Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

...to wonder why a small baby was at a film premiere??

126 replies

Igetknockeddownbutgetupagain · 21/07/2012 19:00

The shooting at the Batman premiere in Denver is terrible news and I have just been watching a report about it on the news (hark at me getting up on the day's events).

On screen appears a young guy, early to mid twenties, standing next to his partner, talking about how he'd been holding his baby in the cinema screen...

Why? I am dumbfounded. How did they get in, with a baby? I just can't wrap my brain around it!

OP posts:
theinets · 21/07/2012 21:06

I wondered why children and babies were at a midnight screening, very odd.

BarredfromhavingStella · 21/07/2012 21:38

I also had the same thought-sorry but this film is no place for a baby/child & I'm slightly surprised that it's rated PG tbh.

breadandbutterfly · 21/07/2012 23:12

Superb article (from 2008) about an earlier Batman film explaining why there were small kids in that cinema - and raising some very pertinent and frightening questions about our attitude towards violence as entertainment - very relevant indeed also to the possible roots of this awful crime.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/2461820/Our-attitude-to-violence-is-beyond-a-joke-as-new-Batman-film-The-Dark-Knight-shows.html

bobbledunk · 21/07/2012 23:29

It was my first thought too to be honest, the cinema is way too loud for a tiny babys sensitive hearing, I'd be worried about damaging that. Also what if it wakes up and starts screaming? You're interrupting a much anticipated film for everybody else until you're out of there and have to miss it yourself.

That wasn't the only one, there was also another baby and a six year old, completely inappropriate for a midnight screening.

Tragic about the shooting but that doesn't excuse the parents actions.

paradisechick · 21/07/2012 23:45

So the film is a pg is that right? (just going on what was said up thread)

And that was the midnight showing, ie the first screening of a highly anticipated film?

During summer holidays.

Doesn't sound to odd that there were kids present.

So far my 3 month old baby has seen Spiderman, ice age and the Muppets.

missingmumxox · 21/07/2012 23:52

It's cultural, American's do tend to take their children along from the ride a lot more than we would in the UK, Friends used to say, just bring the kids along, whereas in the UK, I tend to leave around 9-9.30 to get my children home, even at a wedding say, in the US a bar-b-que we would still be there at midnight plus, as no other parent seemed worried, some parents would take a sleeping tot and put them in the car, we would keep ours close.
I with girl friends used to go out to a casino to eat of an evening occationally, biggest casino in the world and whilst it is a hotel as well it isn't a resort, the purpose is gambling, I used to be amazed by the amount of young children running about, babies in strollers at midnight and beyond.

paradisechick · 21/07/2012 23:54

I blame wee Willy winkie. We think our children will melt if they're out past 8.

mathanxiety · 22/07/2012 00:06

Small baby would possibly sleep right through. Babysitters are expensive.

Plus, Americans tend to include children and babies in their lives far more than the British do.

There have been eyebrows raised at children and babies out at casinos because of the gambling though, and you would never see babies at the average bar (bars tend to be rundown and not very attractive) but bar-restaurants -- lots of babies and children well into the night. Socialising is normally done en famille no matter how late an event like a bbq might be and people tend not to do as much serious drinking as British people do. Going out to an evening baseball game you would see lots and lots of children and babies even though beer is served to the 7th inning. I took DD1 aged 2 to a notoriously loud home team major league hockey game and covered her ears when the siren blared after goals were scored. The place was full of children for a game that started at 7.30pm.

*I hope that woman now happily engaged to a coward will rethink.

LucieMay · 22/07/2012 00:13

No babies at all have a place in the cinema. Until a child is capable of actually watching a film, say aged three or four, they shouldn't be there. There is nothing worse than a baby crying while you're trying to watch a film and the parent farting about trying to pacify them or walking out. Of course little kids aren't silent while a film is on, but you can drown out their chatter if they're capable of sitting still and actually watching the film. Tough shit you miss the cinema or a babysitter is too expensive, there are just some things you can't do with a baby.

paradisechick · 22/07/2012 00:19

I can assure you my baby has never made a sound in the cinema. I'm happy to miss out, I can't remember the last time I seen a grown up film, but it's nice I can still take my older boy.

paradisechick · 22/07/2012 00:21

I don't think there's much you can't do with a baby! They're so portable and sleep most of the time!

Try it some time

LucieMay · 22/07/2012 00:27

So babies don't cry? Do I inhabit some parallel universe here?

paradisechick · 22/07/2012 00:28

Not all babies cry all the time. Some can go quite happily for 90 minutes without crying.

Socknickingpixie · 22/07/2012 00:45

lucieMay several cinemas actively encourage parents to bring babies.

i go to the cinema at least once a week with baby and one older child at no time has my baby disturbed any other person there. the staff make a fuss of dc when we arrive they remember dc's namr comment on how much he has grown and when we leave one perticular staff member always comments on how you wouldnt even know he was there.
ive been taking babies to the pictures for 19 years now and im pretty sure ive only had to leave a screen once or twice.

children will only know how they are expected to behave if being in certain suituations like meals out in proper places and events ect are normal for them.

most countrys i have lived in have a very different view of children than we do here.in the uk we have to have child friendly places or child menus or eating venues with colouring crayons we exclude children from so many things its almost not normal to include them unless its a actual childrens event then we wonder why so many of them are unable to deal with being in these suituations,i think its quite sad really.

Moominsarescary · 22/07/2012 00:48

Ds3 didn't cry until he was 6 months, I could quite easily have taken him.

Can't believe that man put his baby down and ran off

goodasgold · 22/07/2012 00:51

LucieMay there is something worse than babies crying at the cinema.

Trying to kill people scores pretty highly. I hope that you are not worried about who was left dead.

Whether you take your children or not to a (PG) film, you are not asking to be shot at.

All the 'I can't believe there were children there' messages. FFs the man had a gun, its not because people took there children to the movies

Kayano · 22/07/2012 00:57

I really did not see a single person suggest that the man had taken a gun because there were babies there... Hmm

Have you been smoking something?

goodasgold · 22/07/2012 01:00

I can't believe anybody could be watching this and talking like this if they knew someone who might have been there.

Methe · 22/07/2012 01:12

My friend works in a cinema here and he said you'd be surprised how many people take kids to late showings of inappropriate films.

Some people are shitty parents but it doesn't mean they deserve to have they baby shot :(

Kayano · 22/07/2012 01:16

No body said they deserved to have their baby shot?!?! Argh!

goodasgold · 22/07/2012 01:21

Um some people are not shitty parents, we used to go to the screen on baker street. Back in the day. It was cool to take your babies. I think we took our baby to the Kurt Cobain story. I don't think she remembers anything about it. It's not about taking babes in arms, is it? Or would you take them to a shopping centre? Or to a bowling alley?

Methe · 22/07/2012 01:24

At midnight? No I wouldn't. Babies should be in bed at midnight.

Socknickingpixie · 22/07/2012 01:25

methe you friend should also know that for a 12A film it is totally up to the parents to decide if its appropriate or not till there child is over 12.

if a member of staff feels a film is compleatly unsuitable for its rating then its an issue for the film classification board

goodasgold · 22/07/2012 01:28

Methe babies should be in bed, and if they're not...

goodasgold · 22/07/2012 01:32

What is it? the time of night? the film? I don't know. I just think that babies should be safe wherever they go, whatever time of day. Anybody who is blaming a parent for their child getting shot is way off the mark, in my point of view.

Swipe left for the next trending thread