Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have a 4 year old that is VERY inquisitive. He is a constant barrage of questions, morning, noon and night. I really want to take him to his first movie theater experience (I want to see Inside Out, I've been waiting for a real gem to be his first movie) but I'm concerned that others will find his constant questions to be disruptive.
If I take him to a solidly kid -friendly matinee time, do you think others will be more tolerant of his continuous inquisitiveness? The kid is not able to stop asking questions. Like, ever. He would not understand the "no talking" in a theater rule, simply because he would be too curious. My only related experience was taking him to see Sesame Street Live a few months back. He spent the first half of the performance in drop-jawed amazement, and then the questions kicked in during the 2nd half. I don't think he really took a breath between them...shouted to be heard over the music, etc. At the time it was absolutely hilarious to me ("why is that cookie dancing? Does he like to dance? Is he chocolate chip? What if he's not chocolate chip? Where did the cookie go? Why is he wearing a hat?") and no one around me (all with young kids) was bothered. I don't think they could really hear him, though...it was too loud.
Thoughts, experiences, from BTDT parents?! I so want to take him....but I don't want the people around us to get upset at his questions or ruin someone else's experience. It's possible at a really early 10:30 AM time we might be able to find seats away from others, but I expect this particular movie to be jam packed for awhile.
EDIT: I see I did a bad job of explaining the issue.
yes, he is perfectly capable of sitting quietly for long periods of time. We go to storytime at the library and he is perfectly quiet and attentive. He asks an enormous amount of questions once the stories are over!
At daycare he is one of the best behaved kids and does not interrupt the teachers while they are talking. When it's time for questions, he then kicks into overdrive. :-) I've received really good feedback from his teachers both for his ability to listen/ focus and also his many, many questions. They like that he stimulates conversations.
Finally, he is capable of understanding and following "indoor voice" though like any other kid he forgets sometimes in excitement.
My concern is that when he is in a completely brand new, exciting environment he is going to be full of questions and he won't be able to save them for post-movie. He is an intensely curious boy. I do recognize that other adults generally do not want to listen to a kid asking questions...but I also wonder if this is more standard during a kid-centric matinee. I remember seeing The Incredibles (as an adult) and one particular kid would occasionally say things like, "good job, Dash!" or "Oh no, what will happen next?" It was not invasive and the rest of the audience laughed with the excited kid. On the other hand, this was several years ago, and these days people seem to have very, very short tempers in public places like movie theaters. And, I get it, to an extent. No one wants a person loudly talking during a movie, it's very disruptive and annoying. I'm wondering if people view kids' movies differently because little kids get so excited.
Last edited by Autum1031; 06-16-2015 at 10:06 PM..
Reason: Clarification
Don't take him until he can sit and watch something without asking non stop questions. Does he get through school with out interpreting?
At 4 he should be able to hold them until afterwards and understated no talking. Even if other parents are more tolerant of the ocassional outburst....no one is going to want to hear nothing but your son for then entire movie.
He HAS to understand time- and place-appropriate behavior or school will be a nightmare. A theater trip could eventually be a reward for short-term successes.
Don't take him until he can sit and watch something without asking non stop questions. Does he get through school with out interpreting?
At 4 he should be able to hold them until afterwards and understated no talking. Even if other parents are more tolerant of the ocassional outburst....no one is going to want to hear nothing but your son for then entire movie.
How is he in situations where he needs to sit quietly, such as during a religious service or during story time at the public library? Is he in preschool? Can he sit for a 15 minute story or lesson without interrupting the teacher? Can he play with another child with monopolizing the conversation?
Even if he just turned 4 he should be able to sit quietly for 10 to 15 minutes without bombarding adults with questions. And, most 4 1/2 or almost 5 year olds are able to sit through an hour long church service without bothering other people.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ScarletG
You need to work it him at home on this.
I agree.
PS. I just read your update. Since it was fairly recently that he was "yelling over the music" and talking non-stop at Disney on Ice then, IMHO, he is definitely not ready to go to a movie theater, even at a children's matinee.
If he can wait for question time at school and at the library why did he think that it was OK for him to yell out questions nonstop at Disney on Ice? Did you tell him that it was time for questions?
Other parents may do it differently but I did not take my children to a movie theater until they were in kindergarten and could sit through an entire 1 1/2 to 2 hour movie without talking (except for a few "Oh, wow!" or "That's cool!" type of comments).
Could your son sit through a movie that long at home without talking if you told him no questions until the end?
Last edited by germaine2626; 06-16-2015 at 10:33 PM..
I would recommend going to a second run movie theater. When people only pay a few bucks for the movie, they are less concerned about young children sitting silent through a movie. My son is almost 11 now, but we still go to the second run place and while no one chit chats their way through, it's just not that big a deal to hear a young child asking some questions. You can continue to explain that a movie is a place to be quiet and you can talk about it when it's over, but that's not a lesson learned overnight, it takes practice. And kids movies aren't known for their nuance, so it's not big a deal if the child next to you asks a question and you miss hearing a word here or there.
With practice, your child will understand good movie theater behavior and by then, you can go to the first run movies where people are expecting a little high standards of behavior.
It's like going out to eat - no child gets it perfect the first time they go, it's a learned skill over time to understand the expectations and get good at following them.
I would recommend going to a second run movie theater. When people only pay a few bucks for the movie, they are less concerned about young children sitting silent through a movie. My son is almost 11 now, but we still go to the second run place and while no one chit chats their way through, it's just not that big a deal to hear a young child asking some questions. You can continue to explain that a movie is a place to be quiet and you can talk about it when it's over, but that's not a lesson learned overnight, it takes practice. And kids movies aren't known for their nuance, so it's not big a deal if the child next to you asks a question and you miss hearing a word here or there.
With practice, your child will understand good movie theater behavior and by then, you can go to the first run movies where people are expecting a little high standards of behavior.
It's like going out to eat - no child gets it perfect the first time they go, it's a learned skill over time to understand the expectations and get good at following them.
That is a good point. We have a movie theater in our area that charges $2.00 a ticket. If Mom & Dad bring two kids it is only $8.
If we go the regular theater it can be $9 a ticket. Spending $36 on tickets plus a bundle on food can make even a very patient and understanding adult a tad grumpy if they can't hear the movie because little kids are talking.
I would wait until he can behave. And don't assume that people at the 2nd run theater deserve to be treated any worse than at a full price theater.
That said, before kids, when we went to children's movies, we recognized that we run the risk of running into the OP's kid. I think it is more rude to yell at a talkative child at a children's movie than to have your kid making a fuss at one.
If you do go, try to sit in front of the rest of the audience. Because of theater acoustics, it's much harder to hear someone talking in front of you than someone seated behind you.
You might see if any theaters in your area have free summer showings. Some of the theaters here do that, have free movie mornings for kids, and they're not new movies, but when it's free, you won't feel bad if you have to pack up and leave halfway through the movie.
I used to want to take my daughter to the movies but she wasn't able to sit still for an hour and a half. Once she got to the age where she could sit through a whole movie at home without getting up to run around or talking a lot, I knew she'd be able to sit through a movie in a theater.
I have a 4 year old that is VERY inquisitive. He is a constant barrage of questions, morning, noon and night. I really want to take him to his first movie theater experience (I want to see Inside Out, I've been waiting for a real gem to be his first movie) but I'm concerned that others will find his constant questions to be disruptive.
If I take him to a solidly kid -friendly matinee time, do you think others will be more tolerant of his continuous inquisitiveness? The kid is not able to stop asking questions. Like, ever. He would not understand the "no talking" in a theater rule, simply because he would be too curious. My only related experience was taking him to see Sesame Street Live a few months back. He spent the first half of the performance in drop-jawed amazement, and then the questions kicked in during the 2nd half. I don't think he really took a breath between them...shouted to be heard over the music, etc. At the time it was absolutely hilarious to me ("why is that cookie dancing? Does he like to dance? Is he chocolate chip? What if he's not chocolate chip? Where did the cookie go? Why is he wearing a hat?") and no one around me (all with young kids) was bothered. I don't think they could really hear him, though...it was too loud.
Thoughts, experiences, from BTDT parents?! I so want to take him....but I don't want the people around us to get upset at his questions or ruin someone else's experience. It's possible at a really early 10:30 AM time we might be able to find seats away from others, but I expect this particular movie to be jam packed for awhile.
.
I say go for it. It is a kid's movie. Any adult who expects complete silence in a theater that will be filled with at least 50% kids are insane. I also think he might surprise you. I have a "won't shut up to save his life" son but as soon as we hit the movies, not a peep. He *loves* movies. Also, 2-3 days before the movie, tell your son about your plan to take him to the movies and tell him the rules. See how he reacts. Keep talking about it for 2-3 days straight. And when you finally get to the movies, if he does start hammering away, just remind him he can't talk during the movie.
I have a 4 year old that is VERY inquisitive. He is a constant barrage of questions, morning, noon and night. I really want to take him to his first movie theater experience (I want to see Inside Out, I've been waiting for a real gem to be his first movie) but I'm concerned that others will find his constant questions to be disruptive.
If I take him to a solidly kid -friendly matinee time, do you think others will be more tolerant of his continuous inquisitiveness? The kid is not able to stop asking questions. Like, ever. He would not understand the "no talking" in a theater rule, simply because he would be too curious. My only related experience was taking him to see Sesame Street Live a few months back. He spent the first half of the performance in drop-jawed amazement, and then the questions kicked in during the 2nd half. I don't think he really took a breath between them...shouted to be heard over the music, etc. At the time it was absolutely hilarious to me ("why is that cookie dancing? Does he like to dance? Is he chocolate chip? What if he's not chocolate chip? Where did the cookie go? Why is he wearing a hat?") and no one around me (all with young kids) was bothered. I don't think they could really hear him, though...it was too loud.
Thoughts, experiences, from BTDT parents?! I so want to take him....but I don't want the people around us to get upset at his questions or ruin someone else's experience. It's possible at a really early 10:30 AM time we might be able to find seats away from others, but I expect this particular movie to be jam packed for awhile.
EDIT: I see I did a bad job of explaining the issue.
yes, he is perfectly capable of sitting quietly for long periods of time. We go to storytime at the library and he is perfectly quiet and attentive. He asks an enormous amount of questions once the stories are over!
At daycare he is one of the best behaved kids and does not interrupt the teachers while they are talking. When it's time for questions, he then kicks into overdrive. :-) I've received really good feedback from his teachers both for his ability to listen/ focus and also his many, many questions. They like that he stimulates conversations.
Finally, he is capable of understanding and following "indoor voice" though like any other kid he forgets sometimes in excitement.
My concern is that when he is in a completely brand new, exciting environment he is going to be full of questions and he won't be able to save them for post-movie. He is an intensely curious boy. I do recognize that other adults generally do not want to listen to a kid asking questions...but I also wonder if this is more standard during a kid-centric matinee. I remember seeing The Incredibles (as an adult) and one particular kid would occasionally say things like, "good job, Dash!" or "Oh no, what will happen next?" It was not invasive and the rest of the audience laughed with the excited kid. On the other hand, this was several years ago, and these days people seem to have very, very short tempers in public places like movie theaters. And, I get it, to an extent. No one wants a person loudly talking during a movie, it's very disruptive and annoying. I'm wondering if people view kids' movies differently because little kids get so excited.
The surprising thing here is that the mom, even in the edited version, has said absolutely nothing about her explaining to him that there are places where everyone must remain silent, and why. Instead we hear how she thought it was hilarious when he was shouting during another performance and says nothing about her efforts to quiet him. So no, he's not ready to go and she's not ready to take him.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
