Has your toddler been to the movies? How about to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince?
Last week I went to see an evening showing of the film and was seated next to a preschool-aged child. Let's just say that not much movie watching was accomplished by this tot...
Instead, throughout the entire two-and-a-half hours, he begged his (whom I assume to be his older teenage brother) for more popcorn, crawled around on the floor underneath my seat, and whined loudly that he "was bored."
I didn't mind at all but during an extremely crucial, pivotal, emotional scene (are you picking up what I'm, putting down?) the people behind us stood up and told the toddler to "BE QUIET AND WATCH THE MOVIE."
This just made everyone very uncomfortable.
Now, I hate, HATE when adults complain about kids in settings and environments that are clearly and specifically geared for kids and families: zoos, kids' movies, museums, theme parks, etc. (Seriously, lighten up, people.) But Harry Potter is a bit tricky because it appeals to such a wide audience; adults and kids seem to be equally as excited about it. Also, I was sort of surprised by how dark and scary some of the scenes were in the movie and wondered how some of the younger kids reacted to these (although the child next to me was too busy playing with my shoe to really care).
This leads me to the question: Should the people behind us been more tolerant of a young child or is Harry Potter, in fact, inappropriate for youngsters?
What do you think? Have you taken your toddler to see the new Harry Potter movie?
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Comments 17
I think it is wrong to expect a child that age to sit still and quiet for that long. As a preschool teacher, experience has shown me that children this age have limited attention spans and it's not because they are being "bad." It's because the majority of them aren't developmentally able.
I think that a child that age could just be too young to sit through a movie that is, essentially, aimed at older children and adults. I can tell you for a fact that my two year old would not sit through Harry Potter.
I have taken my two year old to the movies- we recently went to see Up. Basically when the youngest is going to the movie as well, my dh and I go in tandem. That way if the toddler gets restless, one of us can take her out so she doesn't disrupt the movie and the other can stay with the older kids who will sit through a whole movie no problem.
As for appropriateness, I havent' seen the movie so I can't say. I think it all depends on the kid... my dd at five is scared by a lot of things in movies, my ds at age seven is shaping up to be a horror fan like his mom! Not that I let him watch actual horror movies, but he loves all things dark and spooky.
i have seen the movie and i intend on taking my daughter (3.5) to see it. Im not sure if she will sit still through it all but i do know that she sits and watches them all the way through at home. The times ive taken her to the movies before i find she pays more attention if i hold her. not real comfortable for me but hey...thats life! lol sometimes i take her to the drive-in...that alleviates many problems with disruption and what not. i liked the movie well enough that if she doesnt pay attention to half of it i wont care bc i would probably go see it again anyway! if we dont go to the drive-in i would opt for takin her during the day where it is less crowded and lessens the chances of her disrupting others. that being said i think the ppl should have been more tolerant...had it been opening night, i might say different (which is why i didnt take my young one). if it was that bothersome they could have moved IMO...some of the teenagers around me were just as disruptive as a toddler would have been.
I'm taking my newborn. However, she's exactly that - a newborn. She'll nurse under a blanket and sleep the whole time.
My 5 year old has watched the first 5 Harry Potter movies, but I'm not sure I'll let him watch this one because of how dark it is, and I certainly wouldn't take him to the theater to see it, because I'd want the ability to pause and explain things if he was concerned if I let him watch it after I'd seen it.
Until kids are old enough to behave well, they need to be limited to kids movies.
i dont think i would bring a toddler to a movie but i'm sure his brother didnt have a choice. i think the family should have been more tolerant, they probably dont have kids and didnt know
My friend has a 10 yr old, 5 yr ol & 10 month old. She will not be taking any of them to this movie, because she doesnt think its a movie for her younger ones to see & her oldest doesnt want to see it. There are some movies that are appropriate for kids & some are not, this is not. IMO. If I brought my oldest 2, who are 5 then I would bring their DS because when I let them they will sit & play it for hours.
Toddlers are way to young! All of the Harry Potter movies are long. A squirmy toddler will get bored easily. The movie is really for older children. I have also read that as the children in that movie get older they are gearing the movie for older children (and adults).
I'm with the couple that was irritated with the child. The movie was not meant for three year olds, and now days it costs a lot to go to the movies. If I paid $10 to see a movie that I really wanted to see, I'd be upset that someone brought a young child and let him disrupt the movie for others.
I take my daughter to the movies all the time. She goes to the drive in with us or we see kids movies at the theatre on base, she's free and it's only $3 for me. She has seen Hotel for Dogs, Up!, Monsters vs. Aliens and Marley and Me. She's actually seen all of those twice except for Hotel for Dogs. She's only three, but she has a very long attention span. When we saw Marley and Me the first time, she was a little squirmy, so I took her out of the theatre a time or two and let her run around.
I saw The Hangover last week with my husband (left my daughter with a friend) and someone brought their 6 year old. I could hardly believe it. The movie is rated R and has a lot of nudity in it. It was so insanely inappropriate.
Ummm no its not for toddlers!!!!!!!
Nope, i wouldnt take my daughter to the movies unless it was a childrens show. Last weekend we went to the movies twice, once on Friday where my mom, brother, and stepfather saw Harry Potter, Me and my daughter went in Ice age. She sat and watched ALMOST the entire movie without a sound, (will be 3 in Oct.) Near the end of the movie she got bored and wanted to explore the nearly empty theater. If youd like to test your child, i would advise going early in the day and paying less with a more empty theater because of the time. The next day, i dropped her off with my mom, and We went to see harry potter. The age range is very important and the girls that were next to me were annoying me(they were about 10, 15, 15.(guessing) so i can imagine if a toddler was in there making noise.