Should parents bring baby to the movie theater?

No

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by Amber Hulsberg

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Imagine this, the movie you have been dying to see is finally out in theaters. You go planning on enjoying a great movie, spending a couple hours relaxing and being entertained. Of course, it isn't for free, before you can even get into the building, you fork out $8.50 per ticket to see it. Of course, the spending doesn't end there. Before you even get near the theater in which your movie is being shown, you walk right pass the concession stand. Knowing you are going to be sitting for a couple of hours, you buy a drink ( $4) and a tub of popcorn ( $5), then you head to find a seat before the movie starts. All the while hoping beyond hope some teenagers, people who refuse to turn off their cell phones, or seat hoggers won't be in this theater. Even if it is just a wonderful dream. But, hey! You luck out. It seems everyone is actually wanting to see this movie and is willing to be quiet and considerate.

The movie starts and you are engrossed in the plot and the moment you have been waiting for, the startling revelation that you have been sitting all this time to hear is about to present itself. Then as you are on the edge of your seat, the person behind you- their baby let's out a blood-curdling scream! Now you have completely missed it, you have no clue what was said. Neither does anyone else in the theater. But wait, they got the baby quiet. Alright, you can piece it together in the next few scenes. Then, WAAAAAH! The baby starts crying again. Well, there went your theory, because you have glanced back and it is now obvious the parent has absolutely no intention of walking out of the theater to calm and quiet the baby. So you strain to hear what is going on, but before you have any idea, the house lights come on and so do the credits. Movie is over. You are now walking out of the theater, with at least $20 less in your pocket, and with no more of an idea of what happened than what the movie trailer teased you with.

Does that sound like a pleasant evening? No. Not at all. So why was it ruined? Was it because a baby cried? A little child that has no other way than to communicate its not happy than to cry? No, it isn't the child's fault. So why was it ruined? It was ruined because the adult that was responsible for the child did not consider anyone else when they planned their own trip to the movies or were even considerate enough to take the baby into another room so the rest of the movie-goers could still hear. They must have thought that the whole "Silence is Golden" rule only applied to talking and cell phones.

Now, as a parent myself, I can fully understand wanting to get out of the house and seeing the movie you have been dying to see. To get some social interaction and to be entertained. The movie theater, though, is not the mall. Or the playground where noise is dominant. It should be treated as a library, so that not only you but every other customer can hear as well. It is not free, everyone in that room paid the same price you did. Even though your baby may sleep for at least two hours for one nap at home, it will not happen in the theater. The sound is always loud so every one can hear, and you fully get the surround sound experience you paid for. Even a chair being knocked over in a film can sound like a bomb going off. To expect your baby, no matter how many months old, to sleep through such noise is inconceivable. Not to mention, the baby isn't at home sleeping in their bed or play pen, they are in a car seat or in your arms. They will not sleep as long or as sound as if they were in their bed. Plus, to believe that you can calm the baby and get him back to sleep during the movie is ridiculous.

So if you can't get a sitter for your baby, what should you do? Don't go. You may miss out on the experience that day, but at least 70 or so other people won't have to too. Wait until you can get a sitter and go then. You will enjoy the movie more yourself as well if you aren't constantly trying to keep you baby calm or asleep. Most movies will run in the theaters for at least a month. The movie "Titanic" was such a blockbuster hit that it stayed in the theaters for almost 6 months. You will have another opportunity to see the movie again. It is not life and death. Even if you miss it in the theaters, you still have another opportunity to see it. It will be on DVD in a few months. Rent it. Or wait and it will eventually air on one television station or another. But, making everyone else's money go to waste is purely a selfish act. You never know who's movie experience your baby's crying might ruin. It could be another parent's "break from the kids" and they are trying to take in the movie kid free like you originally planned. Or it could be a well behaved 5 year old's first movie. Or it could be the last movie someone might ever see. A little mellow dramatic, maybe. The point is, you never know.

Whether parents want to admit it or not, there are places that kids, especially babies, are not appropriate. The movies, an upscale restaurant, the opera, a rock concert, a bar, etc. So, please, the next time you consider taking a baby to a movie theater stop and think. Would you want your movie ruined by a group of people talking? What will your baby do to your experience and everyone else's if they wake up and cry? Do unto others as you want done unto you. Just be considerate and wait for another time or rent one and watch it at home.

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