To think you should leave the room with your screaming baby?

It is if no one can hear what's being said on the stage.

The first school I worked in was really rough. Siblings wandered around the hall with bags of Monster Munch in their hands whilst the parents talked throughout the performance. They stopped for 2 seconds when their child stood up to do their bit then went straight back to talking. I wondered why the children in my Reception class cane in to school with no idea how to behave. Then I met their parents.

Our nativity is for all p1 and 2s so 120 kids. One family but hordes of sheep and camels and stars. The p2 each get a couple of lines and the p1s do the group dances. Everyone gets 2 tickets so it's somewhere around 300 in the audience (siblings at the school go as well)

Of course they should take the baby out. I can't believe some people are saying 'but the parent / the child who they came to watch will be upset'. Maybe but sure they will get over it, and sometimes they do need to learn that you need to miss things if going means it ruins it for everyone else (eg turning up to things with a sickness bug). It's different if they have parents that could go but just don't make the effort

A bun fight? I imagine that depends on what kind of school it is. Our primary has around that number of children in total and they regularly perform together as a whole school. They all demonstrate impeccable behaviour and the staff are brilliant at organising them.

At my school we asked that pre-school children didn’t attend but we also offered a crèche facility, staffed by our Breakfast /After School Club staff. Maybe something to consider for next year?

poor baby

If a baby is screaming the whole time then it's hysterical, and of course needs to be sorted out and calmed down. Personally I wouldn't TAKE a baby to a nativity for my older child where I need to focus on that child not the baby.

Your youngest might be totally fine.

I wish the lady that was coughing last week had left because I feel rough today. She coughed all through the finale to the performance. She keeps doing a funny laugh. It was not funny. I would have left the room myself.

Also if my baby was crying I would have gone out and soothed them to not ruin the experience for everyone :)

This has made me worried as I’m taking my youngest to my oldest’s first nativity today (no childcare for youngest else I wouldn’t take him to be honest). Oldest one doesn’t have much confidence anyway and would be totally unsettled and sad if I walked out and likewise I would be gutted to miss any of it.

Definitely agree in principle screaming babies should be taken out but it’s not an easy situation for anyone.

I’d have left the room. Do people have a lack of awareness or just a lack of care for anyone but themselves?

It’s hard as that parent might not have childcare for baby however yes I think they should leave! The primary I went to did not allow young children or babies in, the school my kids go to did allow it, then decided to invite parents with small children to the dress rehearsal rather than the actual performances. I was quite fortunate that my youngest was a quiet baby when I took her to any of my eldest school events!

not a school play but my daughters school did a phonics workshop to help parents and children a while ago, a mum took her school age kid along with her younger kids, the kids were screaming, running around at the beginning and me being hard of hearing couldn’t hear anything the staff were saying! It’s not often I get annoyed my other kids being noisy, usually I have the attitude that if it’s not mine, I don’t care however in this instance I was annoyed!

100% should leave the room, it's completely inconsiderate not to for everyone else.

How ridiculous. The OP clearly said the babies were about 12 months old, so not a new baby at all.
And again, if the family dynamics are out of whack still after a whole year, it's hardly the problem of everyone else in the hall, is it??

Yes, I know it’s sad for that parent but better that than ruin everyone else’s too if no one can hear anything.

Yes they should have stepped outside. DC’s school actually asked that babies and siblings do not attend this year - they didn’t outright ban them, but said they’d need a ticket and basically said consider leaving them so children aren’t distracted (and each child was allowed 2 tickets). There were two performances and only 2 tickets per child so most children had one performance without a family member watching them in the audience.

Yanbu.
People are dickheads. It's the same cycle every time and it can be seen clearly on MN by the threads.
1.Baby/toddler cries and drowns out performance and distracts the children on stage..
2.Head teacher/ staff review the situation and decide to not allow babies and toddler the following year due to staff and other parent complaints
3.Uproar: "but I don't have anyone to mind baby" "DH and I need to go together" "schools are clueless expecting no siblings" "dc will be devastated if baby is not there "etc etc

This is a really selfish attitude.
Lots if families have challenging dynamics at home. Why should one crying baby be allowed to ruin it for the rest of the class and their families?

Absolutely agree they should have been taken out, but not at all surprised they weren't. Some parents just don't see the impact on others.

We had a Christmas family visit out at the weekend (fancy hotel with Santa in the corner, gifts for DC organiser at time of booking) and this will realistically be the last year for us due to age of DC (older DC was going along with it for sake of younger DC). It was absolutely beautiful - authentic looking Santa, gorgeous decorations and music. And completely dominated by one family who let their pre schooler rampage throughout. She screamed, stamped her feet and tantrumed for the whole time we were there and they just ignored her. So many family visits and experiences affected by one family who just sat there.

It's exactly this kind of attitude that's the problem today. The needs or wants of one trumping the majority.
Of course you'd be upset if you missed your child's performance, but if YOUR other child's screaming means every other parent (and child on stage) has their experience ruined, you act like a grown up and leave to settle them.
Also, if your child is that upset, you need to deal with their needs too.

Ds's headmistress before the start of any performance would announce firmly that any screaming siblings must be removed from the hall.
She wasn't a lady to be messed with.

I always have stayed right at the very back if any of mine cried I could get away to let others hear. It's selfish to spoil it for others. Sorry OP it got ruined and you heard not very much!

I took DS2 out when he was a distracting toddler and had placed myself on the end of the row knowing it was a possibility.
I couldn't concentrate on what was happening on the stage with him "toddlering" around, so I wasn't hugely missing out, and it wasn't fair on anyone else if I stayed in with him ether.

I don't understand parents that put themselves and everyone else in the room through the stress of staying in and being a disturbance.

The reality was that I could never see or hear much through a sea of shoulders anyway (and worse if people left their coats with big fluffy hoods on). In later years I realised that it was better to just stand at the back so I could at least see what was happening and derive some sense from it.

We had 3 nativities, each with 200+ kids and they were absolutely brilliant tbh. The kids were amazing. The leads were mic'd up at least.

This seems incredibly OTT.

I took my DD out of the nativity the other day. She managed about 20 minutes then started wriggling, shouting, whining (she's a toddler) and I just took her to the back and then when she didn't settle down, into the reception area.

My older DC were delighted I had turned up to see them and I made a fuss of how amazing and brilliant they were and how proud I was.

No way should a loud baby or toddler ruin it for the others. That's so self centred.