Kids at the Movies
Six Reasons Not to Bring Your Children to the Theater
It's tempting to just drag the kids to the movies with you to save money on a babysitter, but there are even better reasons for keeping them at home.
Other than children’s movies (e.g., TMNT and Bee Movie) and family films (e.g., the Harry Potter series and theSpider-Man series), which are created specifically to appeal to varying age ranges, kids under the age of 13 may be better off spending time with friends, family, or grandparents, or staying home with a babysitter than attending night-time movies with adults.
Better for the Kids
1. Films with MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) ratings of PG-13, R, and NC-17 contain material deemed inappropriate for young children. (Even scenes in the Harry Potter and Spider-Man series have some images that need to be explained to young children.) This adult content -- even in some PG-13 movies -- may be violent, sexual, disturbing, or drug-related. Although you might think they will go over the head of youngsters without making an impression, it’s more likely that these images will remain in their minds along with a misinterpretation of the meaning of the image and its context within the movie.
2. Watching mature images and hearing adult words may lead to questions (perhaps even during the movie) that parents are unprepared to answer and children are unprepared to hear. It’s worth the time and effort to watch children’s movies and other programming together with your kids, and discuss it with them afterward to clear up misconceptions and emphasize positive themes from the movie.
3. Even with the stadium seating in the newer theater auditoriums that have improved fields of vision (with each row elevated about 12-18 inches above the row in front of it), young children may still have difficulty seeing the entire screen over the rows of predominantly adult heads. These elevated rows associated with stadium seating don’t necessarily provide extra legroom, which serves as an invitation for bored children who don’t understand the film to kick the seats in front of them.
Better for You
4. At children’s movies and family films – especially matinees performances – it’s almost expected to hear whispered questions, giggles, and complaints about having to go to the bathroom. During more adult movies, however, children’s voices attract negative attention from nearby viewers who will blame you for the disturbance, and might even report you to management and have your family removed from the theater.
5. Negotiating baby strollers, calming cranky kids, and passing kid’s snack pack combos back and forth takes some of the fun out of your movie-going experience. You (and others nearby) will enjoy the movie less because of your little ones.
6. You and your significant other deserve time away from the children to enjoy each other’s company. There’s no surer way to spoil the romantic mood at a date movie than taking kids along with you. Bring children to age-appropriate films only.
Spend quality entertainment time with your kids watching children’s movies and family films at the theater or renting similar movies at home. Just find something else for the younger kids to do when you go to evening movies for adults. It’s better for them, better for you, and without question better for other moviegoers who want to enjoy their experience at the theater.
