New Law: Children Under 12 Not Allowed in Movie Theaters
 

I just wanted to tell everyone about my awful movie theater experience last night.

I went to see "Jersey Girl" with my friend and roommate. It was a 9:30 showing so you'd expect the majority of the audience to be older. There were a lot of kids in there. No big deal as long as they behaved themselves. The theater was PACKED. We ended up having to sit right behind the front row.

A group of middle school age kids sat in the row in front of us. For the whole beginning of the movie, they kept standing up and sitting down and talking. One of the kids started playing a game on his cell phone. I just prayed that they would stop.

All the sudden, from the other side of the theater, a toddler let a big, "WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The whole theater turned over to see what was happening. The mother just sat there as the kid cried his eyes out. Take the crying kid out of the theater!!!

Finally, the kid calmed down but he started talking really loud. I just ignored it but other movie patrons started leaving the theater. The kids in front of me were throwing popcorn at this point.

Once again, the toddler starts screaming his head off. Everyone in the theater looks at the mom who just sat there. My friend screamed across the theater, "Excuse me, ma'am. Can you take your kid outside?" That's when one of the deliquents in front of us turned around to her and said, "That's my little brother. What the hell is your problem? He's a baby!" Actually, the kid was about 2 or 3...certainly not a baby. My friend said to the kid, "He shouldn't be here unless he can behave" to which the kid just kept saying, "What's your problem?" repeatedly as his other delinquent friend said, "It's a free country!" :rolleyes:

The delinquent then gets up and grabs the toddler from his mother and brings him to the front row with him. The toddler throws popcorn everywhere, starts crawling on the floor, and was screaming his head off. Several more people got up and left. The delinquents kept getting up and bringing the kid back to their mother, then would get up again and bring him to the front row, and then repeat the cycle all over again.

My roommate got annoyed. She told me that she was going to ask management if we left if we could get a refund. The delinquents saw her walk out and immediately started pushing the popcorn they threw under their seat to "hide the evidence". My roomie came back and said that management would refund us if we left. As we were walking out, one of the delinquents turned around and said, "Bye Bitches!" At 12 or 13 years old, I would NEVER have said that to people who were older than me!!!! What the hell is wrong with kids today? My roommate looked at them and said, "Bye assholes." One of the delinquents cursed, "F&cking bitch" to which I laughed and said, "Little 12 year olds." The kid got up and followed us out of theater!!! Are you kidding me?

When I got out of the theater, I saw a bunch of SAEs that I'm friends with and walked over to them. The kid saw them and immediately ran back into the theater. I guess he figured that he didn't want to get in our faces when we were friends with 3 guys that were about "6'1" and 200 pounds. :)

While we were at customer service getting our refund, there must've been 10 other people from our theater standing there also trying to get a refund. Finally, the ushers went over to theater to go say something to the delinquents. I'm not sure if they got thrown out but I doubt it.

What the hell is wrong with parents? Get a babysitter! If you absolutely must bring your kid with you to the theater, take them out as soon as they start crying. People paid $8.50 to see the movie and they don't want to be distracted by your kids screams. I'll never understand it just because my parents would've dragged me out of the theater if I started acting like that. In fact, they would never have brought me to a 9:30 movie....it was past my bedtime.

I really think there should be a law that prohibits anyone under the age of 12 to be in a movie theater!

Damn. That sucks. If I were you and your friends, I would write letters to the execs of that theater and let your voice be heard. It's one thing for kids to be noisy, but the fact that those Maury Povich delinquents had a parent there who did NOTHING to police them is even worse.

Too many parents take their kids to movies with them when they need to stay home or go to the early shows.

there should be a law that if are under 17 and want to go an R rated movie, you still have to be 14 to get in with a guardian.

a month ago, i saw "taking lives" (angelina jolie) and this mother was in there with a 1 year old. i wanted to scream. the baby is yelling her head off. and the mother has the nerve to wait at least 5 min before she gets up to leave. :mad:

in another R rated movie, a mother is trying to feed her crying baby.

BABIES SHOULD NEVER BE ALLOWED IN THEATER PERIOD!!!!!!:mad:

:D LOL

Ok i am not defending those little punks or the so called parents who brought them but I am sorry the babysitters today cost a lot more then a movie does so i am not go to say leave them home. BUT once a child starts to cry take them out into the lobby uintil the child is calm enough. And as for the lil punks with smart mouths i would of gone to management earlier to have them delt with.


Unless your a parent of a baby (and yes a baby is still a 2 or 3 yr old ) you dont know what your talking about by just leaving them at home.



I am NOT AT ALL DEFENDING their actions , but i am defending the need to bring a baby along. Baby sitters make a lot more then i did at that age and should file taxes for the amt they make off with!

I don't care how much a babysitter costs, if you want to see a 9:30 movie and you have a 2 or 3 year old, you should shell out the big bucks for one.

I completely agree with everything you said, ZTAngel.

I understand what you're saying but I think there is a HUGE difference between a baby and a 2/3 year old. I actually would've been more understanding had it been a 6-month old rather than a toddler. With a toddler, you can tell it to sit down or to stay quiet while you cannot with a baby.

Also, many people go to the movies at night to avoid dealing with screaming children. I can understand bringing a toddler to a matinee but a 9:30 movie?! The kid should've been in bed and, yes, with a babysitter. Just because this woman didn't want to pay for a babysitter does not mean she can let her kid wail in the middle of the theater.

There are many good parents out there. There was a 6 year old girl with her dad sitting behind us and there was a 4 year old with his mom sitting next to us. These kids did not even make a noise. It's the bad parents that ruin it for everyone. They don't teach their children that it is not proper to throw a temper tantrum in a public place. They don't immediately remove their children when they start to act up. The movie theater is not your living room. Just because you're use to your own child crying and throwing fits does not mean everyone else around you can block out the sound. Unfortunately, because of these bad parents, I really think that theaters should have a rule that children cannot be in the theaters past a certain time.

Many theaters have tried to help this problem. There's a theater by my parents' house in Boca Raton that has a babysitting center. Parents can bring there kids there, watch the movie, and then pick up their kids when the movie is over. Many movie theaters have movie showings specifically for parents with young children. That way, parents can see the movie with their children and not have to worry that they're bothering the people around them.

If you absolutely must see the movie and can't leave your kid at home, go to a matinee. It's almost expected that there will be a lot of children during a matinee.

ETA: My parents NEVER took me to the movies at night when I was young. They always took me to matinees. If they wanted to see a PG-13 or R movie, they went at night and got a babysitter. They didn't feel that it was their right to bring me to the theater if I wasn't going to be able to sit quietly just so they didn't have to pay the money to the babysitter. Also, if I acted the way that kid did, my mother would've dragged me out of the theater by my ear and gave me a spanking! Never would she have let me throw a temper tantrum like that in public. I asked my mother one time how I acted in public as a child and if I ever threw temper tantrums. My mother said, "No, you were always good in public because you knew better!" I respected my parents and knew that they were the boss and that I couldn't get away with stuff like that. I think parents today are too afraid to discipline their kids and, unfortunately, we all have to suffer because of it.

a child who's 2 or 3 years old should be home IN BED at 9:30 at night.

I've actually had this discussion with my parents quite a few times.

When my brother and I were young, my parents adjusted their lives and what they wanted to do so that our schedules weren't messed up.

Anymore, it seems that people are too busy with their social lives that their kids "get in the way"

I would have gotten the usher to kick them out. Then they finally might get in trouble because the mom would be foreced to leave to.

KIDs, should not be seen or heard in a Movie Theater no matter what!:mad:

Parents who drop off the kids using a theater as a baby sitting thing should be sterilized!:o

Why were kids there alone at that time of night and some with a baby who is bawling???????

Boot their butts out, no refund! Period!

I'm so sorry you had a rotten experience. I feel your pain!

I've heard of movie theatres having special matinee showings that are specifically designated for parents and little kids (toddler/preschool age). People go to these showings knowing and accepting the fact that there will be kids running around. I've also heard of late-evening showings being restricted to a minimum age, but it's much less common. (Actually, neither setup is particularly common.)

It's expecting a lot to expect a 2-3yo to sit still for 1.5-2 hours, but you're absolutely right that mom should have taken the kid outside when he started acting up. Just a couple of minutes outside might have been enough for him to settle down. Or not, in which case you stay outside a little longer. The best thing to do with a little kid is leave him with a babysitter (which can get expensive) or with family (if you're lucky enough to have someone nearby). Or wait for the movie to come out on DVD.

The older kids' behavior was inexcusable. Kids need to be taught from a young age that certain behavior is unacceptable in public. And part of that is the parents setting a good example themselves. You watch, that 2yo is going to be just like his brother in 10 years.

On a related note, someone mentioned a 1yo at an R-rated movie... I went to see the South Park movie, which is the only time I've actually seen a theatre card for an R-rated movie. You wouldn't believe the number of parents I saw with their 3- and 4yos. I'm sorry, but I would not want my (hypothetical future) 3yo seeing Big Gay Al in his altogether! :p Parents should prescreen the R-rated movies they take their kids to see.

You willfully had the kid, you willfully signed up for 18 years of contract slavery.

Don't make your choice, or inability to instill discipline in kids, an inconvenience to others.

Babysitters are expensive? Guess what, you don't have to go to the movies, stay home and rent.

Same thing with restaurants .. you can always order take out. :)

I agree!

When I lived back in the Northern VA area, the AMC theatres had the "Silence Is Golden" program. After 6 no kids under 12 were allowed in movies rated PG-13 or higher! I loved that. I dunno if they still have it!

At the beginning of movies, there was a sign saying "Crying babies should be taken to the lobby"

I wish the sign would say: "Crying babies need to have their asses at home in bed!" :p

I would think parents would know at least another set of parents where you can trade off movie night so each set of parents can have a night to watch a movie in peace.

I'm also disturbed that people take their kids to movies like Dawn of the Dead. There were 3 kids under the edge of 10 next to me, you can't tell me they didn't have nightmares. I took a 12 year old cousin to what we thought was a sci-fi alien movie opening weekend, the lady at the ticket counter even warned us, we laughed it off because he loves alien movies, unfortunately she should have told us that Event Horizon was a satanic type of movie. It really freaked the poor kid out. :( I felt bad.

thank you, that was beautiful.

i completely agree - going to the movies is a choice, a luxury. It's not a trip to the grocery store or some other necessity. If you children can't behave and be quiet for a 2 hour span, they shouldn't be brought to the movies because other people are spending money and they came to relax and enjoy themselves.

Honestly, if you can't afford a babysitter I highly doubt you can afford going to the movies. The movies are prett expensive these days - $9 tickets, snacks that = $20 - if you have the expendable income to do that, you better have it for the babysitter as well - otherwise rent a movie.

And just because you are a parent doesn't mean you have to justify the actions of every other parent in every other circumstance - especially when they are obviously wrong. Allowing your children to use that kind of language, not taking your screaming baby out of a theater, etc are all wrong. If they can't behave - leave them at home with a babysitter.

Ditto here!

There is a movie theater in DC....I have forgotten the name of it completely, but it is at Mazza Gallerie in Friendship Heights (for all of you near American University and Bethesda, MD.) You basically can't get into this particular theater unless you are 21, because they have a bar in that joint....it was soooo peaceful and clean in there. The seats were ultra big and comfy.

There is a "normal" theater in there, too, but now that I am spolied by the "club" theater, I don't think I'll go back tot he normal one.

Down with kids! lol

Do they show indies? If so, then yeah, it makes a difference!

I am not sure. It is either a Loew's or AMC theater, perhaps they do.

I fall in love with you more and more everytime you post comments like this James :) Going out in NYC I always wonder similar things. This city is full of take out & rental places so why is there a 3year old next to me at a restaurant in the Village?? I would glady babysit to supplement my teacher's salary. LOL

One of the live theatres in my area has this announcement in their program:

"Please turn all cellular phones, pagers, and children under 5 to the mute position."

LOL;)

You guys crack me up! :D Seriously, though, I agree...noisy children get on my nerves worse than almost anything else. I don't like children much (and I'm gonna be a teacher--hahahaha! :p), but I don't mind them if they can behave. It just seems like there's a lot more badly behaved kids out there now. My parents would never have taken me out in public that late at night to begin with, but whenever we did go out I understood that if I did not act like I was supposed to, a trip to the restroom to have my butt paddled was in order. Simple as that.

Those kids in the front should've had their butts busted, too...that's ridiculous, the way they talked. If I'd said something that rude and my mom got wind of it, I'd have been toast. Kids today... :p

Drive in theaters
 

An experience like what you had the theater is why I long for the days of the good old Drive-In Movie theater. That way the kids were able to drive their parents batty without disturbing anyone else. Plus they used to have the small playground up under the screen (or sometimes next to the snackbar) where the kids could go play if they didn't want to sit still for the movie.

I wish there was a way to start building drive-ins again but here in L.A. there just isn't any open space anymore.

As for the kids screaming in the theater and throwing popcorn I would have given them a few minutes to see if they stopped in then went to tell management about it. If they didn't do anything I would have asked for a refund plus the contact info for the corporate office to complain.

like most people have said, kids in movies THAT late at night have no business being in the theater.

Unfortunately today, I've come to believe more and more have no home training. Any type of discipline is seen today as child abuse, but I'm sorry getting paddled in the bathroom for acting a fool in public is a motivation for not acting a fool. Of course I knew my mother wouldn't stand for it, so I didn't do it.

I like the idea of "kid friendly" shows and a time/age ban on when kids and enter a theater.

I think at the very least people under 16 should not be allowed into the theatre w/o an "adult" (someone 21+). Even in high school I was annoyed w/ people my age that couldn't shut the hell up for 2 hours (or less). I don't know about y'all, but I had limited $ from the folks and going to a movie was a chunk out of that. I resented paying $8 only to *not* hear or see the movie I wanted. Is it my imagination or is this problem getting worse??

oh for the old days od the drive ins...the dancing hot dogs and popcorn during intermission, the playground, kids in their pjs, and the one price per car

i am going to see 'the punisher' tonight. there better be no youngins floating about!:rolleyes:

my $0.02
 

First of all, when I was a kid (:rolls her eyes at her own statement:....)we had to walk uphill BOTH ways just to get to be LUCKY enough to see a movie.......wait a minute...........

ok, seriously though...when I was little, we had no choice but to behave...if we didn't behave, we didn't go, that was that...

My mom often commented that she was more willing to take the dog some places because the dog was more well-behaved :-P (and it's true...sometimes I'd have to stay home with my brother while mom was at the Grocery store) *brother is 7 years older than me* She just simply didn't put up with it....so I learned early on that if i went out with her, I had to behave or we'd leave...and if we left....because of something I was doing....well, you get the idea.......it just wasn't something I wanted to willingly do....

Anyways, I digress a bit.......

I've heard about theaters that have the silent room, at the back of the theater, where parents take their children for whatever reason....if the kid can't sit still (they have toys) if it's a mom that has to breastfeed (so there's some privacy) if the kids are crying (to quiet them down)....its soundproof so everyone else doesn't hear it, but they've got sound pumped in for the parents in there....I think it's a great option for parents that want to go out, but don't have a babysitter....

As far as the whole arguement in general...
*those kids were punks, and I'd have given the manager a piece of my mind as soon as they started up
*After 9:30 the toddler should have been in bed......that's stupid for it not to be...it's 9:30 at night!
*Babysitters are expensive, and I see the arguement about if you have the money to go out, you have the money for a babysitter, but at the same time, there MAY have been an extenuating circumstance..........it is possible..... :shrugs:

Overall, i'm sorry you had a sucky time.....days like that always suck....


OH! I almost forgot..............

Drive-ins don't solve ALL the problems :-) *sometimes they create them ;-) * But actually, in seriousness, we have a drive-in near my house that i go to all the time and parents just let their kids run crazy and it's nothing to hear kids running and giggling through the drive in........and then when the shadow puppets come onto the screen.............yeah, a bit annoying..........BUT for them to be able to do that, they get close enough to the projection room that the staff gets them before they escape and their parents and them are kicked out.......but it usually happens at least once a show.....

But drive-ins ARE fun.......in HS we used to get about 5 pickups, throw some lawnchairs, matresses, and even a couple of old couches, in the back and go up, park super close to one another and then have ourselves a whole section of fun :-)

:sighs: they need to make more drive-ins
.:Mandie:.

Re: my $0.02
 

I understand that babysitters are expsensive or whatever, but in her case, she brought that toddler, and all those punk lil kids. they ALL should have stayed home and saved that money and let everyone else enjoy the movie. that was just bad parenting. having kids out late at night. letting the baby cry. having those lil brats run back and forth with the baby, disrupting the movie. having them be that disrespectful calling people bitches and isht. and trying to start some isht when they followed them out of the theater, you don't let your child out of your site nowadays with all these kidnappings. i say those are ones that should have gotten spanked when they were younger. even now. lil brats! (can you tell i don't like disrespectful little kids)

The theater that I go to has the "no under 12's for PG-13 and higher after 6 pm" rule. I always take my kids to the first show of the day. Of course, we only go to "kid" movies anyway. I love the first show of the day... good parking spots, no lines for concessions, it's great.

I must say though that there are adults out there who can be just as annoying. I wish they would not just ask people to turn off their cell phones, but cement walls that would block signals would be great! I hate having to sit through someone's entire conversation because they don't turn off their phones!

I just heard a news story the other day about a new drive in movie being built somewhere in the Detroit area but can't find the article online and didn't get details about where it was going to be. I loved the drive in!

Dee

i went to see 'man on fire' last night. i heard a baby crying. i saw little children go in with their families like it was a family affair:rolleyes:
that movie is insanely violent. but i guess since there is a little girl in the movie, it must be okay for kids:mad:

Babysitters make a lot more than they did when they were your age because everybody makes a lot more than they did when they were your age, just like how a Coke no longer costs a nickel at the corner soda fountain.

I abhor screaming children in public - and thankfully so does my store manager! Yesterday this lady came in with two crying children and our manager asked her to leave until she had her children under control. :D

Senusret, if I end up moving out there, you are so hooking me up with the name of that theater. I can watch movies in PEACE.

Dee, I think they show Drive-In Movies in the parking lot at the Silverdome. I'm not sure if it's every night, just weekends, or a few times a month. I haven't heard about any others being built though.

***

I believe many of the theaters in my area still go by the "No children under 13 after 6pm without a parent or adult over 18" (kids are looking a lot older these days so I'm not sure how closely the policy is enforced). However, if there is an incident in a theater, I think the kids should be kicked out without a refund and the parent/adult should take responsibility for their behavior. At an 8pm or later show, other movie-goers should not have to be exposed to those discipline/bratty kid problems.

There is simply no excuse. Like GP said, babysitters really aren't being paid that much more--there's this nice little thing we like to call INFLATION.

When I was young (say, under 10) the only movies I saw in the theater were G and PG-rated. If my parents wanted to see another film, then it was off to the babysitter for me OR they waited until it came out on video. Even when we went to see family movies, I was expected to exhibit the BEST of behavior.

The thing is, people aren't willing to sacrifice when they have children--and the rest of us have to suffer for it. Family is all about compromise.

Babysitters still get paid more comparatively. When I was babysitting, minimum wage was $3.35 an hour and babysitters got $1 an hour. Now, in my state, minimum wage is $5.15 an hour and babysitters make at least $5 an hour. We made 1/3 of minimum wage, they make almost minimum wage.

(not defending people who take little kids to adult movies, just addressing that issue)

Dee

Some towns that have curfews have sort of eliminated this prob since kids can't be out past a certain hour, therefore can't be at movies disturbing the rest of us. I do think they should ID everyone (unless they look over 30) to prevent little punk ass 12 year olds from throwing popcorn and giggling during sex scenes. When Titanic came out, I saw it in the theatre w/ my little sister. She's pretty well behaved, but no one else seemed to be. Someone had a "Tickle Me Elmo" shirt that when pressed said "hee hee that tickles!!" Take a wild guess which scene they pressed their shirt :)

But, still--$10-15, when chances are you're paying at least $20 for tickets, etc., really isn't that much. It's all about priorities.

I'm going to get on my high horse here for a minute and brag that my sister and I were always the best-behaved children in a movie theater or restaurant. However, our parents knew better than to have us out past our bedtimes. They raised us to be respectful and well-mannered. All my mom had to say was "do we need to go to the little girls' room?" and we'd shut up right then and there. Things rarely ever got to that point. I plan on raising my kids the exact same way my parents raised me. You can call my methods harsh or damaging to the child's self-esteem or whatever- it *obviously* works! (Disclaimer- I would never BEAT my children, but a pat on the bottom works wonders.)

Now that I have a marriage and a family in my near future, I am well aware that I will have to sacrifice some luxuries like going to the movies. Like James said, you sign up for the package deal. If you don't want kids getting in your way, don't have em! And remember, the right to swing your fist ends where the other man's nose begins (can't remember who said that) so the minute your baby's crying interferes with someone's enjoyment of the movie, take them out! Okay, that's all from me :)

GMU bunny, we must be related. My mom's threat of "Do we need to go to the ladies' room?" was enough! My sister and I knew better than to scream, cry, run around, etc. And as I said previously, I wasn't spanked very often. Neither was my sister. All it takes is establishing very early on "I am your mom/dad, you will listen to me, you know what I expect, so do it." I'm sure that establishing this isn't easy, but neither is having a bratty kid.