Infants at the movies

[Ceila]

Not really.

Yeah, it was. Just because you haven't had the same experience as someone else does not make their point of view "nuts."

 

[dawn1620]

I must be 36 going on 60. Here are the rules for the movies - if everyone follows them then we all can get along:

When the movie starts - sit back and shut up

The previews are for the pre-show conversations, getting coats on/off/situated in the seats, getting the candy unwrapped, last minute potty breaks, get the texting/time-checking/email read from the phone - all this crap should be wrapped up before the actual movie starts. When I was finally able to watch Eclipse I had the joy of five teenage girls in the seats in front of us doing all of the above. About 15 minutes into the movie I leaned over and told them if they did not quiet down I was going to have them thrown out.

I understand parents want to bring kids to movies and my only real beef with the subject is with parents taking babies/very young children to movies appropriate for adults only. I have a nine year old myself and she behaves wonderfully, at movies appropriate for her age. But if I'm watching an R rated movie its because I want some adult time and that means away from kids. I don't want yours ruining my time there.

 

[NHdisneylover]

I must be 36 going on 60. Here are the rules for the movies - if everyone follows them then we all can get along:

When the movie starts - sit back and shut up

The previews are for the pre-show conversations, getting coats on/off/situated in the seats, getting the candy unwrapped, last minute potty breaks, get the texting/time-checking/email read from the phone - all this crap should be wrapped up before the actual movie starts. When I was finally able to watch Eclipse I had the joy of five teenage girls in the seats in front of us doing all of the above. About 15 minutes into the movie I leaned over and told them if they did not quiet down I was going to have them thrown out.

I understand parents want to bring kids to movies and my only real beef with the subject is with parents taking babies/very young children to movies appropriate for adults only. I have a nine year old myself and she behaves wonderfully, at movies appropriate for her age. But if I'm watching an R rated movie its because I want some adult time and that means away from kids. I don't want yours ruining my time there.

I totally agree with the bolded

What I don't understand is how a quiet well behaved 9 year old would impact your adult evening in any way You might not even know the child was there in the dark if they were not close to you and were truly that well behaved. I cannot, off hand, think of any R rated movies I have taken the kids to, but DD13 wanted to see The Terminal when she was 6 and it is PG-13. My mother in law had seen it and thought it would be fine for her and that she would like it (it was and she did, she is a weird kid). As a parent, as long as her behaviour is not impacting others I really do not think you have a right to complain about her presences (unless it is somewhere she is truly not allowed to be--not the case with movies, there they just have to be accompanied by an adult--with the exception of a few specific theatres).

 

[luvmy3]

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.

Thats the point some here are trying to make, not all babiesa re going to cry, scream, squeal through a movie. Like I said 2 of mine wouldn't have, my third had colic and then after he outgrew the screaming stages at 4 months he was still a very vocal infant and I would never dream of taking him into a theater. However I do agree with your first statement, my easy baby girl is now a tween and boy do I long for those easy predictable days again

 

[whatcateydid]

I must be 36 going on 60. Here are the rules for the movies - if everyone follows them then we all can get along:

When the movie starts - sit back and shut up

The previews are for the pre-show conversations, getting coats on/off/situated in the seats, getting the candy unwrapped, last minute potty breaks, get the texting/time-checking/email read from the phone - all this crap should be wrapped up before the actual movie starts.

Haha, I must be 21 going on 80 because I start to get irked when people keep talking through the previews!

 

[Mouse House Mama]

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.

Thank you. We are trying our best just like I hope everyone else is. I can never understand parents who let their kids act wild. As a parent I don't want to be around that behavior so why would I allow it in my immediate area?

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

Hey thanks! I think I am pretty amazing!
I never placed any expectations on my infants. I as their Mother simply knew/know their tempermant and knew what their reactions to things would be. I also knew what made them calm and happy. On another note I was/am always willing to sacrifice my entertainment if my children are being disruptive.

 

[pigletgirl]

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.

I have 2 very young sisters. They are now 2 and 3.5. They both just went to the movies for the very first time to see Toy Story 3 a few weeks back. There were many many infants in the theatre. No matter how 'good' the baby was they still interupted the movie by their coos, squealing and shrieking.

When you have a baby, you sacrifice a TON! That also means missing out on movies. I'm sure when I have children, I will be totally disconnected with the world (or at least the movies -- unless its a date night) until they are old enough to appreciate the movie.

 

[HelenePA]

I have 2 very young sisters. They are now 2 and 3.5. They both just went to the movies for the very first time to see Toy Story 3 a few weeks back. There were many many infants in the theatre. No matter how 'good' the baby was they still interupted the movie by their coos, squealing and shrieking.

When you have a baby, you sacrifice a TON! That also means missing out on movies. I'm sure when I have children, I will be totally disconnected with the world (or at least the movies -- unless its a date night) until they are old enough to appreciate the movie.

Ummm when you have kids it doesn't mean your life as you know it ends its just different. We took our dds to movies all the time when they were small they were fine.. now the boys as infants? no way.. you get to know your kids. You get to see what they can handle and how they behave. I take mine out in public everywhere. I always get comments on how well they behave. Some parents just choose not to care. Last time I took them out for pizza.. just me and the kids alone.. the adults there acted worse than my kids. They stared at us the ENTIRE time. They made snide little comments about me and the kids and how they should call CPS on me when I went to get straws and left the 3 older kids alone at the table 8ft away from me for 20 seconds. This went on the whole time we were there.. I wanted to say something so badly to them but I wasn't going to stoop to their level. There are some kids who act terrible in places but there are also adults who do it too.