To have found this a bit excessive at the cinema?

[mrsmilesmatheson]

We went to the cinema last night to see Wicked. Obviously lots of teens/tweens there.

We sat on the end of a row as I knew I may need to pop for a wee at some point and I would rather not disturb others.

There was a family of 9 in our row who made a big fuss on arrival and arrived in 3 separate groups, faffing around, shoving past, making a lot of noise etc.

The young teenager/maybe 10 year old with them climbed over us (and back again) 8 separate times to go out during the film. She stood on my handbag, elbowed me in the face and knocked over our popcorn in her impatience to get out each time. The adults with her did nothing. I asked her to wait while we made space and she just sighed, rolled her eyes and shoved past.

Surely at that age, it's not unreasonable to expect a child to sit through most of a film without all this fuss!? She was not being accompanied by an adult on these trips so clearly mature enough in some ways!

There were plenty of spare seats in other rows. I realise now we probably should have just moved, but really why should we have to... I'd never have allowed my child to disturb people to this extent. I'd have moved her to another row or stopped her doing it.

Her parents or grandparents probably wouldn't have been much help. Kids aren't just born entitled, poor parenting and excuses for their behaviour makes them that way. If she needed to pee that many times during a cinema trip then she should be staying at home or they should have booked aisle seats. Yanbu but I would have moved once I realised there were spaces in the cinema and definitely would have remarked loudly when she elbowed you in the face.

People's manners are going downhill in general.

I went to see a film with my 9 year old, a group of tweens/teens at the back played music on their phone and were taking photos. I had to go and tell them to knock it off as it was ruining my cinema experience!

The adults with her definitely knew what was going on. They probably heard me complain at the girl when she hurt me and when i asked her to be more careful and to stop and wait while we moved things. If they cared enough to cobtrol her behavior, they'd have done it without me needing to ask.

There were no staff visible nearby to report it to and I didn't want my film disrupted further by having to go on the hunt for someone.

With retrospect, yes, we should have just moved. Like I say, each time it happened, I sort of assumed it would surely be the last interruption.

I'm over it but was a little disappointed at how some parents allow their children to behave in a public place.

What are you supposed to do? Remonstrate with every fuckwit who gets out their phone/eats loudly/talks? Because a) you’d probably just be told to fuck off and b) you'd get told you’re disturbing others by making a fuss.

Or get up and try to find a member of staff - and miss part of the film - in the hope that they’ll actually do something?

In all likelihood, neither of those is going to achieve anything, so it’s just easier not to go at all.

Exactly I wouldnt have let her past after the first time. She needs to be taught some manners .

Glad it's not just me who has noticed a decline in behaviour at the cinema. I am glad our local cinema has been doing so well lately with new releases but the last two occasions we have been have been spoilt by other people.
First occasion a group of teenage boys who clearly were only there as it was raining and had little interest in Moana. Clapping, shouting, throwing popcorn. No parents with them. Unfortunately to get an usher I would have had to climb over other people to get out and they seemed to ignore the woman sat near them telling them to shut up and behave. Second occasion a child on a family outing with dad and I assume grandmother and another elderly relative. Clearly the dote of the family as they thought it was very sweet her singing when she clearly got bored of the film (random songs, not actually singing along to anything in the film) and didn't stop her from kicking our seats, talking (they engaged in conversation with her rather than saying ssh) and demanding more snacks.
Cinema isn't cheap anymore so it is frustrating when you take your own kids for a treat and find it disruptive. I think I will need to take on the tips of when to go that others have suggested or invest in a home cinema!

Agree. I pointed out the disruptive teens at our cinema and the teenage girls working at the cinema simply looked at eachother and told me to email customer services (who did nothing). I don't blame these girls who weren't much older than the boys for not wanting to say something as doubt they get paid much and it isn't worth the hassle of them being abused

I think they just don’t have the staff numbers to deal with problems (years ago someone used to actually sit in each film) and those who they do have aren’t up to dealing with stuff. They’re just there to sell popcorn and check your ticket.

Even the indie cinema I used to go to couldn’t address it. I had a membership but stopped renewing it and told them that one of the reasons why was the behaviour of others. They just didn’t even have an answer.

I do wonder if the industry realises that it’s not just the convenience of online home streaming that keeps some of their customers away, it’s the behaviour you have to put up with while you’re there. If you’re paying £8 a ticket plus any extras, why not put that money towards streaming instead?