New theater policy: small children barred from R movies after 6 PM

In My Humble Opinion (IMHO)
#1

So I went out last night to a late showing of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre at my local movie theater. When I purchase my ticket, I notice that it looks like she printed out two tickets instead of one. Looking closer, I see that the top “ticket” is just a printout of a new theater policy: children under 6 will no longer be admitted to R-rated movies after 6 PM.

So, what do y’all think about this new policy? I’m all in favor, personally; most R-rated movies these days are rated R for damn good reasons, and I’ve never liked the thought of parents bringing their little kids into sexual or violent movies just because they couldn’t get a babysitter. Also, keeping the wee ones out of the movies means that we grownups can enjoy movies meant for us in peace, without the screaming and the running around and the throwing of foodstuffs.

I’m interested to hear from some parents about this new policy, though. Do you think it’s a great idea, or do you think the theater is being too much of a “nanny”?

#2

I’m not a parent, but do you mean there are parents who will actually bring a child that small to an R-rated movie at all, let alone at night? That blows my mind. I wasn’t allowed to go to most R-rated movies until I was in high school, with or without a parent.

#3

I love it. It saves us who don’t have children from being bothered by parents who make poor decisions. That sounds harsh, but why would any parent bring a young child to an R-Rated movie?!? I guess they couldn’t get a sitter.:rolleyes:

#4

Yeah. They do it all the time, Eva. When I went to see Saving Private Ryan, for instance, several parents brought kids that must have been 4 or 5. I have also seen them bring them to really bloody horror movies - inevitably the kid starts crying and then they’ll just try to hush them for a few minutes until they finally take the kid out of the theater.

People are stupid.

I fully approve of this policy - now if we could just get them to ban all kids under 12 from all movies after a certain hour. That would be ideal. And people that talk. They should be tazered and left on the movie floor until it’s over.

#5

I think it’s a great policy. I used to work in the box office of a movie theater, and I was astonished at parents dragging little kids to R rated movies, especially when the movies started around 10 PM. :rolleyes: It takes a LOT to get an R rating these days.

Maybe the theater is being too much of a nanny, but I think that it’s because some parents are not doing their job, so the theater has to pick up the slack. And, of course, it’s going to make MOST patrons a good deal happier.

I eagerly await this theater’s policy on loud yakkers…

Seriously, I’d make a point to drive across town to patronize this theater after 6, both on principle and because I find that not having small children in R rated movies is better for just about everyone.

#6

Jesus, I couldn’t even handle *Saving Private Ryan, * and I was in my early 30’s! That’s fucking insane! No wonder there are so many screwed-up kids out there.

#7

Father of a six-month-old daughter. I think the policy is great.

Eva Luna, yep – to my experience, people commonly bring youngsters into R-movies. It’s an extension of the trend to extend adolescence into one’s mid-to-late twenties. People have kids, but then don’t want to give up the ability to do fun things at the drop of a hat. Answer: drag the kids to as many of the fun things as possible. Barrooms and clubs rarely admit kids at night – but very young children often show up at all-night card games at friends’ homes, or at keggers, or at midnight movies, or at late-night chain restaurants while the parents have drinks and munchies with their buddies.

You’d be surprised.

#8

I see young kids in R-rated movies with their parents all the time. (And I had to laugh when I saw a parent covering their little kid’s eyes at the sight of bared breasts, but all the gory violent parts were apparently just fine to watch.) I think this is a great policy; kids that age rarely seem to enjoy these films, and it’s often distracting or even disturbing to other moviegoers to have them in there.

#9

Not necessarily. The Matrix movies, for example, were rated 14A in Canada, meaning only people under 14 (not 17) had to have an adult. Same deal with Lost In Translation, R in the US, 14A in Canada, hell, only PG in Australia (the only thing really objectionable in the movie was one brief scene in a strip joint).

I think it’s a great policy. It sucks that people have all of a sudden decided you don’t need a babysitter if you want to go to the movies.

#10

Either barrelfuls of blood and severed limbs and miscellaneous carnage, or two “fucks,” or one breast.

Daniel

#11

It should be pointed out that kids who behave aren’t annoying, and so you don’t notice them.

#12

The kids are NEVER really annoying, Smackfu - it’s their PARENTS who are annoying, for having the poor judgment to bring their kids to such a movie. And while the parents are more annoying when they bring misbehaving kids, they’re also annoying when they bring quiet kids to violent movies.

Daniel

#13

Our local theater enforces the R rating “no one under 17 admitted without parent or guardian” rule, and has an additional policy that no one under 17 be admitted to R rated movies PERIOD for shows that begin after 6PM.

While I can somewhat sympathize with 16-year-olds looking for places to go on dates, I don’t sympathize that much. I think it’s a good policy.

#14

I have no problem with 16-year-olds who behave themselves in R-rated movies, but then behaving oneself isn’t always a function of age. But exposing a five-year-old to extreme violence is another story.

#15

No, unless I come in late or it’s a huge theater, I notice little kids who are brought to R-rated films and wonder what the hell their parents are thinking.

#16

Right on! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen fuckwit parents drag their little ones to movies that are 1) too violent or 2) way too complex for young’uns. I don’t care if your 3-year-old behaves like a sedated angel, I don’t want to see her at “Kill Bill.” I wish our local theater would adopt such a policy.

#17

Who are these parents who bring little children to see R rated films? We’ve had people who admit to allowing their children to ride in the car sans seatbelts and removing their babies from carseats while driving down a highway for short periods of time. Surely there’s a person on this board who has taken his/her child to an R rated movie, right?

Show youself so that I might barrage you with questions. Please!

#18

These kinds of things boggle my mind. We made an effort early in parenthood to have several babysitters in the bullpen, including grandparents. The whole point of going out for an evening is to get out of the kiddy mode and into the couple mode.

If we took our daughter to a movie, it would be a matinee appropriate to her age level. But if we went to a movie at night, it was most definitely childlessly. I’d applaud a similar policy at our local mega-plex, even tho I’m rarely there anymore.

#19

But why, pray tell, is it acceptible to expose the kids to the violence/sex prior to 6pm?

-lv

#20

Good question. It seems to me that this policy is more for the benefit of the adults than to protect the young ones. Going to the movies in the evening, particularly an adult (R-rated) movie, is an “adult activity”, and the policy seems geared toward limiting disturbances by frightened/bored/fussy children at a time when adults have paid a premium to attend. It’s not that it’s acceptable to expose the kids to R-rated movies at any hour, it’s that grown-ups shouldn’t have to deal with distracting young’uns in prime time.

I thought that there would be at least one response by a parent who would say, “Well, my little angel just sleeps through the whole movie, and babysitters are expensive.” I guess we of the SDMB are just more thoughtful than others…