Seriously?

[EcclesCake]

What do you make of this report?

http://metro.co.uk/2014/05/14/mother-kicked-out-of-cinema-for-seeing-15-rated-film-with-her-baby-4727757/

[ummmm]

How would they know at the ticket booth that she was going to take a baby in?

[ludwig]

I was presuming she was holding the baby at the time ummmm, but yes, she could have bought them in advance or over the internet. Fair point.

[tonyav]

Dunno why she didn't wait for the DVD to be released.

[Ellipsis]

A lot of people making comments here couldn't go to the cinema very much. Otherwise, they'd know that a normal thing to do is to buy your tickets online then pick them up from a machine in the foyer - no booths or humans involved.

Ron had it right, the reason this mother was thrown out was because she took her baby into a 15 rated film. If it had been a U or PG, she would have been perfectly fine (at least until such time as the baby started spoiling other patrons' enjoyment). So the argument is not about how appallingly the British treat children, it's about underage children in the cinema, and in this case was perfectly correct in what it did ...

[vulcan42]

I go to the cinema frequently and buy the tickets on line or from a machine,but there is always an attendant to take the ticket before entering the cinema. Is this unusual?

[ummmm]

I've always had to hand my ticket to an attendant. The last film I went to see was Avatar though. Talk about a yawn fest!

[Ellipsis]

Perfectly usual, vulcan42, but if you're at a multiplex then there would be a range of films you could be watching. The 16-year-old taking the ticket would have to be quite on their toes to realise "Hang on a minute, you're taking a baby in to Screen 5, which is showing a 15 ...". It's possibly precisely because people do take babies in to U's and PG's that this mistake happened.

[Kromovaracun]

Cinemas (or theatres) really are not places for babies. I would go so far as to say it's actively inconsiderate to the people around you. I understand it's not always possible to get someone to take care of them for a while, but jesus christ. A baby in the cinema is one of the most insanely annoying things in the entire universe.

[Kromovaracun]

The rating argument is ridiculous though - the baby is not capable of processing the input from the film.

[royfromaus]

Not really ridiculous, Krom. Anyone who goes to see a 15cert knows that there won't be any screaming toddlers.

[emmie]

perhaps only screaming adults, the ones who chatter on through the film, why do they bother.

[Kromovaracun]

yes, if we had some way of determining with high likelihood that an adult will chat/be a nuisance, I'd say it would be a good idea to simply refuse them entry. Unfortunately, we don't.

Babies, however, practically have a big sign above their head saying "I am going to be really, really annoying in the near future." A cinema is a bad place for babies to be.

[emmie]

the thing is the adults are allowed in, paid their tuppence, however as been explained the cinema should not have sold the ticket, if it was bought on line, then the money refunded on the day. the Usher checking the tickets would notice a babe in arms wouldn't you say.
i don;t visit the cinema often these days, too expensive, and with some very inconsiderate adults, as previously described.

[black_cat51]

seriously, it's obvious that none of you have young babies. Cinemas do special screeings for parents and babies, therefore if it was such a daft thing to take your child to a cinema, why would they do it?

[emmie]

because it was an 15 certificate, anything under would have been fine,
as already mentioned. as per the cinemas policy.

[Kromovaracun]

" Cinemas do special screeings for parents and babies, therefore if it was such a daft thing to take your child to a cinema, why would they do it?"

Well, they put on *special* screenings because they recognise that the prioritis of a normal audience are different from those of an audience composed of parents and children.

And the rest of us avoid it like the bloody plague.

[jno]

not everyone has enough screens to spare one for parents and children, though.

[Kromovaracun]

I don't know - you'd be surprised. Even smaller cinemas seem to be able to make room for it.

But to be honest it's not really the issue. It's inconsiderate to bring your baby into the cinema with you.

[jno]

inconsiderate to whom exactly? I'm not entirely sure adults have some god-given right to sit in segregated rooms (though they might well have an expectation of it when going to a 15-rated film, I agree).

I agree with ummmm, the British don't like kids.

[Kromovaracun]

It's inconsiderate to anybody who paid for a ticket to watch a movie. It's on the same level as talking loudly on your mobile phone or bringing a party of friends and chatting the whole way through the film.

What's to like about kids? Just about the only thing they have going for them is that they're necessary for continuing the species.