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Author Topic: Infants in the theater? Elise Brandt Expert Film Handler Posts: 160 From: Kuusankoski, FIN/ Kouvola, Finland Registered: Dec 2009 posted 01-30-2010 09:32 AM                     I know it's common in at least some parts of the US to bring even small babies to the movies, and not only the kids' movies! Does everyone allow this? Am I correct in assuming the age limits are flexible and basically the parent's responsibility? Because here, age limits are legally binding and only allow two years younger in if s/he is accompanied by an adult. I have never in my career seen or heard there being an infant in the theater other than special babies' shows (where the lights are on dim and sound very down) but I was just confronted by someone who claims to have been to several theaters with his one month old and wanted to see Holmes with the baby. I had to turn him away but I'm totally confused now. Any thoughts? Do you allow babies in and how does the rest of the audience deal with them?  |  IP: Logged Martin McCaffery Film God Posts: 2481 From: Montgomery, AL Registered: Jun 99 posted 01-30-2010 09:40 AM                        Legally Binding? Really? Cool;> (at least the below 2 part) On the other hand, how many two year olds go to movies by themselves? Some theatres have policies not allowing infants in, but my experience is they are in the minority. Don't want to pass on any paying customers, no matter how much they annoy the others. When I saw Sherlock Holmes a few weeks ago there were two crying kids. As an arthouse, my audience tends to be beyond the childbearing age. We get the occassional child, and if it starts making noise we ask that it be taken out until it quiets down. I would really like to install a crying room, which were once fairly common in theatres.  |  IP: Logged Elise Brandt Expert Film Handler Posts: 160 From: Kuusankoski, FIN/ Kouvola, Finland Registered: Dec 2009 posted 01-30-2010 10:06 AM                     Yeah, in Finland we have limits for 3 (which really means everyone allowed), 7, 11, 13, 15 and 18. 18 is definite, no exceptions allowed (18 is also the legal drinking, voting, driving and smoking limit here), but all of the others allow that 2 year slip. For example in Holmes where the limit is 13, and 11-year-old will get in if s/he has an adult (18 or over) with her. That's the deal. And it is legally binding which makes things so much easier to exlain. To have a scapegoat in the "I'm just following orders" sense. Seriously? Two crying kids in the theater? Doesn't that... well, annoy the heck out of people..? I want the their money as much as anyone but I'm afraid if there's even one crying kid a week that twenty people stop coming because of that. On the other hand, I hear it's not uncommon in the States for people to talk or even answer the phone in the theater, here talking on the phone during a show would lead to staff throwing the talker out immediately.  |  IP: Logged Jonathan Althaus Master Film Handler Posts: 435 From: Bedford, TX Registered: Dec 2008 posted 01-30-2010 01:11 PM                     Last weekend we had a couple with a young child (still in a carseat) want to see Book of Eli but they didn't want to pay for a childs ticket. They asked how to get around buying a ticket and the box employee said, if the child sees the movie, they need a ticket. I later found out the kid was left outside in the carseat, right up against our outside wall. And it was 40 and rain last weekend. Could not believe it, and nobody on staff knew about it, which means no other customers noticed, or just didn't bother to tell us.  |  IP: Logged Justin Hamaker Film God Posts: 2253 From: Lakeport, CA USA Registered: Jan 2004 posted 01-30-2010 01:56 PM                        In the US, it would be a legal land mine to attempt to prevent someone from bringing an infant. Any theatre that attempted this would be setting themselves up for a civil suit. I know there are some theatres that don't allow children under a certain age to R rated movies after 9:00pm or something like this, but I don't know if such rules have ever been legally tested. I would be all for a law which allowed us the latitude to prevent people from bringing infants to anything but kids shows.  |  IP: Logged Martin McCaffery Film God Posts: 2481 From: Montgomery, AL Registered: Jun 99 posted 01-30-2010 02:14 PM                        So do kids get official ID's in Finland? Here in the US we tend to confuse rudeness with personal liberty. The idiots who left their kid in the car are too selfish and stupid to have stuffed pets, much less children.  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 01-30-2010 03:22 PM                     Theatres, being a private establishment that caters to the public...would likely win any law suit about infants. The theatre doesn't have to serve anyone that they don't unless it is a title-9 sort of thing. It could also be clearly shown that infants tend to disturb and otherwise ruin the intent of the business. Steve  |  IP: Logged Justin Hamaker Film God Posts: 2253 From: Lakeport, CA USA Registered: Jan 2004 posted 01-30-2010 05:05 PM                        Steve, I agree that a theatre would likely win such a law suit. The question is who is willing to spend the money in what is likely to be an expensive legal battle which may even involve the ACLU.  |  IP: Logged Mitchell Dvoskin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1869 From: West Milford, NJ, USA Registered: Jan 2001 posted 01-30-2010 05:30 PM                     Infants in the Theatre? Is that the sequel to Snakes In A Plane?  |  IP: Logged John Wilson Film God Posts: 5438 From: Sydney, Australia. Registered: Dec 1999 posted 01-30-2010 05:53 PM                     quote: Jonathan Althaus I later found out the kid was left outside in the carseat, right up against our outside wall. And it was 40 and rain last weekend. Could not believe it, and nobody on staff knew about it, which means no other customers noticed, or just didn't bother to tell us. Hope that movie was worth the 10 years in jail they could be enjoying soon when the authorities catch up to them.  |  IP: Logged Aaron Mehocic Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 804 From: New Castle, PA, USA Registered: Jun 99 posted 01-30-2010 06:57 PM                     When I used to work the floor a young couple brought what was probably a 2 or 3 year old girl to see the 9:00 Basic Instinct. Of course the box attendant seriously tried to persuade them not to take the kid in. The father assured the employee she would most likely fall asleep. Whether or not she did I do not know. I don't think in all the years I worked the floor anybody ever complained about a crying kid. We're a small, family oriented establishment. Now, teenagers cussing at they're friends while in the auditorium. I've seen fist fights and cops called for that one. Gooooood days!  |  IP: Logged Richard Hamilton Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1341 From: Evansville, Indiana Registered: Jan 2000 posted 01-30-2010 08:07 PM                     My policy was to always let them in, charging only the adults. 9 times out of 10, the kid would be asleep before previews. The parents were also warned that if the kid got fussy and disturbed anyone, they would have to leave the movie and calm the kid down. This only happened a couple times, and when it did, I would give the one parent tending to the infant in the lobby a pass to come back and see it again. Usually the husband stayed and watched the rest of the film  |  IP: Logged Caleb Johnstone-Cowan Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 593 From: London, UK Registered: Mar 2006 posted 01-30-2010 08:10 PM                     Aside from our ratings which are compulsory, there is a '7pm rule' where you can't let under 12s in on their own after that time. Generally in the UK the rule is that an infant doesn't pay if they aren't occupying a seat.  |  IP: Logged Jeremy Weigel Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1062 From: Edmond, OK, USA Registered: Mar 2007 posted 01-30-2010 08:26 PM                     As stated above infants usually do fall asleep, but the toddlers are the ones that I don't like to see be taken into an adult oriented movie. They have an attention span of about 20 minutes and then start getting restless and fussy. I had a couple take their 3 year old to Avatar and even after I told them it was almost 3 hours long they went ahead and purchased the tickets (including the 3 year old) and concessions. As I predicted they got up and left about 45 minutes into it after the mom had to sit out in the lobby keeping the child occupied after watching about 15 minutes of the movie herself. Guess the husband finally felt guilty after his wife sat out there for 30 minutes.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 01-30-2010 08:30 PM                        People bringing babies to Disney movies is epidemic. For some reason they think the kid is going to enjoy it. I don't understand it. Maybe it's a scrapbook thing....Mom wants to put the kid's first movie ticket in the scrapbook. Most people are good about bringing the crying kid outside and if they don't we go ask them to do it. Only on the rare occasion does the parent get cranky -- usually they are already peeved at the kid, so they're more than happy to cooperate with us.  |  IP: Logged

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