Poll: bringing young children to theater

[cardpire]

Originally Posted by Rashmon Some of you youngsters are in for a rude awakening to the realities of child-rearing when you grow up.

social mores don't change once you have a child. you don't have to have one to know that there's something f'd up about bringing an infant to a midnight showing of the dark knight rises. that has nothing, and i mean NOTHING to do with the "realities of child-rearing", and everything to do with common sense.

[JuanValdez]

Originally Posted by cardpire besides the point, since JuanValdez already took the "tough ***** if my baby cries, stuff that you do annoys me too" stance, but, if we knew that parents were letting a small child watch hardcore porn, are we allowed to judge them for that?

By law, children are not allowed into X-rated films whether they have parental escort or not. So yeah, you should probably reproach the parent and the theater operator. It might also be appropriate to call the police.

[cardpire]

Originally Posted by JuanValdez By law, children are not allowed into X-rated films whether they have parental escort or not. So yeah, you should probably reproach the parent and the theater operator. It might also be appropriate to call the police.

what theater shows x-rated films? i'm talking about if you knew they watched them in the privacy of their own home. who are we to judge what they let their kids watch, right? is there any evidence that shows that letting a 3-year old watch savannah sampson get sledgehammered will screw them up any more than watching bane murder his way through the dark knight?

[QdoubleA]

Originally Posted by cardpire what theater shows x-rated films?

[JuanValdez]

Originally Posted by cardpire what theater shows x-rated films? i'm talking about if you knew they watched them in the privacy of their own home. who are we to judge what they let their kids watch, right? is there any evidence that shows that letting a 3-year old watch savannah sampson get sledgehammered will screw them up any more than watching bane murder his way through the dark knight?

In your home too, I think you could be prosecuted provided you can be caught. As for the effect of porn and violence on children, they probably have deleterious effects on young children, teenagers and adults. But we allow adults to make the choice for themselves. And, for non-pornographic material, we allow parents to make the choice for their children. Alcohol is like that too -- it's bad for everybody, but kids can drink with their parents. Give them cocaine though and prepare for prison.

But I suppose this all reflects the larger problem with this thread -- it conflates the arguments of bothering others, the parenting wisdom of keeping kids up late, and the parenting wisdom of allowing kids to watch violence. If it's the last you're concerned about, maybe you should be advocating toughening up the regulations on the MPAA ratings system instead of complaining about people enjoying themselves in legal and popular pastimes.

[tmoney1101]

Originally Posted by QdoubleA

[bobrek]

Originally Posted by cardpire besides the point, since JuanValdez already took the "tough ***** if my baby cries, stuff that you do annoys me too" stance, but, if we knew that parents were letting a small child watch hardcore porn, are we allowed to judge them for that?

We can get to all sorts of end cases and you can choose to judge them all you want, but a midnight showing (as the poll suggests) and a well behaved infant, isn't something I would negatively judge someone on.

[cardpire]

Originally Posted by bobrek We can get to all sorts of end cases and you can choose to judge them all you want, but a midnight showing (as the poll suggests) and a well behaved infant, isn't something I would negatively judge someone on.

cop out of an answer, and a big dismount off the high horse you were riding on with "who are we to judge what other parents let their kids watch?".

once again though, this is besides the point. i can't prevent every irresponsible parent in the world from taking their infants to midnight showings of movies with terrorism-related plots. when these unfit parents' unfortunate children begin to scream and cry and ruin the movie for me though (which happens frequently), it's no longer only their problem, and it's not acceptable in the least.

[Nook]

Originally Posted by cardpire cop out of an answer, and a big dismount off the high horse you were riding on with "who are we to judge what other parents let their kids watch?". once again though, this is besides the point. i can't prevent every irresponsible parent in the world from taking their infants to midnight showings of movies with terrorism-related plots. when these unfit parents' unfortunate children begin to scream and cry and ruin the movie for me though (which happens frequently), it's no longer only their problem, and it's not acceptable in the least.

I remember going to see Iron Man in the theatre at the 10:30 pm show. Some idiots brought in new born twins. Five minutes into the movie both were crying..... I let it go on for fifteen minutes before I suggested they take their babies OUTSIDE the movie theatre.

The father/boyfriend did not like my suggestion (even though people cheered), so he got a face full of coke and gummibears.

Ultimately the attendent came in and security forcefully removed them. The movie was restarted.

Do NOT bring your child to a movie if they will not shut up. If you bring a child, and they do not shut up, don't be surprised if you get a coke bath.

[Sweet Lou 4 2]

Originally Posted by Big MAK Bringing a 6 year old to a midnight showing isn't a big deal, as long as they're not missing school for it (and they can behave), who cares?

I don't know, should a six year old even be up at 3:00am in the morning when the movie would have ended?

[Batman Jones]

Originally Posted by bobrek As long as the child isn't a disturbance, who are we to judge what their parents choose for them to watch and when to watch it? We took our (at the time) 13 month old grandson as well as the 4 year old to see a weekday evening showing of The Lion King musical. They were both enthralled, quiet and respectful the entire show. We also took them to a weekday evening Blue Man Group show. A woman behind us grumbled about a baby being there. If only her teenage kids had been as well behaved as the baby who again, was completely taken by the show. Folks bringing kids to shows should simply be prepared to haul them out the second they start to act their age. Throughout my life at shows, I have been bothered far more by cell phones, texting and noisy teenagers/adults than I have infants and children.

What you say makes sense if your grandchildren were quiet and well-behaved. That one time at least.

But everybody says that their children won't make noise. And it's almost never true.

I've run a theatre and directed like 50 plays over almost 20 years.

Everybody says it; it's usually not true and it almost always results in ruining the experience for everyone, audience and actors.

It's the height of arrogance to assume that people won't be bothered by seeing a baby or small child brought into a theatre of any sort. Babies and small children cannot reliably be controlled. Because they are babies and small children.

It's rude. Get a baby-sitter.

[Batman Jones]

Originally Posted by Nook I remember going to see Iron Man in the theatre at the 10:30 pm show. Some idiots brought in new born twins. Five minutes into the movie both were crying..... I let it go on for fifteen minutes before I suggested they take their babies OUTSIDE the movie theatre. The father/boyfriend did not like my suggestion (even though people cheered), so he got a face full of coke and gummibears. Ultimately the attendent came in and security forcefully removed them. The movie was restarted. Do NOT bring your child to a movie if they will not shut up. If you bring a child, and they do not shut up, don't be surprised if you get a coke bath.

I wish I could have double-repped this.

[fallenphoenix]

Originally Posted by Batman Jones I wish I could have double-repped this.

did you forget to log into your other account?

...DD?

[Batman Jones]

Originally Posted by fallenphoenix did you forget to log into your other account? ...DD?

Yes, I'm DaDakota. I'm surprised it took you guys this long to figure it out.

DD

[K mf G]

Originally Posted by Batman Jones It's the height of arrogance to assume that people won't be bothered by seeing a baby or small child brought into a theatre of any sort. Babies and small children cannot reliably be controlled. Because they are babies and small children. It's rude. Get a baby-sitter.

really? by seeing a baby or small child?
if you live long enough you'll find out that no matter the age, people cannot reliably be controlled, because humans sometimes act irrational and sometimes psychotic

[VanityHalfBlack]

Hispanic????

[K mf G]

Originally Posted by VanityHalfBlack Hispanic????

sura faints

[Zboy]

I am ok with child birth in the theater.

Its all about priorities.

[Harrisment]

It's not cool at all. I really don't care what the content of the movie is, or if the violence could have a negative impact on the child. If you want to screw your kid up, be my guest. My only issue with it is how inconsiderate it is to the other people in attendance. It's a total dick move.

I'm in my 30's...not a kid.

[Invisible Fan]

You can bring your kid to R rated movies. That's what Restricted means.

Doesn't mean I agree with it... but my judginess hasn't made the world a better place by one lick. It's usually my actions that sometimes does.