Should Young Children Be Taken To "Non-Kid" Movies?

One woman is calling out parents who bring their young kids to non-kids movies, noting that it’s disrespectful to other moviegoers.

“Can we normalize not taking young children to non-kids movies? We went to a 5:00 pm screening of a Star Wars movie. That meant it finished at 7:30. The dad in the row behind us brought his child, who was maybe 3 years old. The poor kid lasted barely 30 minutes before he got bored,” she wrote on Threads.

“He was talking, singing, playing on the chairs- as a normal 2-3 year old does. Dad was embarrassed tried to shush him and keep him focused but at that age, his attention span is generally no more than 10 minutes.”

She gave the dad the benefit of the doubt, hoping that he was just trying to bond with his son over his love of Star Wars. However, she thinks he could have dome this in the comfort of his own home.

“Not only is it not kind to other moviegoers, it’s not fair to the child. He’s bored, he’s frustrated that he can’t entertain himself and enjoy himself, he heard ‘no’ and ‘stop’ probably a hundred times in the remaining 1.5 hours,” she continued.

“Understanding what is age appropriate for your child will help them succeed- and I’m not talking about the movie being appropriate, I’m talking about the length of time you expected a tiny child to sit still and be quiet. Be respectful to fellow moviegoers, but also respect your child.”

Is a 5 p.m. movie too late for a young kid? Or was the pick of the film just too adult? Other users on Threads weighed in.

“A 5 pm movie time is a pretty acceptable one to bring kids to,” one user said.

Another said, “I totally agree. My kids were all 4 or 5 before they went to a theatre because I knew they didn’t have the ability to sit still for a movie. One of our theatres has a play space that your ticket gives you 30 minutes to play before the movie starts to burn off the extra energy before sitting. The seats are wide and deep so they can sit pretty much however they want and fidget as much as needed without bothering anyone.”

“He should have took the L and left. Im sure he had seen it himself a million times. Geesh,” another said.

One mom noted, “My kids are 7 and still haven't been to a theater... because I know they can't sit through a wh0le movie. Ffs.”

The OP replied, “Thank you for knowing their limits! Taking them to a theater before they are ready is just setting them up to fail.”