Date nights are a precious thing once you have kids. Ask any parent. It's not just about having the energy to do it. A lot of planning is involved. If you both have busy careers, it's about coordinating schedules and -- more importantly -- booking that babysitter well in advance.
My husband and I were long overdue for some one-on-one time. So I was super excited that I was able to get a sitter for both Friday and Saturday nights. We didn't have anything crazy planned. We were looking forward to checking out two hot, new restaurants and catching a couple flicks that everyone else but us had seen.
Both nights, the food was fantastic. The wine was great. The movies, well, not so much. And it wasn't because of the actors, directors, or storylines. Nope, our rare double-header was ruined by kids -- somebody else's kids.
At both movies (Hunger Games the first night, The Avengers the next) there were babies and toddlers in the theater. Crying babies and singing toddlers to be exact. Everyone was beyond annoyed.
More from The Stir: A Movie Theater Is No Place for a Baby
It's not like we were watching a Disney film or some other animated flick you'd expect a whole family to attend. No, these were violent, action packed scenes. But to be honest, the inappropriate subject matter is not what I take issue with. (I remember being horrified when I saw a dad come into a screening of Precious with three kids under 10 and these movies were nowhere near as sexually explicit).
I have a problem with the fact that some parents don't care if they ruin the film for everybody else. There was crying, whining, and at some point I swear I heard a verse if a Barney song. I kept trying to will them to get up and leave. They didn't.
Now as a parent I sympathize with the desperate need to get out of the house and engage in some kind of activity that has nothing to do with Play-Doh or The Fresh Beat Band. And babysitters are expensive. But is it fair to spoil the film for other patrons?
When I can't find a sitter (which is often), I stay at home and rent a movie from cable or Netflix. Why can't everyone offer the same consideration? At the very least, they should exit when the wailing starts. These parents threw out a couple of "shhhs" but otherwise seemed relatively unconcerned, just staring at the screen as if it wasn't bothersome.
I've read message boards where parents have discussed the best time to take their tot to a movie, trying to sync it up with the sleeping schedule. But come on. Does that ever really work? What baby is going to stay asleep while the Hulk screams and pounds his way through a two-hour film?
Should parents bring babies into movies that are not for children? Is it rude to other moviegoers?
Image via Max Wolfe/Flickr
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Comments 96
I think there should be a minimum age for children to get in to a movie, even if their parent is with them. Infants are different because they do tend to sleep for many hours a day. But in the end the movie theater/companies need to make it ok for parent's with loud kids/babies to leave. I would suggest that they give them something like a rain check for them to come back another time. Then maybe the parent's would be more likely to leave when the kids act up or the baby won't stop crying. Money is a powerful motivator and some probably feel like they paid to see the movie and don't want to lose out on the ticket. In my area of NC they used to have (not sure if they still do) a cry baby movie time. It was around afternoon nap time so your baby might sleep through it or not. Either way it was all people with little kids and babies. They left the house lights up a little more so that the kid's didn't get scared and the volume was lowered as to not hurt their little ears. It was great! My friend and I took our under age 2 kids and they watched some of the movie and slept some. It was wonderful not to have to jump up and leave. It was still a Disney movie, but hey it got us out of the house.
You guys are talking about babies being quiet how about adults? It's usually not about the children who bothers me it grown folks who talk on their phone and talk to the screen. I probably been to 6 movies in the last 5 years since my children been born because they are usually with me all the time. They are 2 and 4 and just saw their first movie of Beauty and Beast at the early show. I went right before my son's nap time and he slept through the majority of the movie. I think parents should be able to go to the movies if their children behaves but if they start making noise, and don't do anything about it, I will go to the manager myself.
I have taken all my children to adult movies as infants. I have a right to get out and a baby sitter isn't an option when you're exclusively nursing. I would never take a toddler because 1.) They are old enough to observe the inappropriate content and 2.) they are harder to keep quiet. But I have no problem taking an infant who will sleep most of the time and whom I can stick a boob in their mouth whenever needed. only twice did one of my four babies get fussy, and of course I left the theater until they calmed down. I took my youngest daughter to see a Twilight triple feature when Eclipse opened. We were at the theater from like 7 pm to 2 am. She was a month old and slept/nursed pretty much the entire time.
Why is it people think it's okay to take young children to PG-13 movies in the first place? Some theaters did have a policy of no one under 6 after 6pm in rated R movies, but not sure those still exist. Probably someone screamed discrimnation, even though kids under 6 should be in bed by the time many of those movies get out anyway.
its totally the parents fault. i would never bring my kids to a late move especially one that isnt meant for kids. the polite thing to do is to get up and walk out of the theater. some people are just so inconsiderate.