First Movie

lhgd1989 · June 2013

My husband brought up trying to bring our 12 month old to a movie for the first time soon (new Monster's Inc movie). I still feel like he might be too young. He is just starting to get walking down and wants to explore everything. When did you first take your LO to a movie?

mommymegan831 · June 2013

DH took her just before she turned 3. Does he sit through a movie at home? I know DS wouldn't last more than 5 minutes

lhgd1989 · June 2013

Sometimes he will watch Baby Einstein for about ten minutes and then hes off doing something else. Sometimes he comes back to watch it other times just listens to it while playing.

WhitWed · June 2013

We just took DD for her first time (23mo) in a theater. It was our last time out as a family of 3 before DS arrives this weekend. She loved it! The only issue was that the previews were 25 minutes long! I know her cues of when her attention span starts going so we made sure to sit near the back and left about 20 minutes early. It was a perfect first movie. There were actually a number of parents there with babies and young children so there was always someone louder than DD! Ha! If your DH really wants to try I say go for it, but have an exit strategy in case their attention span doesn't make it.

With that said, I was amazed when DH and I went to The Hobbit about 6 months ago. A family with a baby an a toddler sat behind us. I was expecting chaos because it was a 3hr adult movie. Not a peep out of either child! I was impressed. So it can be done!

aandg · June 2013

We are planning on taking our 3 year old to see Monsters University this week. This will be his first movie in the theater. Our 21 month old will only sit through a minute or two of a movie or TV.

ladybugpjb · June 2013

No way DS would have lasted through a movie at that age! Even now, he usually only makes it about an hour if I put a movie on, and even then he's fidgety.

APendola · June 2013

Some theatres have special times for taking babies/toddlers to the movies. Usually a weekday afternoon. It's a kid friendly environment so people won't mind if your kid makes a bit of noise. Maybe look into something like that to start.

My almost-one-year old would never sit through a movie.

dragon_chica · June 2013

Use your better judgement. If your LO is good with sitting for long periods of time then it's worth a try and definitely formulate that exit plan. We took DD to a drive-in (and her first feature film) when she was 2.5 and she did great. After that we took her to the theater for a birthday party and we watched Wreck it Ralph. She sat on my lap for the entire movie. Thing is, she's really good about staying in one spot so it wasn't a concern. With DS it could be a hit or miss. He's very active and likes to explore and move around. But then again, he can sit on my lap for 30 min. reading the same two books over and over again. He's also sat/stood and watched an hour long Thomas the Train show.

chardonnay24 · June 2013

We still haven't gone at 2.5 and probably won't for another couple years. He just doesn't have the ability to sit still through a movie yet.

memali26 · June 2013

LalaMama81:
Kimbus22:
No way.nbsp; You'll spend the whole movie chasing him up and down the aisles.nbsp; My kid is almost 2 and still nowhere near ready to sit still for two hours in a dark room full of people.nbsp; I'm guessing closer to kindergarten.
This. Dd1 could have done it at 3, but I wouldn't be surprised if dd2 wasn't ready until 4 or 5.

Yep, same here. I'd take my 3yo right now, I know she'd be able to sit through it and enjoy it, if it were the right movie. DD2 is 21 months and would definitely not sit nicely or actually watch the movie, and I don't see that changing any time soon.

Duffgurl · June 2013

Every child is different. I think it is worth a try. The worst thing that can happen is you have to leave.

Our LO has been to the movies 4x and he is not even 2. We plan to see the new Monsters movie too. We just made sure to bring his favorite snacks but he loved watching the big screen and of course the picture.

Good luck.

nah82 · June 2013

We took our oldest to see Finding Nemo 3D at around 2.5 years. At that age, he was able to sit through the whole thing and really enjoyed it. We took him to see Monsters, Inc. 3D shortly after that and he did great for that one, too. He is 3 now and I'm excited to take him to see Monsters University tomorrow for his special big boy time with mommy and daddy while little brother (14 months old) stays at home with grandma and grandpa. There is no way little brother would be able to stay still the whole time, and one of us would end up missing about 1/2 the movie when we would inevitably have to take him out to walk in the hall. With the price of movie tickets these days, I want to be able to enjoy ourselves.

They are very few and far between these days, but if you have a drive-in theater close, they are awesome with little ones. We have taken ours there since they were 6 months old (would've been sooner if we hadn't had to wait until summer came around for it to be open). You can sit in lawn chairs or on a blanket outside and they have more room to move around. Or, you can keep them contained in your car and not have to worry about if they are making noise, and have their car seats to lay them down in if they fall asleep.

jmugirl38 · June 2013

I just asked a friend this question last night! She took both her children when they were about 2.5 years old. Before that, she said it is difficult to have them sit for that long unless it is a "baby-friendly matinee" day, which some cities/theaters do have.

They just went to see new Monster's Inc and while her son (2.5 yr) did ok, he wasn't as interested as some of the movies they have at home because there wasn't much music in it apparently.

lkm2006 · June 2013

My 20 month old wouldn't last 5 minutes. He doesn't even sit at home.

My niece would have done fine at that age and probably would have really enjoyed it. Babies and kids are so different.

You could always try. Just don't have high expectations and be prepared to get up and leave [basically lose the money you had to pay].

sunnyday016 · June 2013

My DD is 4 and we still haven't taken her, although I think she'd be fine now. NO WAY would I take a child under 3 though. You couldn't pay me enough!

stemms8810 · June 2013

I personally wouldn't. It's hard for me to imagine a pleasant movie outing with a 12 month old. I tried taking my DD when she was 2 I think and she barely made it through. She couldn't sit for the whole movie. I think age 3-4 is way more realistic.

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