Chatty kids at the movies?

[rin]

The thread on the Avengers got me thinking: what's your family policy on chatty kids (e.g. kids who are talking, crying, or just generally vocal enough that other people in the theater hear them more than once or twice) at the movie theater? I'm realizing that there are different views on what makes sense for this one, and I'm curious to see what different families do.

Just to clarify; NOT what movies do you think are appropriate to take children to in the theaters, or what's appropriate for children to see at all, but specifically kids who are talkative/expressive enough that other audience members can hear them throughout.

[wellyes]

Only g-rated movies for sure - movies designed for little kids. Otherwise, wait for the video.

[Green_Tea]

I voted G or PG, but really it depends on the type of movie - Tangled was PG, but it's definitely a kid movie, so I'd expect talking. A movie with an adult theme? I'd be annoyed by the talking (though, come to think of it, I think PG movies for adults are few and far between.)

[wellyes]

Would you call The Avengers a kid movie or adult movie? Some people would say kid for sure... But I spent hours of my own childhood reading those comics and have been looking forward to the movie for a long time. If I went and there were parents letting their kids jabber through it, I would be disappointed.

But -Tangled, or anything Pixar or Disney, sure, kid talk is just part of the experience.

[lhafer]

I voted rated G, PG and matinees only. We take our daughters (6 and 2) to the movies - the 6 year old frequently goes on father/daughter dates to the movies. We only go to child-geared movies (Disney, Pixar, etc) and we try to catch early shows. I said Matinee, but DH usually takes her to the first available showing and then to lunch afterward.

I think movies like Avengers are great for kids who are into that kind of thing. DH and I went alone to that one because we have girls who aren't into superheroes. If I had a child who was into them and he was 5, 6, 7, 8...sure I would take him.

[Green_Tea]

Would you call The Avengers a kid movie or adult movie? Some people would say kid for sure... But I spent hours of my own childhood reading those comics and have been looking forward to the movie for a long time. If I went and there were parents letting their kids jabber through it, I would be disappointed.


Not sure if you were asking me or the OP :).

I think The Avengers is fine for elementary age kids (maybe ages 7 and up?) but would be annoyed by chattering. The again, most 7 year olds are totally capable of seeing a movie and NOT chatting/crying/etc. I would be pretty annoyed by toddlers/preschoolers be disruptive at a PG-13 movie, even during a daytime show. I would classify that as the type of movie that appeals to a wide range of ages, and would not bring a child that couldn't behave appropriately. Heck, even my 7 and 9 year olds would be annoyed at a disruptive preschooler!

[rin]

Would you call The Avengers a kid movie or adult movie? Some people would say kid for sure... But I spent hours of my own childhood reading those comics and have been looking forward to the movie for a long time. If I went and there were parents letting their kids jabber through it, I would be disappointed.

But -Tangled, or anything Pixar or Disney, sure, kid talk is just part of the experience.

I had thought of the Avengers as an adult/older kid movie, honestly.

I totally agree with the point about Disney/Pixar/etc stuff; chatting/audience participation should be expected!

[ahisma]

We don't do movies until they can be quiet in them.

Minimal talking (occasional whispers) is okay, and exclamations when they are validly surprised is okay IMO. Beyond that, we take them to the hall if they have trouble being quiet.

Same rule in our house regardless of the movie time / rating, although I wouldn't take the little kids to a late or age-inappropriate movie.

We still only take them to the "cheap seats" just because of that - we don't want to be too bummed if we have to leave! We've only had to take DS (3) out briefly once though, so we're probably in the clear by now.

[hillview]

I voted G or PG, but really it depends on the type of movie - Tangled was PG, but it's definitely a kid movie, so I'd expect talking. A movie with an adult theme? I'd be annoyed by the talking (though, come to think of it, I think PG movies for adults are few and far between.)
I voted G but :yeahthat:

[wellyes]

Oh, somehow I got confused and thought Avengers was PG.


We don't do movies until they can be quiet in them.

Minimal talking (occasional whispers) is okay, and exclamations when they are validly surprised is okay IMO. Beyond that, we take them to the hall if they have trouble being quiet.

Same rule in our house regardless of the movie time / rating, although I wouldn't take the little kids to a late or age-inappropriate movie.

We still only take them to the "cheap seats" just because of that - we don't want to be too bummed if we have to leave! We've only had to take DS (3) out briefly once though, so we're probably in the clear by now.
I took DD to her first movie at about 3.5 -- Winnie the Pooh. It was perfect: gentle and funny. The audience was at least half kids around her age, but the movie was calming rather than exciting, and I think that contributed to a pretty quiet, attentive audience. I really, really wish there were movies like that more often.

[crl]

G-rated movies during the day. All the kids in the theater are making noise during those so it's not like my kid is being disruptive at that pint, IMO. Otherwise, I'd wait until the kid can keep talking to a minimum.

Catherine

[TwinFoxes]

So far we've been to Pooh and that's it. The girls did not chatter through the movie, which was a shock to me! I voted G and matinee only, but really PG too, since as Green Tea pointed out I don't think there are movies for adults that are PG really. I find chatting by anyone during a grown-up evening movie to be super annoying. An evening kid movie, eh, it's like being annoyed by kids at Disneyland, I can be annoyed, but I also know that I'm not the target audience so too bad! :)

[AnnieW625]

I Voted G, PG, and PG-13 and matinee only.

I took DD1 to see Princess & The Frog in the AM when she was 3.5 and she enjoyed it for the most part, but there were kids there so I wasn't bothered by chatter and I hope other people weren't bothered that DD1 got a little freaked out and did a little wimpering.

We have taken DD1 also to matinees of Toy Story 3, and Shrek 4 when she was 4, and she did fine in those even though she sat on either one of our laps. We also took her to see Cars 2 last summer and she was 5 at the time. The Cars 2 movie is the only movie I would have been annoyed with to hear a lot of chatter at mainly because I paid a premium for nice seats at the historic El Capitan Theater in Hollywood, but thankfully all of the kids, including a less than 2 yr. old in our row did fine.

I chose PG-13 because while most of the time if I go to a PG 13 movie I know there are going to be teens there and teens get silly. If I go in the daytime or pretty much anytime during the summer then I know this is a given and if they aren't super irritating I try not to let it bother me.

[wellyes]

In my town, matinees (meaning cheaper tickets) are the first show of the day - usually 11am or 1pm. But in my mind, anything before 6 is a matinee.

But IME the rowdiest/rudest crowds are in the evening .

[BabbyO]

Well, we haven't taken the kids to a movie yet...DS1 is not quite 3, but we are considering taking him to see Brave later this summer. IF we go, it will be a Matinee. But we are also going to stress being quiet so others can enjoy. I think talking in a Disney/Pixar type movie (G or PG) wouldn't bother me, especially for an earlier showing.

FWIW, DS1 has actually been to a movie...I don't remember which, and I think it was about a year ago. A local theatre has special kid's showings occassionally during the weekdays that are meant for much younger kids. Our sitter took DS because her older kids wanted to see a movie and this was offered at the same time. I wish they'd have something like this one weekend a month so we could enjoy this with our kiddos. Seems like a great opportunity.

[katydid1971]

I took DD to her first movie at about 3.5 -- Winnie the Pooh. It was perfect: gentle and funny. The audience was at least half kids around her age, but the movie was calming rather than exciting, and I think that contributed to a pretty quiet, attentive audience. I really, really wish there were movies like that more often.
:yeahthat::yeahthat: DD LOVED Winnie the Pooh!! She sat at the edge of her seat taking it all in. DS was totally bored in it (he was 6 at the time). I take the kids to the $1 theater and only to matinees. Pretty much everyone there is with other kids. We go to only "kid" movies (disney, pixar, etc).