by Carrington M. Nye

Created on: August 28, 2008

While there is one downside to bringing baby along to the movies, the noise factor and the consequent embarrassment, not to mention the annoyance to the other theater goers, that a crying baby may cause, no matter how brief, the upside for the parents of the newborn far outweigh this minor annoyance.

This may be the only time in their new roles of parents that these folks will have to actually go out to a movie together. In the years that follow, unless they are fortunate enough to have someone on which they can count, they will be stuck with either viewing their movies at home or seeing all the new Pixar, Disney and other children's movies that come along!

It isn't always comfortable for those near the baby at the theater, but as many of us realize, this may be the last time in the foreseeable future for these parents to get out and about! I know that when I hear a crying baby in a theater today, I have to smile at the memory of my own times being that mom, shuffling around to get baby comfortable, feeding the little guy, and praying quietly that he just goes back to sleep!

Taking baby out with you on your dates with one another should be viewed as a rite of passage these are times when young parents learn the all the ropes and while we may want to pull them aside and give them all of our pointers, it is best to allow them to get through this time on their own. The movie going experience is just one of these rites that can teach parents a very valuable lesson.

The movie-going experience in itself can be a magical and a thrilling one for many of us, and should be held in high regard; the smell of the popcorn, the previews of what is coming soon, the hush as the first credits roll, these things hold us spell-bound in our seats waiting for the much-anticipated show that is about to start. Parents of newborn children have as much a right to this special form of entertainment as anyone else; maybe even more so for the very reasons that I have heretofore outlined.

In has been my experience as one that has "been there, done that" that the baby in question often sleeps right through the entire movie; and when there is an exception to this, the cries are brief as the mother or father quickly get baby re-settled. Hardly do the cries continue, and if and when they do so, one of the parents usually takes baby outside the theater to take care of the issue.

My advice to those that have not had to make the decision of whether or not to go out to the movies or anywhere else with baby in tow for that matter would be to have a little heart, a little patience and a pinch of gratitude that you were never in such a position as these folks. Those of you that have someone for whom you can rely upon to care for little one so that you can have a semblance of normalcy in your lives are to be counted as the lucky few indeed!

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