She adores the Wiggles - it’s the one kids’ show that totally captures her attention and entertains the hell out of her; nothing else comes close.
However, I figure there’s a chance that Wiggles that are twenty feet high may not be received in exactly the same way as ones on a 30" screen. (I remember nearly pissing my pants with fear at my first movie - but the Wicked Witch of the West wasn’t exactly a familiar and beloved character to me.)
Anyone who’s brought a child this young to a theatre have any sage advice to offer?
The kids I actually know of who were frightened/alarmed/annoyed by the loudness were 2 or 3, rather than 14 months, but still, be prepared for the movie to be too loud and too long–especially if there’s stuff before the movie to sit through as well.
Doesn’t anyone care about age appropriate anymore?
You do know this is all about you and not her, right?
Like taking your babe in arms trick or treating, seriously? I understand if you’re going out with your older kids and have to take them along, sort of. But just your baby? What’s up with that?
I knew a man who took an 16month old to the premier of the Scooby Doo movie? When he told me his plan I was too stunned to say anything.
Stop and think, do you want your child to be acting age appropriately at 8yrs, 10yrs, 13yrs, etc? If so then it’s on you to choose that for her - starting now!
My parents took me to ET when it was released. I was about 19 months old. I screamed “ET dark!” which it was. Movie theaters are a good bit darker than stage theaters, IMHO.
Huh. I don’t have any problem with this, at all. It’s a kid’s movie, of course there are going to be kids!
Just be ready to take her out of the theatre if she gets scared and starts crying. I couldn’t stomach the theatre when I was a kid, and my parents took me out. Some kids are fine, though.
Also how long is the movie? I doubt kids have an attention span long enough. How does she respond at home?
Well, if it’s a kid’s movie, I might try it… But she may get scared and have to be taken out, pronto. She may not be able to sit through it for any length of time and think crawling under the seats eating popcorn off the floor is a lot more fun. It’s your money, so realize as you are walking out you will think, “well, might as well have stayed home and flushed that ticket money down the toilet”. We took our kid when she was about 4 to see The Little Mermaid, her first movie, and we all had a splendid time. But a 14 month old?..I would say no, but what the heck, as long as it isn’t a movie that people who don’t wear diapers go to see, at night, with other diaper free people…PLEASE GOD don’t take her to a real movie until she’s older, we all thank you!
I brought my daughter this past week to see Yo Gabba Gabba! at 18 months and she loved it. But we were first row so she could see and she got to meet them as part of the ticket. From my experience between this and Cirque de Soleil and various seaworld shows don’t sit too close to speakers and she will enjoy it for the length of time that she is not tired or hungry. My daughter wouldn’t even blink the first half of the show and the second she was dancing. We are definately going to see the wiggles when they come here. Also in our theatre you can ask for booster seats if she has her own or not if she’s a lap child.
Selfish, selfish adults, looking for any excuse to go see The Wiggles!
Honestly, I vote no because I feel the opposite - that no grown person should have to sit through 20high Wiggles. *I* would have to run crying out of the theatre. But if youre okay with it and don`t mind sitting on the end of the aisle and leaving when necessary, it would probably be fine.
Yeah, gah, it’s the freaking Wiggles. I’m amazed the no-children-in-public brigade had the energy to argue this one. Who, exactly, is going to see the Wiggles if not small children?
If it were Alice in Wonderland or the latest Pixar flick, I would be inclined to agree with you - but seriously, it’s The Wiggles. Their success is built on the way they’ve applied their studies in early childhood education to appeal to preschoolers. I don’t know of any adults who might derive significant entertainment from their performances.
Most of the time, when the Wiggles are on, it is (sort of) about me – it’s about me needing a half an hour in which to prepare dinner. Above anything else, The Wiggles makes this possible. When they are in view, she is enraptured. She dances to their songs, she parrots their hooks (<- not a Captain Feathersword joke, honestly,) and she sits transfixed during their little skits.
God knows I have tried to introduce a little more variety (if only to lessen the amount of time that I have the chorus of Dorothy the Dinosaur running through my head at work) – The Backyardigans, Yo Gabba Gabba, In the Night Garden, The Muppet Show, Looney Toones, Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, Baby Einstein, Lazy Town, etc… these will hold her attention for a few minutes and then she is off looking for trouble again.
Not the Wiggles, though. When the Wiggles are on, that’s what’s going on. When the Wiggles aren’t on, she will let us know she’s thinking about them. At bedtime, she puts her fingers to her lips and goes “Shh shh shh!,” as she’s learned from one of their songs. If she sees a monkey, she goes “Aye aye aye, aye aye aye,” as she’s learned from their cover of the Specials’ cover of Toots and the Maytall’s “Monkey Man.”
I am prepared that it may be overwhelming for her, because a theatre experience is not like watching a 30" TV from six feet away. I am hoping that the theatre will go easy on the Dolby system, given that the feature is intended for people under the age of 4. From what I can tell, it may actually be a video presentation. (This show was originally presented live by satellite in theatres.)
I am not worried about the format holding her attention, at all. It’s not like expecting a 2-year-old to sit through Finding Nemo without getting restless - the entertainment is designed for children her age.
I’d be especially glad to hear from anyone who’s been through a screening of this film. If it was attended by scores of toddlers who had a bad time contrary to expectations, that would certainly be dissuasive for me.
I understand if this is just your response to the conjunction of the words “14 month old” and “movie”, but… do you know who The Wiggles are? Because 14 months old is their target audience.
I see no reason not to take her, as long as you’re prepared to get her out of there pronto if any reason to do so should arise.
Just go. If she starts fussing, making a racket that prevents other movie-goers from enjoying the experience or appears uncomfortable, leave. I’ve only taken my son to one movie (he’ll be four in May), mostly because we just don’t happen to go to movies often. I think he was 2.5 at the time or almost 3. Anyway, he got a huge kick out of being able to eat popcorn, almost moreso than he enjoyed the movie. Anyway, he had a death grip on the container most of the movie. So definitely bring snacks or, if you don’t mind splurging, get some at the concession area.
It provides and interesting and novel environment and the stimulation that comes from meeting friendly strangers (who are cooing over your cute costume.) Plus it’s good for parent bonding.
A stimulating environment is an important factor in brain development. Of course the kid won’t consciously remember the event. But these experiences add up and influence brain development. Babies are not rocks. They can recognize the difference between friends and strangers. They can tell who is friendly and who is hostile. They know the difference between home and not-home. They crave novelty and attention from adults. Do you really think a kid who never leaves the living room until they are old enough to form memories is going to be in as good of shape as a baby who has experienced a variety of interesting things?
I mean come on, we don’t think it’s ridiculous when people take their dogs for a walk!
The first time we took my son to a theatre it was for the Thomas The Tank Engine movie (painful!) when he was about 3 1/2. The big difference (I guessed, since he was verbal but not all that articulate then) was that at home when he watched Thomas on TV he was also building with blocks or playing with his Thomas trains. It lost his attention fairly quickly.
Sometime later that year his dad took him to see some blockbuster action thing and they had to leave the theatre 30 minutes in because it was just too loud for our son, and the bad guy scared him.
