Lap children at theatre & sporting events?

[Pigeon]

Even Disney goes by the same rules: both Mary Poppins and Lion King require everyone to purchase a ticket, and the recommended age for both shows is 6 and up.

The even Disney comment cracks me up. Disney is the epitome of gouging for children, considering a 10 year old as an adult.

 

[furb & dez]

An 8 month old has no business in a live show at all.

Totally agree. How unbelievably selfish would one have to be to drag an infant to a live show where silence is expected (Heck, I know adults that shouldn't go to shows for this reason...!).

And I have to say, that I think your coworker was just being really cheap. It sounds like they didn't want to pay for a babysitter either and that's why they brought the kids along and tried to get them in.

If you can't afford a babysitter, you can't afford the event. It was good enough for my parents and grandparents, it's good enough for (the general) you.

 

[tar heel]

I work with a theatre, and we would not have admitted either of them to our main series. Our guidelines are ages 10 and up and we do no publicity that suggests they're for children. It's not b/c of mature content but rather we think people paying $40ish for a ticket want an adult evening out.

We're a little more flexible with our local music series. We would charge for the 5-year-old and advise the parents on the way in that that both children would need to be removed if they were noisy.

Can you imagine buying a ticket to a performance you were looking forward to and having a couple with a baby and a 5-year-old in their laps next to you?

 

[TDC Nala]

They must be kidding...they went to a stage play after having purchased two tickets, and just expected that they would be permitted to bring two small children, one of which is not a baby but five years old, and bring the kids in to sit on their laps without being charged for them?

Many theaters and sporting events require tickets for everyone regardless of age. They may have been doing this couple a favor by offering to let the baby in free.

I would think that unless it was a play for children, they shouldn't be bringing such young children to a play at all. Most plays I have been to have an age limit. I remember someone trying to buy a ticket at the TKTS for a Broadway show for a party that included a three year old and she was told that the only theaters available that would allow the child in would be the ones showing the Disney musicals. And if they went to one of those, they would have to purchase a ticket for the three year old. If it's community theater or whatever, then they usually sell to families of all ages, but a professional theater company is more likely to not allow babies or very young children.

I think besides the reasons for restricting age at plays that have already been mentioned, there is the fact that in a stage production the performers themselves need to concentrate on the show and not on babies acting up in the audience and parents getting up to take them out.

 

[luvmy3]

The 5 year old needed a ticket. They were silly to expect to not have to pay for a child that old.

mte

My DD14 has always looked a lot younger then she is. We have done our share of age fibbing for childrens pricing. Those days are gone for my little lady now.

However, if someone made a point of it, I wouldnt throw a fit or fight it.

How nice.

 

[DisneyBeagle]

I'm not sure what my coworker was thinking. I don't know if they were being cheap or it just didn't occur to them that anyone would have an issue with their kids sitting on their laps.