Cinema, Is 3 too young?

Darmstrong

Hi,
I know this is a little off the topic of films but what age is it acceptable to bring a child to a film. Myself and my friend were going to bring her 3 year old daughter to see a film today when my friend asked would it be okay because she was only 3. It want a case of if the film would be suitable (it was U rated) but a question of would other people see us and think that she is too young to go to the cinema ..
Any idea?

Also, does anyone remember the first film they went to see as a child?
Mine; The Lion King,1994, I was 4 years old :]

cynder

You made it over!


I think 3 is fine or as soon as they are able to watch a full length film at home.

My 3 year old loves films and loves the cinema and is very well behaved in there.

Astroboy
Aliens in the attic
Aliens vs monsters
How to train a dragon

just to add that some cinemas (my local) do a kids club, its films that have been released in the last 3-6 months charged at a cheaper rate (2.50 per person where i am) so if you wand to give it a try with your one and see how it goes, you will never know until you try.

loads of 3 year olds go to the cinema.

Darmstrong

grindelwald wrote: »

You made it over!


I think 3 is fine or as soon as they are able to watch a full length film at home.

My 3 year old loves films and loves the cinema and is very well behaved in there.

just to add that some cinemas (my local) do a kids club, its films that have been released in the last 3-6 months charged at a cheaper rate (2.50 per person where i am) so if you wand to give it a try with your one and see how it goes, you will never know until you try.
loads of 3 year olds go to the cinema.

We had planned on going to see"how to train your dragon"

Yeah she has no problem watching movies and especially animated movies such as Toy Story etc. so i think "... Your Dragon" would really appeal to her

Hahaha i can remember being brought to the Kids Club in UCI on a saturday :,) thats a fantastic idea seeing as how its aimed to be more kid-friendly :]

Thanks for your help, its much appreciated

Still trying to get used to boards, I didn't think they would have a parenting section tbh since Rollercoaster.ie is so good.

Nevyn

It depends on the child, some kids can and will sit snuggled up beside their parent and what a whole movie. Other's won't sit still, or will get freaked out, when in their day also makes a difference, aim for a time when they are not going to be cranky due to being tired, or hungry or a time when usually they get to be out running around.

I would suggest seeing if they will sit with you at home to watch a movie and then try and take them but be prepared to leave if needed. The kids club still runs on Saturday morning and it can be a great place to start your kids off.
Mine are at the stage where they find the smaller kids too much of a distraction so we tend to so later in the afternoon.


That parenting site is different from that one and there are posters which wouldn't agree with your opinion of it,
boardsies tend to prefer to post on boards.ie on most topics, makes for a wonderfully diverse site.

jeni

i brought my 2.3 year old and she loved it, princess and the frog she was dancing the whole way through it, and she was the same at the theatre when we went to see disney, but she loves music of any sort so i guess that helped

Parenthood

One of my twins fell asleep the first time at the cinema (3 years old), and still does at times, the other was and is always glued to the screen.

A thing to think on is that the sound in cinemas is actually quite loud and can be frightening for small children.
Try getting a place close to the aisle, in case there are bathroom visits. Bring/buy snacks and maybe talk to your child about the movie before hand.
Be prepared to leave if your child feels frightened, it's supposed to be an enjoyable experience for you both.

Our first movie was Bolt, and they couldn't get why people laughed when someone got hurt. I guess the gap from Peppa Pig to Bolt was a bit big.

bogtotty

Some cinemas have special showings for parents and babies - not just a standard matinee, but one with the lights on and the sound down where everyone there is prepared for screaming and fidgeting. Storm in Waterford do this - maybe check if your local one does the same thing?

I think the first film I saw was The Aristocats when I was about three, although the first one I remember seeing and loving was The Last Unicorn when I was 7.

caprilicious

bogtotty wrote: »

Storm in Waterford do this - maybe check if your local one does the same thing?

Sorry to hijack thread, bogtotty do you know where they list the parent & baby film schedule for Storm Waterford?

I've mailed them twice asking if/when they do them but no reply & can't see any info about it on their website, would love to see Sex & the City 2, introduce babs to it early

di11on

Hi OP,

My two cents is that it depends entirely on the child. Anyone that's been to a matinee will know that there are 12 year olds who shouldn't be in the cinema! We've brought our 3 year old with no problems... she was able to sit still throughout.

I suppose if your 3 year old can sit through a DVD quietly enough you should have no problem.

delly

I'm planning to bring my recently turned 3 year old to Toy Story 3 in July as her first cinema trip. She loves the first two films and i'm hopeful that as it will be characters she knows there won't be a problem. Being in the dark and the volume of the sound might be an issue, but i'll just have to distract her if she is looking nervous about anything, and with a bit of luck we'll get through a good chunk of the film.

On a sidenote, is anybody else amazed at how smaller kids can pick up on sad moments in films? I remember last year while looking at Charlottes Web, my girl who was barely 2 and 1/2 at the time, started balling when the spider died. The scene itself was very subtle in how it portrayed it, yet my little one was inconsolable for ages afterwards.

Banjaxed82

Brought my 3 year old boy to the Princess and the Frog. As is Disney he was kind of creeped out with the bad guys, but loved the experience. The booming sound was the scariest aspect for him.

Also planning to take him to Toy Story 3, but I'm a bit worried about the whole 3D glasses side of thing?.......He hates wearing glasses and how do you explain the mechanics of polarisation to a 3 year old?