see a movie these days and gosh darn it, I wanna see it all.

Really, it's the same as doing anything else with the baby. We go out to dinner fairly often. We do so knowing that if the princess has a meltdown then we will have to get up and leave in the middle. We pay and arm and a leg at restaurants, and I want to casually enjoy my meal, but sometimes, that's not possible.

When you have a baby, things change. Everything is a bit more work. That doesn't mean that the extra work isn't worth it or that you should do nothing but stay home.

There may be babies and young children out there that can sit quietly or sleep in in the theater, but I think the crux of the problem is what the parent does when the child gets disruptive.

Agreed, but that's not the position that many in this thread are taking.

 

[jrmasm]

Funny, my children are not unpredictable at all. I know exactly how they are going to act when we go out, because they were always expected to act a certain way. When a parent knows their own child, sets the rules and makes their kids mind they don't have to worry about behavior changes from week to week.



She said her baby slept through the movies, and I don't recall where she said that her baby screamed teh entire time but she stayed so she could enjoy her "me time" and continue to watch the movie.

Your infants were predictable and knew how they were expected to act when they left the house? Damn! You are amazing!

 

[luvmy3]

Your infants were predictable and knew how they were expected to act when they left the house? Damn! You are amazing!

Well as much as I'd like to agree with being amazing it was just luck that they were very consistent in their behavior when they were infants. They were predictable, my dd was a quiet baby and we could take her to the movies if we chose to. My youngest was predictable too, which is why we started going to the drive-ins My point (and I wasn't really talking about infants) is that if you (general you) set ground rules, and enforce them beginning at an early age, you pretty much know how your child is going to behave when you take them out. if your child is a maniac and you let them act that way you probably should avoid all public outings. If you have a child (even as young as a toddler) and they know how you expect them to act and they are well behaved then by all means take them anywhere and everywhere they are allowed.

 

[jrmasm]

Well as much as I'd like to agree with being amazing it was just luck that they were very consistent in their behavior when they were infants. They were predictable, my dd was a quiet baby and we could take her to the movies if we chose to. My youngest was predictable too, which is why we started going to the drive-ins My point (and I wasn't really talking about infants) is that if you (general you) set ground rules, and enforce them beginning at an early age, you pretty much know how your child is going to behave when you take them out. if your child is a maniac and you let them act that way you probably should avoid all public outings. If you have a child (even as young as a toddler) and they know how you expect them to act and they are well behaved then by all means take them anywhere and everywhere they are allowed.

I know limits need to be set and expectations for behavior need to be clear but i was talking about infants so in that context, your post is nuts.

 

[luvmy3]

I know limits need to be set and expectations for behavior need to be clear but i was talking about infants so in that context, your post is nuts.

Well, I guess we think alike because I thought your comment about infants being unpredictable is nuts. My kids weren't, I knew what I could expect from them even when they were infants. I knew that 2 of them were very good babies, hardly cried, and slept most of the time. I knew what to expect when taking them to the movies, and I'm sure I'm not the only parent out there who knows how their infants behave, or when they are acting "off" and make the decisions to take them out based on that. Just because you may have your own experience with unpredictablity doesn't mean the rest of us have

 

[Heidict]

Really, it's the same as doing anything else with the baby. We go out to dinner fairly often. We do so knowing that if the princess has a meltdown then we will have to get up and leave in the middle. We pay and arm and a leg at restaurants, and I want to casually enjoy my meal, but sometimes, that's not possible.

Yeah, but at least with a meal you can pack it up to go and finish it at home. You can't do that at the movies.

When you have a baby, things change. Everything is a bit more work. That doesn't mean that the extra work isn't worth it or that you should do nothing but stay home.

I never suggested that people should just stay home. There are tons of things to do with young children and babies.

 

[jrmasm]

Well, I guess we think alike because I thought your comment about infants being unpredictable is nuts. My kids weren't, I knew what I could expect from them even when they were infants. I knew that 2 of them were very good babies, hardly cried, and slept most of the time. I knew what to expect when taking them to the movies, and I'm sure I'm not the only parent out there who knows how their infants behave, or when they are acting "off" and make the decisions to take them out based on that. Just because you may have your own experience with unpredictablity doesn't mean the rest of us have

I am so glad that my kids weren't easy babies. That means I get easy teens!

For those with babies that don't cry or babble or squeal, that's awesome for you! Take them to all the movies you want. I'm just surprised there are so many silent babies because I never met one.

 

[Ceila]

I know limits need to be set and expectations for behavior need to be clear but i was talking about infants so in that context, your post is nuts.

That was really uncalled for.

Personally, my daughter was a very quiet, predictable baby. I could take her to a movie with a very good expectation that she would nurse/sleep through the entire thing (and in fact we did so several times when we took our older son to kid's movies). She also wasn't one to go from sleeping to screaming in a few seconds flat; there was always quite a bit of wiggling first, so I had plenty of time to scoot out of the theater with her before she was able to disturb anyone.

When my son was an infant, on the other hand, not so much! (And so we didn't take him to movies.)

 

[jrmasm]

That was really uncalled for.

Personally, my daughter was a very quiet, predictable baby. I could take her to a movie with a very good expectation that she would nurse/sleep through the entire thing (and in fact we did so several times when we took our older son to kid's movies). She also wasn't one to go from sleeping to screaming in a few seconds flat; there was always quite a bit of wiggling first, so I had plenty of time to scoot out of the theater with her before she was able to disturb anyone.

When my son was an infant, on the other hand, not so much! (And so we didn't take him to movies.)

Not really.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Your infants were predictable and knew how they were expected to act when they left the house? Damn! You are amazing!

Actually my infants were terribly perdictible NO they did not understand expectations, but I could pretty well predict their every reaction and move for about the first 5 or 6 months. It is not because I am some great mom--it is because I had easy babies.

I am so glad that my kids weren't easy babies. That means I get easy teens!

For those with babies that don't cry or babble or squeal, that's awesome for you! Take them to all the movies you want. I'm just surprised there are so many silent babies because I never met one.

OMG I have JUST been trying to explain that concept to someone on another thread I had easy babies and toddlers My oldest is 13--I live in fear at this point

 

[kimbo0569]

Saturday night I went to the movies to see Eclipse (I know, I know, but better late than never right?) anyway, there was a family in front of us- mom, dad, 6 year old dd, 10 year old dd and a 1 year old dd!!!! I wouldn't have been so shocked, but this was the 10:30 pm showing!! We didn't get out of the theatre until almost 1 am. AND the baby stayed awake, crying, sucking, eating and babbling the WHOLE time! I was a little stunned that a. you would bring an infant to this movie, b. that you would have an infant out soooo late, and c. that they NOT 1 TIME took the baby out to quiet her. I'm not a perfect mother by any means, but dang people, what were you thinking???? Oh, and it was freezing in the theatre and the baby was in shorts and a t shirt, no blankie or anything to cover her up with.

Just my opinion but a 6 year old and an infant have no business being at Eclipse. I haven't been, not into that series but from what I have seen of the previews, I wouldn't bring mine. If my 8 1/2 year old wanted to see it and if I let her, I'd bring her myself. My husband can stay home with my 5 year old, much less at 10:30pm!

There have been 1-2 movies my oldest daughter wanted to see that I didn't think were appropriate for one reason or another, so my husband took her and I stayed home or did something else with my little one.

That being said, when my little one was an infant/toddler, if we went to the movies as a family, as soon as she started to get fussy, my dh and I took turns taking her out of the theater. We joke because there was a period of 2-3 years that the only one who saw a movie in its entirety was my oldest daughter.

 

[kimbo0569]

They used to have rules at theatres that didn't allow children after the 7 p.m. showing...guess they don't have that anymore. I have no problem if well behaved children or sleeping babies attend, but I really don't like crying, whining in late movies by children or anyone else for that matter. But, I honestly would rather see a baby than someone texting on their phones. That irks me to no end. Turn your freaking phone off!

The texting during a movie irritates me too, just as much as people who feel the need to have an entire conversation during a movie. If you wanted to talk to each other, why are you at the movies?

 

[kimbo0569]

I think we are all missing the big picture. Clearly this baby is a movie genius and was crying because the movie was so bad. The parents should have that baby tested for a gifted program.