by M. F. Carbo

Created on: February 23, 2009

Think of a movie theater. What is the first thing after you sit down in your seat that you can remember? The darkness once the movie starts? Perhaps its the acoustics that makes the action feel like it's happening right in front of you? Can you imagine what a baby must feel like at a movie theater. I've heard that babies are born with only two fears: 1) the fear of falling and 2) the fear of loud noises and all other phobias are acquired through out growing up. Just imagine what must be going through a baby's mind as they are sitting in a darkened movie theater as all the loud sounds are hitting their poor little ears from all directions. It's no wonder that within short order the child will start to cry. One parent usually gets up with the child especially if they have other children whose enjoying the movie while the parent brings the baby out of the movie theater to calm him. Also, consider how long the child will be in the movie theater. The shortest movies are at least one and a half hours with some stretching as long as four hours long. This is a terrifically long time for an infant to be sitting in a darkened room since they would have no interest in anything going on onscreen. This then brings the second reason why a parent shouldn't bring a baby to a movie theater, consideration of the other movie theaters patrons. Some people left their children at home with a babysitter so they can catch a movie and certainly they didn't bank on hearing yours. It's hard to enjoy anything while a baby is crying and people are standing up trying to get out of the aisle so you can exit the theater with your baby. It's almost as bad as the kid behind you kicking the back of your chair throughout the whole movie. Luckily, I haven't come across too many people with infants at the movie theater.

Parents with infants should consider alternative places to bring their child and a movie theater shouldn't be one of them. In fact, I wouldn't bring a child to the movie theater until the child is at least 4 or 5 years old and even then I wouldn't want to bring them to a movie that he would have no interest in at all. Babies enjoy riding in their stroller or being carried by a parent. They want to see their parents face and hear their parents voices and these are two things that are not possible in a movie theater. So think twice before bringing your baby to the movie theater because even though you might want to enjoy a good movie the baby will not enjoy it at all.

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