Baby-friendly theaters? Yes, please.
We sure love our DVRs and Hulu, but refuse to give up on going to the theater. Did you know some theaters also have special showings for new parents? These showings have different names in different cities, but the idea that yours will not (most likely) be the loudest baby in the movie theater is the common thread.
Both of our firstborns were frequent attendees of “Baby Brigade” (now known as “Bringing Up Baby“) at the El Cerrito Theater during their first year.
Select theaters are participating in a program called Baby Pictures. Check the website to see if there is a baby movie showing in a city near you.
The Kerasotes chain in Illinois and Indiana offers Matinee Movie Magic. I thought I was pretty magical when I sat in a movie theater while doing my first in public breastfeeding (without crying!) when Julian was 5 weeks old. (This mistakenly led Heather, my 19-weeks pregnant escort, to believe that nursing is easy.)
Stroller matinees are a good early outing for freaked out new parents. Crying is totally allowed.
This is your ninth weekly rookie mom challenge. Even if you cannot find a mom and baby movie in your area, consider taking a risk on an 11 am showing. Heather and I brought baby Milo to Knocked Up while I was super pregnant with Scarlett. We saw the first show of the day and only one other person was in the theater. Milo stayed in his carseat for much of the movie and when he got sick of that, Heather held him up on her lap facing the movie. The volume at the theater is much louder than any grunting or fussing that tiny babies do.
In LA, Monday Morning Mommy Movies weekly at 11:00 am at the Grove, Glendale, and Northridge.
In Portland, McMenamin’s Kennedy School hosts the occasional Mommy Matinee and for cheap!
Austin, TX has Baby Day Movie at Alamo Draft House Cinema (Tuesdays). Parents are allowed to bring infants into the movie for shows starting before 2:05 pm. (check website for movie times and location).
In San Francisco, realtor Jill Russo sponsors a monthly Mommy Movie on the second Thursday of each and every month. And it’s FREE!
Have you done this outing? Please tell us where!
Loved it or hated it?
Not quite ready for a movie? Pick a challenge from an earlier week.
photos: Grand Lake by ThomasHawk on flickr; theater interior Associated Press
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I can also suggest going to a weekend matinee where other (noisy) children are likely to be present. We saw Chicken Little and Harry Potter this way.
Cinemagic in Merrimack, NH just started this. They play a first run movie at 10Am each week for Moms and babies.
Here is the website for “Monday Morning Mommy Movies” at Pacific Theaters in Southern California.
Hey, the Parkway Theater has expanded! For those in the N. Berkeley area there’s now a “Cerrito Speakeasy” too!
http://www.cerritospeakeasy.com/index.php
We tried it out last night for family night (Sunday). The theater is very clean, comfy and food is reasonably good considering it’s a movie theater. The volume is a little too loud for baby to sleep, so don’t count on it. Just take the opportunity to snuggle or bounce them on your knee.
Overall, based on the location and “newness” I’d say it’s a definite added value for the neighborhood. Get out and support’em if you can.
Joanne
Empire Theatres in Canada has ‘Reel Babies’:
http://www.empiretheatres.com/promotions/reel_babies.asp
In metro Washington DC, the Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse has started up a “Mommy & Me” series:
http://arlingtondrafthouse.com/
Scroll down to the schedule. The Mommy & Me matinee is Tuesdays at 1:30 PM.
A couple theaters in the San Diego area offer movies for parents and children.
Ultra Star Cinemas has Parent Movie Mornings at several locations at 10am on Wednesdays or Thursdays (depending on location)
http://www.ultrastarmovies.com
Pacific Theaters has Monday Morning Mommy Movies at 10am on Mondays at the Town Square location on Clairmont Drive.
http://www.pacifictheaters.com
I wish I could find something like this in NYC. The closest seems to be out on Long Island, which is too far for me and the little one on our own right now.
where in long island do they have this?
Hi Whitney
I loved your article. I am part of the bizymoms.com Chicago community and I know they would love to read it. http://www.bizymoms.com/chicago/index.php
The El Cerrito Speakeasy closed & then reopened under new name/management. And thank goodness! Starting September 8th, the baby brigade nights are back, renamed to “Bringing up Baby Show”.
SECOND AND FOURTH TUESDAY EACH MONTH
RIALTO CINEMAS CERRITO PRESENTS
THE BRINGING UP BABY SHOW!
Parents are encouraged to bring their new babies (under 1) the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month. Babies free, adults normal admission price. When the little one wakes up, take your bundle of joy for a stroll in the back of the theater. No need to miss out on the movie – everyone else will understand – they have one too!
Rialto Cinemas Cerrito
10070 San Pablo Avenue
El Cerrito, CA 94530
The El Cerrito Plaza BART station is 2 blocks away.
AC Bus Transit Lines 72R, 52L, 72M, 72 and the Transbay 800 all have stops within 1/4 mile of the theatre.
Be sure to call first — we went to the 8:30 pm show, per the website, and it turned out to be the wrong show. They said it was fine & asked us to stay, which was nice, but the other customers didn’t feel the same way. One woman looked at us resentfully and finally asked us to leave. What a bummer! Kind of the opposite of the experience we had before. Theater management was very apologetic & nice, but couldn’t make up for that feeling of being a leper. Ugh!
Please do go, but make sure you have the right showtime! Don’t trust the website, call the theatre directly.
The Vine Cinema in Livermore is now offering a “Diaper Date Night” every Tuesday for the 7:00 hour showings.
The lights are slightly higher, the sound is slightly lower, and you will not get looked at like you are a leper! Of course, the baby is free – with normal admission price for the parents.
The Vine Cinema is now an ALEHOUSE, serving draft beer and wine with some limited food items. The movies are independent films like you would see in Berkeley or Pleasant Hill.
VINE CINEMA
1722 FIRST STREET
LIVERMORE, CA. 94550
(925) 447-2545
http://www.VineCinema.com
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Rainbow theatres in Canada present Movies for Mommies every week and Cineplex Odeon presents Stars and Strollers across Canada.
I’m sitting here laugh at myself!
)) When I saw a title of your post, I though it was about theaters where moms are allowed to cry. 
LMAO
Does anyone know if there is a baby and me movie theatre in either cleveland or akron ohio????
I also live in Cleveland and was just looking this up and found that movies for parents to bring babies to are playing at the Loews Theater in Richmond Heights at 11AM on Saturdays. Apparently Loews just added more theaters into the Reel Moms program and Cleveland is one of them. I plan to check this out soon.
In the Philadelphia area, the Bryn Mawr theater in Bryn Mawr, PA hosts “Going Gaga” for moms and infants every Wednesday at 2 pm. Going Gaga is a baby friendly showing of first run films with a heavy bent toward indie and art house films. It is wonderful. To find out what is playing visit brynmawrfilm.org.
Also in Canada: Stars and Strollers at Cineplex. They have free diapers and wipes available at a changing station, the soundtrack is turned down and the house lights are never completely dimmed to dark. I’m going to the King’s Speech tomorrow!
We went to our first movie last Wednesday, and it was GREAT!! My 10 week old son and I went with another girlfriend and her 13 week old son. What a great outing for us gals. The boys cried a bit, and we both nursed at some point. We’ve now decided to make it a weekly outing, as long as the movie playing is something we are interested in watching.
In the South Bay, the Pruneyard in Campbell has a movie theater that does “diaper days” twice a month for moms and babies and a weekday night showing for moms/dads/partners/babies.
http://www.cameracinemas.com/diaper.shtml
I’ve been twice – it’s great. They keep the lights up a little and lower the volume a bit. Depends on the movie, it can get really crowded and depending on your baby could be a little overwhelming but it is something to check out for sure!
The Capitol Theater in Arlington MA does mom movies on Mondays at 1. Plenty of crying infants and moms nursing!
I did this at Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, TX and it was great!
Back in the day when I just had one tiny baby it was totally do-able, even enjoyable. I even nursed mid show, (with appropriate cover-up) and got through the entire movie without a peep from my usually cranky son.
Now that I have three, we can’t hang at any movie theatre, but I encourage all you moms with just one baby to give it a go, especially in the early days. I hate it when people tell me this, but it does go fast so take advantage of it!
I have never heard of this…but I have had a few friends recently either get refused service or show up somewhere to a sign that says, “NO CHILDREN UNDER [AGE HERE] PERMITTED.” Just an FYI, in case you’re the type to push the envelope, MOST states have breastfeeding laws that say if YOU are otherwise allowed to be in the theater (b/c your are a paying, age appropriate customer), then your baby is, too! Yes, you might have a harder time convincing if you’re bringing bottles in with you, but breastfeeding mothers can bring their babies with them, no matter what. As far as the legality of bringing in a slightly older child – so far all the ratings can only refuse a minor if they do not have a *parent* or *legal guardian* with them. Some people have babies & small children that do well in the theater and sleep through the movie. I took my newborn to see Starsky & Hutch with nary a problem. I held her close so I could cover her ears…when she woke up, I put her up to my boob…no one even realized she was with me.
My nearest theater is 90 miles away…if I showed up and couldn’t bring in an infant…someone would probably lose an eye.
@Maegan, I suppose that could happen, but we’ve never had that experience.
I can’t find anything like this in minneapolis! Any tips/ideas on how to get one started?
Love the “Crybaby Matinee” at the Angelica in Dallas! They leave the lights up a bit so you can tend to baby and even have a changing table up front so you don’t have to leave for the (unavoidable) diaper change mid-movie. 5 stars!!
This sounds like a great idea. This is always a challenge for parents who feel that children would like movies but can’t guarantee that they won’t cry during it.
We finally got around to doing this. I was surprised how well the babies did. For sure going to do this one again!
http://logansbabyblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/challenge-go-to-mom-and-baby-movie.html
Anyone know of any movie theaters in the San Diego area that are doing mommy movie day recently?
Los Feliz 3 in LA has a Wednesday morning mommy & me of all their movies, and AFI in Silver Spring, MD has “Silver Babies”
Maya Cinemas has cry rooms for some of their showings. The only problem is the rooms are small so arrive early.
http://www.mayacinemas.com/
I just moved to Pleasanton,CA and am looking for a mommy movie theater near me. Does anyone know of one? Or any other activities for my 7-mo old and I? I’m a new stay-at-home mom.
@Sandra-I just moved from San Diego. The Ultra Star in Poway has mommy movies on Tuesdays at 10am. Enjoy!