[blparent] bringing children to theaters

[Jo Elizabeth Pinto]

Hi, Erin.  I first took Sarah to the movies myself when she was about three 
and a half.  I later learned that she'd gone two other times with a 
baby-sitter, which was fine because the movies she saw were kid friendly.  I 
have a couple tips, learned the hard way, that might help.

First, make sure the movie is appropriate for kids.  That may sound obvious, 
but you can't always tell from the previews, or even from the ratings.  I 
took Sarah to see The Adventures of Tin-Tin, thinking it was going to be a 
movie about a little white dog, as shown in the previews on TV.  Wrong!  The 
dog, Snowy, was a small part of the movie, though heavily shown in the 
previews.  The movie was actually about pirates, so there was a lot of sword 
fighting, a shipwreck, a volcano I think, and one old sailor who drank rum 
incessantly.  I had to cover Sarah's eyes and keep whispering to her that 
the sword fights weren't real and nobody was going to get hurt.  She wasn't 
particularly traumatized once the movie was over.  She started using empty 
wrapping paper tubes to fight me and her stepbrother with swords.  But it 
made for an uncomfortable experience at the theater.  I would have left the 
movie, but there were no buses because it was a weekend, so my friend had 
provided transportation.  It was my fault, and I'll check out any movies 
from now on thoroughly online.

Next, keep a few quiet toys in your purse or diaper bag, just in case your 
child loses interest in the movie.  I would also recommend bringing Cheerios 
or something for your child because the only snacks you'll find at a theater 
are candy, buttery popcorn, and sodas.

Then, scope out where the bathroom is before the movie starts, and sit in 
such a place that you can get out of the theater quickly if your child isn't 
still in diapers.  Kids' bladders are small, and they usually can't last 
through a two-hour movie, while probably drinking soda or other beverages.

Finally, bring along your sense of humor.  Kids will often comment on the 
movie, sometimes loudly, and they don't have grown-up filters in place yet. 
When my cousin was three--she's in her twenties now--I took her to see Home 
Alone.  There was a scene where a burglar got shot through a doggy door with 
a slingshot, if I remember right.  What I do vividly recall was my 
three-year-old cousin bouncing up and down on my lap (so I couldn't pretend 
I didn't know her), waving her arms and laughing, and yelling so the whole 
theater could hear, "He got shot in the wiener!  He got shot in the wiener!" 
Embarrassing at the time but now I can laugh at the situation.

Good luck,
Jo Elizabeth

"How far you go in life depends on you being tender with the young, 
compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of 
the weak and the strong.  Because someday in life you will have been all of 
these."--George Washington Carver, 1864-1943, American scientist

--------------------------------------------------
From: "Erin Rumer" <erinrumer at gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, May 10, 2012 11:23 AM
To: "NFB blind parent listserv" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
Subject: [blparent] bringing children to theaters

> Hello all,
>
>
>
> My son Dawson is now 18 months and I'm amazed with how long he can keep 
> his
> focus on something he's enjoying, especially when Elmo's on the 
> television.
> GRIN  I know he's too young right now to bring to the movies or a play and
> expect him to sit still and be quiet but I'd like to know from those of 
> you
> with older kids what age your children showed the maturity and readiness 
> to
> do these things?  I'm thinking that around 3 might be a good age because 
> we
> can have actual conversation about expected behavior and also talk about
> what's going on in the play or movie should he have questions.
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
>
>
> Erin
>
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