There were dozens and dozens of toddlers at Frozen the other day. I heard they were going to take out one of the bars and put in a diaper changing station.
Sure it is a Disney show.... but who in their right mind brings a child less than two years old to the theatre? Even the website suggests 8 years and older.
Shame on the theater and Disney for not sticking to their “Under eight” or whatever it is rule. Given those prices, I would be LIVID if I were sitting next to a toddler.
From my past experience, I was excited to start exposing my niece and nephew to Broadway like my parents did when I was a kid. My first show on Broadway was the original 1972 Broadway production of PIPPIN. I became obsessed with not just Broadway but Bob Fosse as well. I was 7 years old.
I started taking my niece and nephew to see Broadway shows when they were 5 years old. Paying top dollar at that time (no children prices). I must have taken them to about 10-15 shows. Sadly, every p*uckin’ show they saw between age 5 to 9 is completely forgotten by them today. My nephew saw THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA at age 6. He only remembers the rising chandelier during the Overture.
They are both now in their early 30s and have toddlers of their own but will wait till they are about 10 before exposing them to Broadway. They still can’t believe all the shows they saw that they don’t remember whatsoever.
Did they enjoy it at the time, though? I hear the argument of "they won't remember it" as one for not bringing babies/little kids to museums or even on vacation with you, but if they're having fun at the time, who cares (as long as they're not disrupting others, which is probably the main issue here)? I'm sure a 3-year-old would be delighted during their experience Disneyland even if they don't remember the experience when they go back again at 7 or 17 or whatever.
"This thread reads like a series of White House memos." — Mister Matt
Rhoda4 said: "There were dozens and dozens of toddlers at Frozen the other day. I heard they were going to take out one of the bars and put in a diaper changing station.
Sure it is a Disney show.... but who in their right mind brings a child less than two years old to the theatre? Even the website suggests 8 years and older."
My husband's cousin wouldn't even consider bringing her 7 year old when I said she should enter the lottery, since she read it was suggested for 8 and up. And there I was, surrounded by babies and toddlers, who were babbling and fidgeting and crinkling throughout the entire show. I wish people were more like her, though I can now assure her that her relatively mature and well-behaved 7 year old would have a blast and isn't too young for the show.
I saw toddlers at Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and that was definitely not age appropriate at all. For one, it's ~6 hours of theatre, which is too much for some adults, if the people I was seated near were any indication. And the material just isn't age appropriate. There was a girl behind me, maybe ~9 or 10, and she was sobbing and whining through the entire second act of part 2, she was terrified and every little effect scared her. Parents really need to learn to do even the most minimal research before deciding "This this is for kids, therefore every single child can handle it".
BrodyFosse123 said: "From my past experience, I was excited to start exposing my niece and nephew to Broadway like my parents did when I was a kid. My first show on Broadway was the original 1972 Broadway production of PIPPIN. I became obsessed with not just Broadway but Bob Fosse as well. I was 7 years old.
I started taking my niece and nephew to see Broadway shows when they were 5 years old. Paying top dollar at that time (no children prices). I must have taken them to about 10-15 shows. Sadly, every p*uckin’show they saw between age 5 to 9 is completely forgotten by them today. My nephew saw THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA at age 6. He only remembers the rising chandelier during the Overture.
They are both now in their early 30s and have toddlers of their own but will wait till they are about 10 before exposing them to Broadway. They still can’t believe all the shows they saw that they don’t remember whatsoever."
I had the same experience with my sons. From personal experience, I have concluded that regular theatergoers who can afford to bring children to the theatre at an early age, in hopes of developing early passions and memories, are fooling themselves, wasting money, and making the trip into the theatre more challenging. My sons, who are now 25 and 26, had seen 25 - 35 shows between the ages of 5 and 15; of those shows, the only ones they even remember to speak fondly of are The Producers (they were probably 8 and 9 and thrilled by all the bawdy humor), Boeing Boeing, The 39 Steps and, maybe Phantom. Didn't like Wicked, TKAI, Beauty and the Beast, Hairspray, Ragtime, Les Mis, etc. I actually believe that taking them when they were young actually backfired...neither has any interest in the theatre, even though they are both artistically inclined, one is a musician, the other an artist.
My granddaughter was 5 when I took her to her first Broadway show (WEST SIDE STORY). She was thrilled by it and she still listens to the cast recording.
LizzieCurry said: "Did they enjoy it at the time, though? I hear the argument of "they won't remember it" as one for not bringing babies/little kids to museums or even on vacation with you, but if they're having fun at the time, who cares (as long as they're not disrupting others, which is probably the main issue here)? I'm sure a 3-year-old would be delighted during their experience Disneyland even if they don't remember the experience when they go back again at 7 or 17 or whatever."
They would have an equally fun time playing with an empty box in a dingy basement, so your point is irrelevant.
This is exactly why I will not go to a Disney show on Broadway, I would not be happy paying that much money to be surrounded by screaming kids and babies.
I was at cursed child, and I saw somebody with box seats taking their child in there to see the show. I think it was a great solution to not distract others with your child. She was about 10, and when she was walking out of part one in the robe she said she enjoyed it (they were walking behind me), but it's nothing like the books. So I'd assume it's okay to take that age. at SpongeBob on the other hand, I did not have that luxury. I was in the Mezz, and in the center to my left was a 7ish year old boy DANCING to the music, a little girl kicking the seat in front of her, and worst of all THE MOM WAS ON HER PHONE. Why go to the theatre when you're simply going to jump around and sing, or be on the phone the whole time?
Dollypop said: "My granddaughter was 5 when I took her to her first Broadway show (WEST SIDE STORY). She was thrilled by it and she still listens to the cast recording.
Each child is different."
No, the difference is that your granddaughter was seeing West Side Story. These toddlers are seeing Frozen.
I was at Frozen, and the family in front of me were awful. The mother and Grandmother would get up every so often to change seats to appease the children. Then the little boy didn't want to sit in his seat, he wanted to sit on the stairs, so they took the booster seats and made a little couch for him on the stairs, all while the show is going on. Just distracting and irritating. He obviously could care less to be at the theater. And this is very mature production of Frozen there isn't a lot of glitz and glam to entertain the children.
ilysespieces said: "Rhoda4 said: "There were dozens and dozens of toddlers at Frozen the other day. I heard they were going to take out one of the bars and put in a diaper changing station.
Sure it is a Disney show.... but who in their right mind brings a child less than two years old to the theatre? Even the website suggests 8 years and older."
My husband's cousin wouldn't even consider bringing her 7 year old when I said she should enter the lottery, since she read it was suggested for 8 and up. And there I was, surrounded by babies and toddlers, who were babbling and fidgeting and crinkling throughout the entire show. I wish people were more like her, though I can now assure her that her relatively mature and well-behaved 7 year old would have a blast and isn't too young for the show.
I saw toddlers at Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and that was definitely not age appropriate at all. For one, it's ~6 hours of theatre, which is too much for some adults, if the people I was seated near were any indication. And the material just isn't age appropriate. There was a girl behind me, maybe ~9 or 10, and she was sobbing and whining through the entire second act of part 2, she was terrified and every little effect scared her. Parents really need to learn to do even the most minimal research before deciding "This this is for kids, therefore every single child can handle it"."
I had several -~7-8 year olds around me (in what looked to be premium seating) yesterday for the HP marathon. They looked so incredibly bored. One girl aternated between sleeping/fidgeting with her hair (arms up in the air), while another girl took her shoes off and laid across the seats in her parents’ laps. I nicknamed them the “snack family” because they kept passing the popcorn and drinks back and forth. It’s a really cool concept of food delivery to seats, but they need to put an end to it. Anywahs, these parents probably spent $1-2k attending the show yesterday only to have their kids mostly sleep through it.
When I went to see Spongebob I sat in front of a very overexcited toddler. My friend and I won a pair of very nice orchestra seats, and were excited to see the show. Now, I’d worked in childcare for years. I adore children and I understand the importance of introducing theatre to children, and it’s not this toddler’s fault he was at a show he was too young to comprehend (couldn’t have been more than 4 years old), but he kept eating loudly and talking throughout the show, and to shut him up his parents kept fishing through their bags for more food for him to eat until I got fed up when he started kicking my chair and leaning into my personal space (like his face was on my shoulder and he was starting to touch my shoulders and hair in an attempt to see, he was so small). When I told the parents to move their child so he would stop touching me they ignored me and gave him more food, because why not spread more germs?
I didn’t take it out on the kid of course, he was small and he didn’t know any better, but I got an usher and we got moved to the front row. I hope the parents learn their lesson, honestly. If your kid isn’t patient enough for the theatre you really shouldn’t take them, because then it becomes miserable for the poor kid who’s been dragged to a show. Not to mention how LONG Spongebob is. It was just a bad situation.
I took my 4 year old nephew to Spongebob and he behaved very well. We were orchestra on the aisle. He's obsessed with the show, so we had a talk about theater ettiquette and he was good for the most part. He had to be reminded sometimes not to sing the songs out loud, only mouth the lyrics, and to keep his hand dancing below his head so as not to block people behind us. No snacks, no talking. He only had one little outburst act one when he answered one of the characters on stage, but I hope that it came off as more adorable than annoying to the people around us.
He was better behaved than many adults around us. It really does depend on the kid.
At School of Rock on tour last month, a family with children sat behind us. The youngest child was maybe 3-4. Maybe 20 minutes into the show, the kid asked (presumably) his dad, 'how much longer do we have to stay here?' and then talked about how bored he was through much of the rest of the performance. And the worst thing was, that from what i gathered in their pre show chatting, the older kids had seen the show before, so the family should have anticipated that the show isn't necessarily entertaining for a child that young. I brought my oldest to a professional theater production at age 8. Before then, he went to numerous local productions so that I knew he was capable of sitting through a 2+ hour show without talking or getting bored. I don't know what parents are thinking. I would be mortified if my child caused a disruption during a show.
That said, I saw a lot of theater between the ages of 14 and 17 and remember very little of it, with the exception of a few snippets from Les Miz (which had the greatest impact on me). Other shows, I can't recall a thing.
JudyDenmark said: "j.garcia said: "He was better behaved than many adults around us. It really does depend on the kid."
That's the truth. Age guidelines are great, but every parents really needs to know their own kid.
FWIW, the little kids around me at Frozen were significantly better behaved than the jackass high school/college students sitting behind me."
The idea of being rude and unruly is up to the adults period.. Certainly there is no reason to bring a baby or 2 year old child to any show period..and there were plenty at Frozen and are at Aladdin, Lion King, etc. That said I have seen 3-4 year-olds mesmerized by a show while older children/teens/adults are completely rude and inconsiderate. I saw Frozen with a 5 year old girl next to me who was there with her mother. She watched the entire two acts without making a peep - and wanted to know if she could come back again as she was so sad when it was over. It completely depends on the child.
it's the parents...I don't care whatever the age..if your child is making noise, crying, talking...leave. I remember going to restaurants when I was a kid. If I couldn't sit still, one of my parents took me for a walk around the block. If I couldn't stay quiet for a movie, we went to the lobby. It was unheard of for me to talk in a theater. If I wanted to keep seeing more shows, I behaved. If your child is being disruptive...just go. But the idea that paying for a ticket entitles you to being oblivious to the people around you has nothing to do with the age of the child. It's about adults in charge being rude and entitled.
LizzieCurry said: "Did they enjoy it at the time, though? I hear the argument of "they won't remember it" as one for not bringing babies/little kids to museums or even on vacation with you, but if they're having fun at the time, who cares (as long as they're not disrupting others, which is probably the main issue here)? I'm sure a 3-year-old would be delighted during their experience Disneyland even if they don't remember the experience when they go back again at 7 or 17 or whatever."
I agree with this. I don't think you should bring babies to the theater but if they're well-behaved, their ability to remember the experience is not a reason children shouldn't go to the theater. Heck, I don't even remember every moment of all the shows I see. Shows are supposed to be entertainment in the moment. If you can remember them fondly later, so much the better, but if not, I don't think it's wasted time.
joined:6/13/13
joined:
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Posted: 5/7/18 at 12:30pm