When did you first take them to the movies?

There are free movies at the local theater for kids all summer. Some of the movies are geared towards older kids while some weeks they have some that I think mine might like (Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland). My twins are almost two. We've never watched a full movie at home, but since it will be all kids I wouldent feel bad if we had to leave during the film. It's just so hot that I am running out of ideas of things to do. There's no way I can take them to the beach or pool without help and the parks get too hot by 11:00. When did you first feel comfortable taking your kids to a movie? This question makes me laugh since I haven't even been to a movie myself in over a year

 

we were just talking about it my ds is 2.5 almost 3 and im thinking he is old enough..


maybe at the end of the summer

 

We waited until the girls were 4 before we saw a movie. But some people go sooner, we just knew ours wouldn't sit through a movie since they barely did at home. We actually just went to the movies on fathers day (it's what my dh wanted to do and we left our son with my mom). Other people there brought an infant in a carrier, someone else brought a stroller with maybe a 9mth-1yr old, and another family brought a 1-2 yr old. Now I didn't hear the infant cry (but my dh said he did) but the other two I thought were to young. The one that was under a year the mother took out once because the baby was cryikng and I guess was going to feed him a bottle but later on in the movie she held him on the side and he made noises the last half hour of the movie. She was standing and bouncing him a little to keep him happy and he was making noises from being bounced. Then the 1-2yr old kept walking around the seat (no big deal he stayed near his parents but after an hour of the movie he kept talking and the parents kept shooshing him. Not once did they take him out, but the child just wasn't interested in the movie so I had to hear that (was going to say something but would have had to get out of my seat and go infront of a couple of people, I didn't want to be rude), I also didn't notice it as bad unless it was quiet on the screen too.

Now that being said we did see Shrek the 3rd which is not geared to that young of an age. But it's a free movie and you are willing to take your kids out if they are being noisy or disruptive I say try it. You have nothing to lose since it's free.

 

I have been taking the kids to the movies since they were two. I think the boys might have even been younger. Like the previous poster said just be prepared to take them out if they start to be disruptive. I have always found that kid movies have a lot of kids in them that can be disruptive at times so it usually does not aggravate the other parents. Reggie and Rico will sit through an entire movie but they have also been to the movies several times so they know the routine. Since it is free, I would definitely use this time for the kids to experience movies.

 

My friend has been taking her DD since she was about 18 months, but she is a total TV watcher for hours on end. My girls couldn't care less if the TV is even on and won't sit for more than 10 mintues without getting bored (even if it's a favorite show). So, there is no way I would even consider it right now for my girls. I think it depends more on the kids than the actual age.

 

We took the girls to see Shrek the third at 18 months and they sat through and watched it. They are very good at sitting still and watching their shows. It just depends on the kid. We are thinking of taking them to see Surf's Up this weekend

 

2- 1/2. They did pretty well but it is probably a good idea to sit toward the back and not so close to the speakers. One of my gals was overwelmed for the first half hour or so by the loud noise and the big screen and we had to leave and come back a couple of times (DH was with me). But now they are real troopers. They have seen 7 films in the last year! Have fun! I hope it works out.

Lisa

 

We took them to Curious George around 2. They did great and then at 3 we tootk them to Cars and they were awful. I guess it depends on the movie and their mood at the time. You could always check it out and be prepared to leave if they act up. Especially if it is free.

 

My girls don't sit still for long and watch 1/2 an hour of DVD's every few days and are playing while watching, so I wouldn't take mine yet. It totally depends on the child. My niece sat still for movies with my brother and sil around 18 months.

 

Our 1st visit woz when the girls were just 3 and we had to leave, they were really scared when it started with the loud music etc.. We went again to see "happy feet" over Christmas so 3 1/2 and they did really well, one sat the whole way thru and one about 1/2 way thru until she started getting a little restless, so good results.

Just try it and see how they get on and yes as its all kids it won't really matter.


amanda

 

The first movie that the girls saw in a theater was Chicken Little (or as they call it Chicken Noodle) when they were three. I was nervous about taking them at first but they enjoyed it and did really well. But, I think they were more interested in the popcorn we got them. We also took them to see Curious George and they did great. We took them to see Happy Feet on their fourth birthday and they were more antsy. I think that the movie went over their heads. I think it depends on the movie that you take them to.

In your case if the theater is offering free kids movies then you know that the theater will be filled with kids and it will most likely be a little nosier than usual. I say try it. You have absolutely nothing to lose. If it doesn't work out at least you tried.

Good luck!

 

We plan on taking them to the free movies this summer as well. I figure, what have we got to lose? If they can't handle it, then we will leave.

 

We just tried 2 weeks ago, so 20 months, and it was a disaster. They just wanted to explore the theatre. All 10 of the previews really didn't help either. We ended up walking out and getting our money back and hanging out in the arcade, they really liked that!

 

We took our older DDs at about 2.5. They liked tv, so between that and popcorn, they were great!