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
if the kids are being disruptive, someone needs to go alert the theater staff, and they should be kicked out. end of story. an adult doesn't have the right to be noisy, neither should a child. everyone pays the same amount for their ticket, and there's no reason why everyone else in the theater should have wasted 20 bucks because you're too cheap to hire a sitter. it's extremely rude. movie theaters should start banning children under a certain age after a certain time.
I would never take my kids to a movie theater. I am glad to see that some kids behave so well during a movie, but I know mine will not. My oldest would sit there and repeat just about everything in the movie, my middle child would ask me what's that through the whole thing, and my youngest, well, he is a bouncing ball of energy. I don't want to ruin someone else's good time just because my kids are they way they are. Not to mention I love waiting for it to come out on DVD for the simple facts that A) I can pause the movie to go to the bathroom. B) Go smoke when I wanted with the pause button. I love the pause button. But, if you want to go to the theater with your kids, I see no problem with it. Not to mention if I buy on DVD, it would cost about the same as buying two tickets. Any ways to each his own.
I've personally had theater management remove disruptive children and their self-centered parents after 1 polite warning, with the parting shot, "You are not in your living room!"
Seek the staff's assistance... they do not want to be doling ticket refunds to adult ticket holders at grown up movies... the ones that actually pay!
My father-in-law was in town for a week and he took me and my husband to watch the avengers. And of course there were children there, but they didn't annoy me as bad as the four stupid teenagers in front of me. Talking loudly and being disrespectful. I have though gone to a movie that wasn't suitable for children and seen them there, crying, screaming and running around and the parents didn't even "shh" them. I have taken my four year old and two year old to watch cars 2 they fell asleep right before it was over. My oldest would get out of his seat and stand up but I would quickly tell him to sit down and he would. But other than that he wasn't loud.
And this is why I took my 4yo and 3yo to a 3pm showing of the Avengers. They had booster seats waiting at the door and there were LOTS of other children there, too. My 3yo got scared and fell asleep on Daddy's chest, but my 4yo loved it and talked about it for the rest of the day. I really do feel as though movie theaters should ban young children from showings after a certain time. Our date nights have been ruined a few times because of children in late showings. I had this kid kick my seat the whole time, once. His mother didn't do a thing about it. I so wanted to turn around and smack the shit out of that kid!
I totally agree. It is so selfish and inconsiderate to inflict your infant on others at the movies, in a fine dining establishment but most importantly, at a wedding! I was at a really beautiful wedding ceremony when a young child (under a year) began to cry and disrupt the ceremony. WE could not hear at least half of the ceremony. I was aggravated for us, but felt horrible for the poor bride who had her day marred by one inconsiderate guest.
natster123 I completely agree with you. Rude people are often completely oblivious to how their bad behavior affects others. WHY should a person who is not being disruptive need to leave the movie because people like aobhatia and addy's mom seem to feel entitled to ruin other people's evening with their disruptive children. It is not snobbery to expect to be able to enjoy a movie without having to listen to wailing babies, loud teenagers, or people on their cell phones. It is all rude and all inexcusable.