Kids treated badly at the movie theater

Ok, so maybe YOU think your boys are old enough, mature enough, etc to
see an R-rated movie. But what if they weren't, and got scared, or
ended up uninterested, etc.... And started screaming, or boredly
talking or kicking seats, etc? R-rated movies are for ADULTS. ADULTS
go to movies to watch them and listen to the dialogue, not just to
look at all the awesome moving pictures and wonder what in bloody hell
is going on because they are unfortunate enough to not know how to
LIP-READ and the theater is a nuthouse full of jabbering, shrieking,
kicking, running beastly little brats? Consider yourself lucky that
the slave-collar-worthy masochistic milksops running these theaters
haven't got the cojones to be reasonable and not let kids into any
non-cartoon movie with a rating higher than G. Frankly I wish I lived
in Texas if for no other reason than a glorious, noble, almost divine
theater that DOESN'T allow little brats except in specifically
designated movies and, like these noble scions of rationality and
considerate thoughtfulness who you unsuccessfully lied to and tried to
cheat, they will not submit to your self-entitled horse hockey and
allow you to stamp on everyone else's rights!

alright, i understand this is an issue of pride, and that you feel no
one should challenge your parental decisions. but once the movie came
out on dvd, did you even watch it alone without the kids to check up
and see if you were right? because i have a hard time believing why
you would challenge a theatre that didnt allow six year old children
to Legend rated R. i mean did you really think anyone would think you
were good parents to bring childreninto a movie where not just the
laungae but there is alot of canabolism, the man and his child live in
a deserted ny city there only nieghbors in the whole city are starving
zombies who eat each other, zombie dogs that infect and eat people.
and there is a scene where the main character Will Smith's character
gets eaten alive by a zombie leaving his kid to uncertain ends.
granted they found a woman to help them, but he thinks she is
dellusional and though she turns out not to be, it was very much like
putting all the horrors of plague and issolation and destitution right
in your face. if you brought this before a judge, i think there would
be an issue with the child protection act and the childrens rights
acts and those would over ride your freedoms you think are so clear in
the constitution, and it would deem you publically bad parents even if
it got national you would defintly get press and there would be a
public outrage in the media, you see this isnt like they were twelve
year old boys or girls. these were toddlers. and there is nothing ever
in a rated r movie that is toddler acceptable. i think you need
parrent classes, especially for trying to sneak into a movie you didnt
pay for with your six year olds, you paid for remember alvin and the
chickmunks, you didnt pay for legend and that is stealing, you didnt
exchange the tickets, you were really breaking the law and teaching
your children a bad thing that now if they do that later you will have
issues if they remember what mommy and daddy did when they wanted to
see the movie they wanted. i am sure your six year olds would have
wanted to see chickmunks singing and dancing. if i took your six year
old kids while you paid me to babysit them to a bar you'd be having my
ass in court. seriously you have no case. and i would queitly put this
asside and learn to be better parrents because i wouldnt want my
nieghbors calling dhs on me. and you just gave someone ground to see
you as not having your childs best intrest at heart. not good for you
if you want to be parrents. dont want to all the time, next time leave
the kids with a grandparent or aunt or a sitter and go see the movie
you want to see, and when you bring your kids to the movies try
letting them see if they actually like kids movies. kids usualy enjoy
seeing animals in films more than people. let alone zombies and an end
of the world cenerio.

I'm so glad your kids were not allowed into the theater. No one is
telling you how to parent. If you really want them to see legion, they
can see it at home when you rent it. Asshole.

I think that they should have let your kids in. I saw that movie, its
not nearly as bad as a lot of shows on TV kids see. On top of the
words they hear in school or in stores or even on tv? It's up to the
parent to decide what they allow their kids to see. The parents who
try to hide their kids from that are just going to end up with their
kids go crazy when they're older, as it'll seem new and fun, compared
to them being use to it. It's freedom of speech. As long as you teach
them what's right and wrong, then you'll be fine.

As with several companies, they have a policy where they do not allow
young children (6 and under) into r rated movies. This is not to
discriminate against your children, but to improve the moviegoing
experience for other guests. More often than not, young children in
an adult oriented film cause disruptions and problems with noise and
such. Not to mention how you shouldn't bring them into that movie
anyway, but think about how much better other people's experience was
because your young children weren't in there.

I saw that movie and I think that the theater did a service to your
boys, even if you didn't care to listen.

Does it make you a bad parent? No-but maybe a misinformed one.

I've made the mistake of bringing my kids to movies that I THOUGHT
would be a certain way and they ended up being more violent, sexual or
scary than I understood.

Once your children witness the terrible stuff, you can't take back
that experience. Now if there is a movie that I'm not sure about, I
go see it w/out them and THEN decide if they can see it (I have twin 7
year old boys and a 9 year old girl)

I actually WISH that theaters were more descriptive in the content.
My specific issue was with 2 movies: GI Joe (too violent) and
Transformers 2 (too sexual/suggestive)

Both good movies, just not for the kids at that age.

That being said, you know your kids best and have every right to let
them watch what ever you think they can watch, but I will agree with
that statement with the disclaimer of you need to know exactly what
you are allowing them to see first.

Since you never watched the movie before, I'd say you couldn't be
making an informed choice.

I'm interested to watch this movie now, although, if I remember
correctly, the commercials freaked me out, so I'm not sure even I can
handle it.

This is a dad that I would so like to smack. Kids should not be
taught to steal, lie and cheat. Especially by the most important role
model in their lives. Don't you know they are learning from everything
you do and everything you say?

I agree with and appreciate the policies of the movie theater solely
because of parents like YOU. Rent the video and teach your kids to
misbehave in the privacy of your home because I have no doubt that
you're the kind of parent that excuses every kind of behaviour your
children demonstrate. To repeat another comment...the kids were being
treated badly but not by the movie theater.

Why do you want your kids to witness a movie with obscene words in
them? What kind of parents are you?

You are a bad parent not only for letting six year olds see violent
movies with swearing, but for teaching them to lie and be sneaks by
buying tickets for another movie and trying to get into one you
already were told you were not permitted in. You were probably making
a huge scene and being generally embarrassing too. I feel sorry for
your kids.

If you are dead set on letting them see it, buy the DVD when it comes
out and do what you want in your own home. AMC has the right to draw a
line when people like you try to break RULES. Not tell you how to
parents -- break a rule. It shouldn't be hard to understand. You have
the right to parent how you like in your own home. Get a babysitter
and go see it with your wife if you are that eager, good golly.

That's about all I can say.

I have a great selection of movies and many of them are rated R. I
could lend them to you for your kids if you want.

You were told of the company policy and yet you still tried to get
around it. You know the policy now, so you can decide to take your
money elsewhere.

Besides that, it's not just your kids, you have to think of all the
other adults in an R rated movie who are seeing in it in part (even if
a very small part) because there aren't going to be kids there.

The staff has to follow the policy of the company they work for or
risk losing their jobs the same way you could lose your job for going
against your company's policies. It wasn't the staff telling you how
to parent your kids just following the rules of their employer.

Also the city or state of New York may have laws or regulations in
place that govern what the theater does (our city does) and they could
risk being shut down.

Plus you bought tickets for another show that were only good for the
show you purchased them for, they didn't have to let you into the
showing of Legion with the wrong tickets.

Did they refuse to let you into the Alvin and the Chipmunks show that
you had tickets for or did you choose not to take your boys to see it
at all?

If you made a choice not to see it do you think its right to expect a
replacement? Just a thought.

I remember when I went to see the new Friday the 13th and there were
kids as young as 9 there. It really sickened me...however, yes, unless
it is actual abuse, you are allowed to parent your children how you
want. But in the end, the theater has their own policies and is
allowed to run their theater how they want...just as you parent as you
want.

So let me get this straight:
1) You tried to take children to a movie with a restricted rating.
2) You didn't bother to find out the theater policy before arrival.
3) You attempted to go around that policy by buying tickets to a
different movie in violation of policy and maybe the law.
4) You expect freebies?

Yea right.

I believe its up to the theater to reserve the right to enforce
restrictions on rated R movies. And they just did that.

actualy one resteruant i asked my dad to order for me, he said what do
you want and this was in winter not in new england, i said as if it
were a hamburge, having no idea what it was i was asking for, and he
said yes as long as you eat the green tomali, which i did, this was
lobster i was ten, my parents let me do this to get a laugh. i hadnt
seen a lobster before and i was twenty two before i got the guts to
try again, little ten year old me is excited to see what this lobster
is and it looks like a giant insect and i just froze and my face got
white. they told me to eat the tomali just one bite and then if i want
i can have a hamburge. dad was very happy, never had a request like
that for over ten years. also he ate the lobster himself. and i now
hate five star resteraunts unless they are little local secrets and
they are small intamate and romantic, and i only go with my man. i'm
not trying to convert you to bring children to nice resteraunts but
they are often healthier than mc donalds or wendy's so if you can keep
your kids well behaved and its is to give them a cultural experience,
then it should be considered along the lines as art museems, science
museems, historical sites, plays, and other cultural things sharing
with your children to learn how they learn about culture. for me, i
prefer the museems, but the resteraunt experience kept me humble and
was a treat for obidience in public, nothing on earth however taught
me how to spell my words correctly.

The kids were being treated badly. But not by the theater.

Movies are rated for a reason. If it was a family outing, see a family
movie. Hire a sitter and go see R movies without the children.

Example, would it be okay for a store to sell children cigarettes or
alcohol, if their parents are permissible and allow the behavior?

What is the point of the MPAA taking the time to evaluate and place a
rating on a film if people aren't going to heed it?

What I mean is this - there were obviously some elements in this movie
that made it not appropriate for kids to see. If it were appropriate,
it would have been PG or G.

I hate to say, but the comments the others made about consideration
for fellow movie-goers is spot on. Just as you are paying money to
enjoy the film, so are they. And they have the right to do it without
any unnecessary interruptions and distractions.

Sadly, because it's a public establishment the only other option is to
wait until it comes out on video and then watch in the comfort and
privacy of your own home.

I've read a lot of responses below stating that people are tired of
seeing kids in R-rated movies and they're glad AMC now has this
policy, etc.

However, I'm wondering how many people here see kids in R-rated movies
and how often this occurs. The reason I ask is because I've been to my
fair share of R-rated movies, and I don't remember a time when I've
seen children in one, much less a young child under six at night.

I don't have a problem with AMC's policy; the question comes from
curiosity on my part.

No one has yet to mention the fact that if you were successful in
sneaking into Legion that makes you theifs. Why? It means you stole
money from Legion. Back in the day I used to manage a movie theater
and when I would tell theater hoppers this they wouldn't believe me.
Almost all the money from ticket sales goes back to the film studio
and to the box office total of that film. (you can blame them and
over paid actors for the high prices of tickets) So if you bought
tickets for Alvin that money goes to Alvin and Fox and not to Legion
and Sony.

I for one applaude theaters efforts in making adult situated movies
more adult friendly. I go to those movies expecting to enjoy the
movie and not have to worry about kids crying, telling mom and dad
they don't like the movie, having them whine because they didn't get
the candy they wanted from the concession stand, etc... If I were to
go to a G or PG movie and was to hear all that then would I go and
complain? No it's understood that you would have those distractions.

I wish parents would get off their high horse and realize the world
doesn't revolve around them and their kids.

way. I suppose the kids might have missed the plot flaws, cliches and
crappy acting, though.

AMC has started a policy at a lot of their theaters that will not
allow children into R rated movies on evening performances....

I think both the OP and AMC did something not on the up-and-up here.

The OP shouldn't have tried to sneak their way into Legion by buying
tickets to the Chipmunks movie.

AMC shouldn't have a policy that runs contrary to the MPAA guidelines.
If a parent will accompany his under-17 child(s) to an R-rated movie,
AMC should allow that and respect the parent's right to choose how to
raise his/her kids. It's not AMC's job to play censor.

The MPA(sp?)guidelines are just that: guidelines. According to the
MPA, children under the age of 17 CAN attend R-rated movies
accompanied by an adult.

However, these are, again, guidelines and not across-the-board
enforcement rules for theaters. In other words, a movie theater can
set its own policies, which, in this case, they did. Then, you tried
to beat the policy and got caught. It's not "discrimination"; it's a
case of "I don't want to follow the policy." And frankly, I don't
think you should get free tickets simply because you think you're
exempt from following the policy and tried to prove it.

Personally, letting children under 17 see an R-rated movie is a
parenting decision. Would I let my son see an R-rated movie? Not at
this age - 2 - but when he's a little older, sure. However, I probably
would just rent the DVD. At least that way I can control what he sees
and determine, in the privacy of my own home, whether a movie is
appropriate for him to watch or not.

You were paying customers.....who paid to see 'Alvin & the Chipmunks'.
I agree with the others. The theater was well within their rights to
refuse you admission. It would only be discrimatory if they had not
allowed you to buy your kids tickets to "Alvin".

Hats off to AMC Theaters. If we had one here, I'd go there this
weekend.

To go to AMC theatres to see a movie.

Your responsibility: abide by their policies.

Don't like it. Go somewhere else where the policies fit your needs.

Amc is within their rights.

Being told no (basically following their policies) does not equate to
being rude.

Are you serious?
You didn't get what you wanted, so you tried to beat the system, and
then had the nerve to complain when it didn't work in your favor once
again?

They had a policy, and the cashiers and staff were simply enforcing
it. I know my local theater has a policy about evening R rated films,
and no young children are allowed.

They would have let you use your tickets if you went to the movie they
were for. You are owed nothing. You do not deserve a refund or any
additional compensation.

I know lots of theaters have policys forbidding children, even with a
parent present, into r-rated movies after a certain time. We've seen
a letter here a few months ago abotu parents who were upset because
other patrons were using foul-language during an r-rated movie. The
parents didn't want their kid to hear that language anywhere but on
the screen. Its parents like that that lead to policies like this.
If its generally not an environment conducive to children, they wont
be allowed in.

If I am watching a rated R movie that typically contains nudity,
violence, offensive language, or sexual content the last thing I want
is to be seated with children. It is not appropriate.

'Kids treated badly' - yeah right.

'Discriminated against' - give me a break.

from the MPAA Ratings site: "Generally, it is not appropriate for
parents to bring their young children with them to R-rated motion
pictures."

As others have stated, some kids will be too overwhelmed by what they
see or hear on the screen. Some kids will just act up and will
disturb the other patrons.

It's not a question of how to parent. The manager was merely stating
the rules. Comparable to your kid being too short to ride whatever's
the coolest ride at DisneyWorld.

Here's what you can do: When "Legion" comes out on DVD, set aside a
home movie night. Get all the candy and drinks and popcorn that you
could never afford to purchase at theater prices. Set up the living
room with cool seating. You and the wife could even mix up a batch of
margaritas.

I am a bit disappointed that you were teaching your kids to skirt the
system. Yes, we've all done similar things, mostly as teenagers,
though. Definitely NOT with our parents.

MY son was about 13 when he came to me with his "plan": He and his
friend would go to the 1:00 show and then go to the 3:00 show of a
different movie. We discussed doing the "right" thing. Both boys
came home with two tickets, one for each show. They knew they could
have gotten away with it, but that the parents would not approve.

As an aside: Weren't there other cool things you could do with the
kids in a mini vacation to NYC? Central Park Zoo; skating; Chinatown;
World Trade Center Site; shopping(but I was with a 14-year-old girl),
Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, the amazing Grand Central
Station.

Have a great Family Movie Night with all the trimmings when the DVD
comes out!

Let me briefly review the facts of this letter: You asked for tickets
to Legion and were denied, told it was company policy. You then
bought tickets for another movie and attempted to sneak in. You were
caught, and the policy was reinforced by the manager. Personally, I
could care less what movies you let your kids see. None of my
business. It is their policy, your kids were not being discriminated
against. You were certainly free to try another theater upon learning
the policy, but instead you tried to game the system. AMC owes you
nothing.

First, it is not discrimination. Second, I hate being in a R rated
movie and seeing a bunch of kids.

A movie of that rating is NOT appropriate for young kids (especially
age 6) to see a movie like that.

I WHOLEHEARTEDELY support the movie theaters decision to do this! It
costs crazy money to go see a movie and nothing irks me more than
going to an evening/late show of an R rated movie only to be subjected
to kids acting a fool because they're either bored or the movie is too
intense for them.

It also seems this is only limited to shows in the evening. If one
wants to take their young children to an R rated movie, you can still
do so but must go at an early time. I think that's fair. As a parent,
I never took my son to questionable movies in the evening when he was
younger. I knew there'd be a good chance he would not enjoy the movie
and I didn't think it would be fair to other folks to have to listen
to my kid act a fool. That meant that I rarely went to the movie
theater when he was younger. When you become a parent, there are
things you can't do when you were child free, and that was one of
them.

As a parent I can understand why you would be upset if you perceive
someone to be "undermining your parenting". On the other hand that
movie is not appropriate for children that young. My husband and I
struggled over this same issue this weekend. We had trouble deciding
on whether or not our 12 year olds could see Legion. In the end we
decided not to allow them to see it, they have plenty of time to see
those sorts of movies. We saw The Chipmunks movie instead. And they
loved it!

personally i don't see the new restrictions really being about "right"
or "wrong" for parenting.

I don't see it as forcing parents to not bring young children to R
movies, but rather to ensure the atmosphere remains an adult-level
atmosphere.


And that is exactly what the AMC said their new regulations were
aiming for.

To me it's a bit like going to a bar area of a restaurant. In many
establishments the bar area is off limits to children. It's not
because they think parents don't know how to raise them properly, but
because they want to keep the setting at an adult level.

Kinda like Chuck-E-Cheese, where "a kid can be a kid"
only the opposite (would that make it cheese-e-chuck? lol) where "an
adult can be an adult".

Wow. As a business, they are allowed to have any policy they want, but
I can tell you that they would be losing my money.

We frequent AMC often, and my son (now 9 yrs) comes with us. We see
all kinds of movies, with the majority being rated R. I have never had
AMC refuse to sell me a ticket. If they ever had, I would leave
quietly and never ever give them my money again.

I know my son better than they do. I know what movies he likes, and
its not Alvin and the Chipmunks.

Sometimes it takes others to make parents realize they are wrong. Why
you cannot see that this theatre was right in NOT allowing you to take
your 6yr twins to see a violent movie rate R is beyond me.
Parents do NOT always know what is right for their children...you have
proven this.

Three cheers to AMC for this wonderful policy. Based on this letter
and policy, I shall make sure to visit AMC more often.

Ha! I love this theatre! No one should take children that young to a
rated R movie. NO ONE. Not only for the kids' sake, but for the sake
of other adults who don't want to deal with little kids (they cry,
they get scared, etc.) in the rated R (read: ADULT) movie.

I wish more theatres would do this! My friend saw Avatar this weekend
and parents brought in their 3- and 5-year-old children.

I wish my local theatre had a policy like this in place for PG-13
movies as well. Then I wouldn't have had to spend nearly 3 hours
listening to a 3 year old yell "Daddy! Daddy!" during Avatar. Some
movies are not for kids. Legion is definitely one of those movies. If
you and your wife are fans of Dennis Quaid, then get a babysitter and
have a date night.

Your kids were not treated badly or discriminated against. The
theater has a policy that all patrons must abide by. Personally I'm
all for it. I've had too many movies ruined by young children that
should not have been there in the first place.

Instead of just accepting the policy like grownups you chose to teach
your children that if they don't like a rule, cheat. Great. Not only
that, you got caught cheating and now want to be compensated for that.
Wonderful. I guess your kids will still get their allowance even if
they don't follow your rules.

where you attempted to skirt the theater policy by sneaking into the
movie with your children, with tickets to another movie, after being
told your children were ineligible to see it.

For that stunt I think the theater would have the right to tell you to
see the movie you bought tickets for, or otherwise leave the premises.
You no longer deserve the tickets you bought, in my opinion, let
alone an extra set of tickets. Why should the theater reward such
behavior?

I am curious as to what time you tried to get it to the show. If I
missed it in the letter I am sorry. I do know our local theater will
not allow kids into R rated movies after a certain time on weekends.
Just wondering if that factored in.

Also, I don't blame the movie theater for having tighter policies on
age. Many people complain about young children in R rated movies -
for a number of a reasons - also, why would the movie theater want to
take any responsiblilty for the "moral corruption" of kids? I can
just see the letters now "I didnt know the movie was going to have
naked woman, sex, blood and curse words! Now my child is walking
around saying those things! How come NO ONE warned me!"

And attempting to sneak in was just wrong.

If this is AMC's policy, this is their policy and they have a right to
expect it to be enforced. If someone doesn't like that, they have a
right not to patronize that business, but AMC owes OP NOTHING. I
don't see how OP and their family was "treated badly."

By the way, nice sense of entitlement and GREAT example for OP's kids,
especially if they are as mature as OP claims: "Well, the theater has
rules, but they don't apply to us, so we aren't going to follow them.
Oh, but now we got caught trying to break the rules, but instead of
admitting that it was a mistake, we demand that AMC placate us with
freebies."

Honestly, all OP did was support the reasons for door-checkers and
these kinds of policies.

Peace.

They very clearly explained their policy, which by the way wasn't
directed at your family personally. So, it wasn't about your
parenting skills. You didn't like the policy, so bought tickets to
another movie, planning to cheat, and got caught. So your claim that
they wouldn't let you use the tickets you bought is false. They owe
you nothing.

Having been a manager of a movie for 12 years, I have seen lots of
people try anything to get around policies. Last time I checked, the
MPAA R rating meant that children under 17 must be accompanied by a
parent. I personally think you were wrong by trying to bring your 6
year old boys to see an R rated movie but that is your business. I
don't know about AMC theater policy but the theater I used to work for
would occasionally have a stricter policy in place for certain films.
This might be the case here. You were wrong for buying tickets to a
childrens movie and trying to use them to sneak into an R rated movie.
That's the type of behavior that young teenager do. Act like an adult
and leave the kids with a babysitter if you and your wife want to see
an R rated film.

"It upset me and my wife that she was telling us how to parent and
saying which movies our kids could see but she said it is AMC's policy
not to allow children in rated R movies."

If that's their policy, then that's their policy, and you follow it.

You don't buy tickets for another movie and then try to sneak into the
movie you had been planning to see.

I fail to see how you and your kids were treated badly, and I fail to
see why you should get free movie tickets out of this.

hmm. now that's a good question.

does a local theatre have a right to set up tighter age restrictions?


I know on a military base they can



and i don't mean moral rights, or the debate over whether or not they
tell you how to raise your kids...


i mean do they have a legal right or ability to tighten age
restrictions

i think i'll go look that up.

Did you have proof of the children's age? AMC has a policy, in place
to assure everyone in the theater has a good experience. Personally I
think it is a good policy.

PFB members will recall there was a letter here in November about a
parent with child removed from an AMC theater while watching Ninja
Assassin, due to an incident between their party and another movie
viewer.

i think they are mistaken, MPAA states only the children must be
accompanied by parent. AMC was in the wrong by telling you how to
raise your kids.

but...

you were in the wrong too, by trying to use tix for alvin to get into
legion, i think you lost some credibility with AMC.

they explained to you about their policy. then you decided to sneak
the kids in using tickets to another show. as i see it they did not
treat you badly. more than one person told you the policy and you
thought it shouldnt apply to you. the only person who ruined your
vacation was you.