Strollerderby

Seriously. Friends of ours took their nine-month-old to see Farenheit 9-11---that's right, the one with the image of the dying Iraqi baby. In their (weak) defense they did go to  like a 10 am showing and she's a very mellow and unlikely to cry baby. 11-fing-PM, though??

We have not been out to see a movie in three years. It was one of our big "do it now because you won''t be doing it for awhile" pre-baby activities. Now, when we get a night out, I'd rather spend the money on cocktails and conversation with my husband than overpriced tickets and popcorn. That's why God made Netflix, you know?

As long as a baby sleeps, it doesn't bother me as much, but older kids who are paying attention to the movie are another story. I once saw a preschooler at an 11 pm showing of Bram Stoker's Dracula.

I might take a baby to a nearly-empty weekday matinee of a grownup movie; there aren't that many people there to bother, and because I wouldn't have paid all that much for my own ticket I'd be able to ditch without a second thought if the baby woke and made noise.  Not an evening date-night movie though, and at the very least I'd have the brains to sit in the seat closest to the door and leave at the first peep if I *did* go.

However, I disagree that one of the reasons not to take a small baby to a grownup movie is because it's baby abuse.  Little infants aren't able to follow or understand an action movie and it's not going to hurt them, nor is being up at 11 at night (let me take a moment to laugh bitterly at the idea of modifying an infant's sleep cycle in any way at all). The reason not to do this is because the other adults in the audience have paid for their expensive tickets, many of them have also paid for expensive babysitters for their own offspring, and they deserve to be able to HEAR THE MOVIE.

After seeing a four year old in the audience for Saving Private Ryan, I no longer feel surprised by what stupid people who happen to have kids do.

Here are my thoughts:

- Up until age 3 months or so (when baby doesn't really have a set sleep schedule or comprehension of the movie) who cares if  someone takes the newborn to the movies as long as the baby isn't disrupting the movie, if baby starts fussing or crying you need to get outta there and not be rude. We took our newborn to a movie as a late night getaway from the house and she just slept the whole time, plus I could sneakily breast feed. As long as you aren't being annoying or inconsiderate to others - who cares?

- No kid over age 4/6 months should be going to a violent movie in my opinion. Newborns are one thing, but I know my little one started staring at the tv with interest at 5(?) months old or so.

One thing we've done now that she's older is go to the Drive In Movie theatre. She can sleep in the back if she gets tired and we have our own little space to be as loud as we want if needed AND we don't have to pay more for a sitter than it costs to see a movie on the big screen. What's so bad about parents wanting to see a movie on the big screen now and then versus a DVD? (as long as you aren't being rude) With sitters costing $10 an hour or more nowadays its gets pricey and pretty much pointless to even try the movie theatre. And as long as I am not harming my child or bothering you what do you care?

I can't believe that some people take 3/4/5 year olds to adult movies. We saw kids at EYES WIDE SHUT! That's ridiculous.

Who cares if someone took a 2-month-old to the movie, as long as the baby was quiet?  If the baby starts to cry, you get up and leave.  Seems pretty simple to me.

wow - I miss the theatre experience but not enough to inflict Bumper on the masses.   That's what they made the movie mommy matinees for - B has seen all the new releases and no one has gotten pissed off at us.

If you read the link it does not sound like the baby was quiet at all for the entire movie and the mother did not get up to leave.  And I have to disagree with the above posters that it is OK to bring a baby to the movies because they most likely will sleep through it - I guess next time I will leave my mobile phone on in the movie since no one will likely call me anyways...  Some things are common sense - a baby does not belong at a movie theater.  Get a sitter or wait till the movie is on on video.  I don't pay for my sitter and the $10.50 movie ticket to have a crying baby in the theater.

We have a 15-month-old and it's impossible to do anything in public.  When we do go out to a movie, it's at the theater that has a "crying room," which is really one row behind a glass wall.  It's completely soundproof and I can enjoy watching something that does not have the words "Tele" or "Tubby" in its name.  

Croft said it best. Bringing a baby into the theater is no different than bringing a cellular phone into the theater. If the baby cries, just get up and leave? How do you feel about people's phones ringing? Is it just ok for them to get up and leave, and in the process, disturb the entire theater? No, it's not.

Before we enter a movie theater, we're supposed to turn off our phones. Since we can't turn off our babies, they should stay at home.

It's an issue of common courtesy toward your fellow man.

My husband works for a regional movie theater chain in the mid-west, and they actually have a policy that says no children under 16 after 10 pm, accompanied or not, to Rated R movies.  I have seen multiple small children in late night movies, and it always bothers me.  I don't care what you do with your children, that's your perogative, but I paid good money for that ticket and I didn't part with it to hear a baby cry.  (And as for sneaking sodas in in your wife's purse, just let me say that as one whose household depends on the income generated from movie theater concessions, if you knew how little money the theater actually made from your ticket, you'd never sneak sodas in again!)

Yeah, people pay good money to talk on their cell phones, kick the back of my seat, point their laser pointers at the screen and talk loudly to each other. Don't ruin their fun by taking your baby to the theater.

Oh, and all you parents of teenagers out there - stop letting them go to the movies. I find them to be a Hell of a lot more annoying than babies.

(complaining about teenagers? Wow. I am official 'old')

I can see your point of baby crying = cell phone, but a newborn's cry doesn't start out a wail or anything plus its not exactly the loudest thing (until they really get going). My child always started fussing a bit first before a big cry and that noise really is comparable to candy wrappers, loud chewers and other people laughing. I don't have problem with newborns at the movies, but ideally a parent would go to the matinees for moms movies if able.

I have to put my two cents in here...I completely agree with commenters who said that babies are okay as long as they sleep...I agree! My first two saw...er, slept thru, a number of movies before they were 3 months old. (the 3rd -- we can't quite get out with her!)

But I agree...when my second was only 10 days old, Harry Potter 4 came out and I took him along. He slept through the whole thing - yay! While we watched the movie, a 2-year-old tromped loudly up and down the aisles the whole time. Eek! Much more problematic on so many levels than a quiet little baby.

Strollerderby rocked this week. From tips on picking a preschool , to laughable pregnancy tees , to mom