I didn’t think it could be done. If you’d asked me three months ago if I’d ever consider taking my two-year-old to a movie again within the next ten years, I’d have sworn the answer was “nu-uh, not in this lifetime.” Our first movie experience didn’t go well. She was up, she was down, she was everywhere! We had to leave the theater mid-movie to avoid both a meltdown and parental insanity.
But today—she sat. Today—she watched. Today, I declared a day of movie-going victory.
I took my kids to see Rugrats in Paris. The theater by me is offering free movies throughout the summer so I thought, why not? After all, if she misbehaved I wouldn’t have to feel guilty about bolting since I hadn’t actually had to pay for the tickets.
We had to arrive early, because free events involving children fill up FAST. I was a bit nervous—okay, a lot nervous. But we got there, we got popcorn, and we sat down. And she, along with her five-year-old brother, munched away. Sure, she insisted on sitting on my lap the whole time. But how could I refuse? She’s too light to sit in a chair by herself. The last time we tried that she ended up falling through the back of the chair—not good.
And yes, about ¾ of the way into the movie, she got squirmy. But not so much that we had to leave.
If you’re considering taking your toddler to a movie, I say beware. You never know when it’s going to go good or when it’s going to go so very, very badly. But as with all parenting mishaps and successes, you never know until you try.
This one I’m writing in the baby book. This day—this proud day, when my baby girl behaved like a big girl and sat through a movie. Phew!