3 years old,too young?

johnny_ultimate

Deleted User wrote: »

I wasn't trying to be sarcastic, I've just got a little tired of the constant knee jerk reactions to issues such as this with people seeming to think that if kids enjoy something the parents should indulge them. I know the comparison is a little drastic but at the end of the day repeated exposure to cinema, gigs, etc at an early age can seriously affect a child in latter years. It's not simply a case of me being a joy kill.

I've always thought that the people who say "oh take them if they enjoy it" would be the kind of people who would sue the cinema chain if they discovered that the cinema was the cause of their child's hearing issues.

I definitely think they health concerns should be flagged. Any hearing / sight issues are serious problems, and definitely worth mentioning in the debate. But your comparison was indeed a little drastic, just think your concerns would be much more appreciated without the slightly aggressive tone

hootietootie

We have been bringing my daughter to the cinema since she was 2, shes also been to a few gigs with us, but we do bring headphones. Never bring her in the opening few weeks, and we always see the film before her. We know our own cinema in town, and the volume of each screen(they do have different volumes) Shes been about 30 times in the last 3 years, and loves going. However speaking to some parents at school, lots of the kids have never been. A few went on a playdate to one childs house, and the mother thought it would be a great idea to bring them to the cinema-she brought 5 5 year olds to see Alice in Wonderland:eek:, it was the first cinema experience for all of them!!!!

Her hearing is perfect, but we dont bring her to see the really loud stuff-she has never cried or even talked through a film, she wont shut up til the ads start though:D

mrgardener

Deleted User wrote: »

I've always thought that the people who say "oh take them if they enjoy it" would be the kind of people who would sue the cinema chain if they discovered that the cinema was the cause of their child's hearing issues.

Theres a leap!!
Darko, this topic has obviously touched a nerve. Drink lots of warm milk, it helps me to relax.

ztoical

mrgardener wrote: »

Theres a leap!!
Darko, this topic has obviously touched a nerve. Drink lots of warm milk, it helps me to relax.

It's hardly leap, Darko has a very valid point, you find the parents who bring their kids to films without bothering to research them first then come and yell at the staff cus the film was too loud/too violent/too complicated/too rude[yes I know kids films with fart jokes and I got yelled at cus of course I made the bloody thing:rolleyes:] etc etc Having worked in a cinema for a number of years I've been gob smacked by some of the comments that come out of parents mouths. You see parents in the states blame fast food and advertising cus their kids are overweight and not the fact that they let their 5 year old eat french fries and burgers 7 times a week. Or the video game was too violent even though it has a giant sticker warning you of such on the box.

People aren't saying don't bring kids to the cinema just be aware and take 2 seconds to check the content of the film [which frankly parents should be doing anyway] to get an idea if it's going to be too loud for little ears. Just cus a film has managed to wangle itself a low rating doesn't mean it's kid friendly.

mrgardener

mrgardener wrote: »

Theres a leap!!
Darko, this topic has obviously touched a nerve. Drink lots of warm milk, it helps me to relax.

The topic didnt touch a never but in gemeral parents attitude to cinema, video games, etc and thier kids does. I remember when I was workign at the JDIFF and an father was isnistant that he be allowed to bring his 11 year old daughter in to see Palinddromes with him. It was repeatedly explained to him that to attend you must be over 18 and I told him that in no way was the content appropriate for a child that young, he simply refused to listen and was demanding to see the manager and that not allowing his daughter in was discrimination.

Recently I wen to see Kick Ass and there was kids aged about 6 and 8 there with their parents. Shortly after it started the parents quickly made a scene of leaving and saying "I can't believe they let my kids watch this filth". A friend of mine was working that night and told me that he had informed the parents that the film was inapproriate for their kids and that it was a 16s cert and as such he couldnt let the kids in. I don't know if they bought tickets for another films or what happened but after they left the screen teh woman was shouting and roaring at my friend over the films content and kept thretening to sue him.

While the cinema wrong to let the kids in it is the parents fault to ensure that that any content is fit for their kids, kinda like how so man parent rights groups attack titles such as the GTA series completely oblivious the the big 18s cert on the case.

mrgardener

Deleted User wrote: »

The topic didnt touch a never but in gemeral parents attitude to cinema, video games, etc and thier kids does. I remember when I was workign at the JDIFF and an father was isnistant that he be allowed to bring his 11 year old daughter in to see Palinddromes with him. It was repeatedly explained to him that to attend you must be over 18 and I told him that in no way was the content appropriate for a child that young, he simply refused to listen and was demanding to see the manager and that not allowing his daughter in was discrimination.

Recently I wen to see Kick Ass and there was kids aged about 6 and 8 there with their parents. Shortly after it started the parents quickly made a scene of leaving and saying "I can't believe they let my kids watch this filth". A friend of mine was working that night and told me that he had informed the parents that the film was inapproriate for their kids and that it was a 16s cert and as such he couldnt let the kids in. I don't know if they bought tickets for another films or what happened but after they left the screen teh woman was shouting and roaring at my friend over the films content and kept thretening to sue him.

While the cinema wrong to let the kids in it is the parents fault to ensure that that any content is fit for their kids, kinda like how so man parent rights groups attack titles such as the GTA series completely oblivious the the big 18s cert on the case.

I agree with everything you say. Any parent who brings their 6yr old to an unsuitable film is an idiot. That however, is a different topic. Not bringing your kid to a pixar/disney film for fear off them having their hearing ruined is a bit over the top imo.

Galvasean

mrgardener wrote: »

I agree with everything you say. Any parent who brings their 6yr old to an unsuitable film is an idiot. That however, is a different topic. Not bringing your kid to a pixar/disney film for fear off them having their hearing ruined is a bit over the top imo.

It might be a bit, or it might not be. Research conducted by the League for the Hard of Hearing in 2003 suggests that it may well be a risk. Even if the odds were quite small I would be inclined not to risk it. There's plenty of ways to keep a 3 year old entertained out there. They can wait another year or two for the cinema IMO.

mrgardener

mrgardener wrote: »

I agree with everything you say. Any parent who brings their 6yr old to an unsuitable film is an idiot. That however, is a different topic. Not bringing your kid to a pixar/disney film for fear off them having their hearing ruined is a bit over the top imo.

The thing you seem to have missed from my posts and others is that no one is saying children should never be taken to the cinema, rather moderation should be applied. Going to see the odd film is not a bad thing, but going on a regular basis could have serious implicatiosn in later life.

indough

there were people suggesting young children probably shouldnt be taken to the cinema at all

ToniTuddle

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

I'm sure bringing children to 'less loud' films - i.e. ones with less explosions! - would be a nice way to introduce them. Disney films in particular would surely be a nice introduction to the cinema.

The explosions are obviously loud but plenty of the other noises in the films can be just as loud or irrating and this is coming from a 24 year old!

What I can't stand is people bringing young babies to the cinema.
They shouldn't be allowed to simple as that.
Why on earth would you bring a 3 month old baby to the cinema?
Then they wonder why the hell the baby roars its head off.

hootietootie wrote: »

We have been bringing my daughter to the cinema since she was 2, shes also been to a few gigs with us, but we do bring headphones. Never bring her in the opening few weeks, and we always see the film before her. We know our own cinema in town, and the volume of each screen(they do have different volumes) Shes been about 30 times in the last 3 years, and loves going.

Her hearing is perfect, but we dont bring her to see the really loud stuff-she has never cried or even talked through a film, she wont shut up til the ads start though:D

30 times over 3 years?
She has seen more films than me in that space! :pac:

Personally I wouldn't take kids that young (I know she is now 5 but even so) to gigs. Surely there would be some relative that could look after them for the night? Wouldn't start taking them to the cinema until they were about 6 or 7. But that's just me.

ztoical

Deleted User wrote: »

The thing you seem to have missed from my posts and others is that no one is saying children should never be taken to the cinema, rather moderation should be applied. Going to see the odd film is not a bad thing, but going on a regular basis could have serious implicatiosn in later life.

+ 1 the point I was making was not to do with people taking kids to an unsuitable film but rather there are clear warnings given to people regarding the content of films which include flashing lights and noise yet you'll find some parents who ignore these warnings then their kids develop hearing issues and the parents will be straight down to the cinema to yell and scream at the cinema laying the blame for their childs hearing issue on the cinema and not their own poor judgment.

Everything in moderation. If I had kids they would be watching films from a young age cus [a] I adore film and myself, my brother and several close friends work in the film industry BUT at a young age they will be brought to the cinema only very rarely as a big treat and the rest will be dvd screenings. I recall my first cinema show at 3, I also know I didn't go the cinema again for nearly a year [to see the Gobots and the Rock Lords movie ] and then another 6 months before seeing the second Care Bears movie. I saw alot of other films in that time but on VHS. Gradually I built up to weekly cinema visits in my teens when I was old enough to go by myself.

The question here isn't wither young kids should be taken to the cinema but rather how often. Just cus they love it doesn't mean they should be brought every week. Kids love junk food but your not going to feed them junk food for every meal.

monkeyfudge

fitz wrote: »

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/3334793/Deafening-new-films-threaten-hearing-of-young-cinema-goers.html

That article is utterly stupid.

It's a study carried out in US cinemas and goes on and on about how sound levels breach UK and EU regulations. Because an article about cinemas here and how they stay within EU regulations wouldn't be the least bit interesting...

US audiences are stupidly loud though, so I can understand why they need to boost up the sound levels on the films.

fitz

Here you go:

http://www.cinemauk.org.uk/keyissues/soundlevels/

So, no real guarantees as to what the levels in the cinema are peaking at.
The level at which employers must provide hearing protection and hearing protection zones is 85 decibels (daily or weekly average exposure) and the level at which employers must assess the risk to workers' health and provide them with information and training is 80 decibels. There is also an exposure limit value of 87 decibels, taking account of any reduction in exposure provided by hearing protection, above which workers must not be exposed. So, 87 is the actual hard limit, as the other requirements are averages, but you could expect levels to peak up to 85-86db. And that's if they're sticking to regulations all year round and not just at inspection time.

80db is shouting level, or the same level of noise as a busy street. Would you shout at a 3 year old for 90 minutes and not worry about their hearing?

Keep in mind an increase of 1 db means the sound has twice as much energy, even though it will take us a 10db jump to perceive the sound as being twice as loud. So, while we'll hear 85 db as about half way towards being twice as loud as 80db, there's significantly more energy in the sound we're hearing. That's one of the reasons why noise is so risky in terms of hearing damage. You might not be aware it's happening because you perceive the increase slower than it happens.

All I'm saying is people need to be aware that it's a risk. One that's hard to quantify, certainly, but make an educated decision and find out a bit more.

hootietootie

ToniTuddle wrote: »

30 times over 3 years?
She has seen more films than me in that space! :pac:

Personally I wouldn't take kids that young (I know she is now 5 but even so) to gigs. Surely there would be some relative that could look after them for the night? Wouldn't start taking them to the cinema until they were about 6 or 7. But that's just me.

Her dad works with bands, and spends a lot of time away, so when he is near us for a show, sometimes she goes to see him. As I said we do have proper headphones for her, the big noise reducing ones that drummers wear, and she always wears them-its not big massive gigs, its to see a few bands during festivals and stuff. I would never bring her to see stuff like Transformers, or Ironman or loud loud films, and am shocked at the amount of people who bring kids who are terrified by the noises.(To add to how bad a parent I obviously am, she spends a fair bit of time on dropzones as well, but again she has her headphones and she gets to see people jump out of planes!!)

fitz

Friend of mine has a set of those cans for her daughter too...they're great. Protect the hearing while allowing them to enjoy the music...

Also, just because a movie has explosions and "loud action scenes" doesn't mean your typical animated feature isn't hitting similar levels.

hootietootie

fitz wrote: »

Friend of mine has a set of those cans for her daughter too...they're great. Protect the hearing while allowing them to enjoy the music...

Also, just because a movie has explosions and "loud action scenes" doesn't mean your typical animated feature isn't hitting similar levels.

I know it would be hitting the same levels, but we have our girls ears protected, but some kids leave genuinely terrified during films with explosions and the like. I wouldnt bring her to the cinema without something covering her ears. The kids in her class going to see Alice in wonderland did shock me though. I thought it was quite scary! I dont let mine watch anything unless I've seen it first-which is sometimes a bad idea as I have to watch the same bad film twice!!

Anakin.S

hootietootie wrote: »

I dont let mine watch anything unless I've seen it first-which is sometimes a bad idea as I have to watch the same bad film twice!!

Its the downside of being a responsible parent, my brother does the same for his son

aleybert

hootietootie wrote: »

I dont let mine watch anything unless I've seen it first-which is sometimes a bad idea as I have to watch the same bad film twice!!

So.... you would go to see "Chipmunks - The Squeakquel" at the cinema without your kids, just to see if its suitable?

hootietootie

aleybert wrote: »

So.... you would go to see "Chipmunks - The Squeakquel" at the cinema without your kids, just to see if its suitable?

No-I hate the chipmunks, so will wait for DVD, but I did watch te first one before I let her see it, wouldn't spend the money on the cinema!! I did see cloudy with a chance of meatballs, the frog and the princess one, and stuff like that by myself, and dragged himself along. My niece still gets nightmares about the little mermaid after seeing it-she's 8 and it terrifies her, she saw it when she was 6, so I always watch them to see. I know what scares my own, and she has seen a fair few films rated 12 and all, and loves the studio ghibli stuff-but only after I've seen it!!

cynder

Deleted User wrote: »

The topic didnt touch a never but in gemeral parents attitude to cinema, video games, etc and thier kids does. I remember when I was workign at the JDIFF and an father was isnistant that he be allowed to bring his 11 year old daughter in to see Palinddromes with him. It was repeatedly explained to him that to attend you must be over 18 and I told him that in no way was the content appropriate for a child that young, he simply refused to listen and was demanding to see the manager and that not allowing his daughter in was discrimination.

Recently I wen to see Kick Ass and there was kids aged about 6 and 8 there with their parents. Shortly after it started the parents quickly made a scene of leaving and saying "I can't believe they let my kids watch this filth". A friend of mine was working that night and told me that he had informed the parents that the film was inapproriate for their kids and that it was a 16s cert and as such he couldnt let the kids in. I don't know if they bought tickets for another films or what happened but after they left the screen teh woman was shouting and roaring at my friend over the films content and kept thretening to sue him.

While the cinema wrong to let the kids in it is the parents fault to ensure that that any content is fit for their kids, kinda like how so man parent rights groups attack titles such as the GTA series completely oblivious the the big 18s cert on the case.

I watched Total Recall, Terminator, Saigon, Sipan, Full Metal Jacket, Jean Claude van damme films and Steven Seagal films and all Arnold Schwarzenegger films, from the age of 9, i watched nightmare on elm st at 14...... My daughters favourite film at 2 and a half was mummy returns 2.... my 4 year old and 10 year old have seen avatar......my daughter from the age of 8 goes to the cinema and watches the 12a films and at home some of the 15 films but depends on content. All my kids age 3,4 and 10 have seen all 3 mummy films.

Its not like i ended up a serial killer from watching violent films, anyone seen tom and jerry lately? now thats violent............

ztoical

grindelwald wrote: »

I watched Total Recall, Terminator, Saigon, Sipan, Full Metal Jacket, Jean Claude van damme films and Steven Seagal films and all Arnold Schwarzenegger films, from the age of 9, i watched nightmare on elm st at 14...... My daughters favourite film at 2 and a half was mummy returns 2.... my 4 year old and 10 year old have seen avatar......my daughter from the age of 8 goes to the cinema and watches the 12a films and at home some of the 15 films but depends on content. All my kids age 3,4 and 10 have seen all 3 mummy films.

Its not like i ended up a serial killer from watching violent films, anyone seen tom and jerry lately? now thats violent............

Can I just say film, music, television, pop culture does not turn anyone into a serial killer.

Yeah I saw most of those films too at a young age [terminator and highlander in one sitting at the age of 5 yet got nightmares after watching the Never ending story go figure] but all kids are different. My parents knew me and were comfortable with 99% of my film choices but weren't as free with my younger brother and as a kid would often refuse to allow him to watch films I had watched at the same age or even younger. Our local cinema was the same, they saw me ever week so knew me pretty well and would sometimes refuse to let me into one 15's film but would let me into another film with the same rating.

The ratings are there to help parents and if they chose to bring their child to a film with a 12A or 15A rating, which as someone over the age of 18 accompanying them, they are allowed to do that's fine but as long as they are aware they made that choice and don't come out to yell at the cinema afterwards cus their kid got scared.

And you can't compare cartoon violence with live action. Tom and Jerry might hit each other with bombs etc but they are a mouse and a cat and they get right back up after, I would seriously worry for the child that can't tell the difference between that and real violence. Plus they might seem violent but animation studios have guidelines set down and serious edits and cuts of their work by producers over the content of animated shows. You'd be surprised at the sort of edits that are made. Blowing up character with over the top TNT fine, bigger character picking little character up by the top of his head/hair massive no no. The first is over the top and pretty hard for kids to copy, the second very easy for big kid to try that on smaller kid.

cynder

You should see what my 3 year old tries to do to our pet cat, poor kitty.... im sure he gets it off tom and jerry......(he has a speech and comprehension delay)

To add also being assessed for asd and ? adhd and wont be diagnosed with adhd until he is at school.

cynder

ztoical wrote: »

Can I just say film, music, television, pop culture does not turn anyone into a serial killer.

No but look what happened to jamie bulger those kids are suppose to have got the idea of chucky,,,, eerrrr never watched those films.

cynder

ztoical wrote: »

Yeah I saw most of those films too at a young age [terminator and highlander in one sitting at the age of 5 yet got nightmares after watching the Never ending story go figure] but all kids are different. My parents knew me and were comfortable with 99% of my film choices but weren't as free with my younger brother and as a kid would often refuse to allow him to watch films I had watched at the same age or even younger. Our local cinema was the same, they saw me ever week so knew me pretty well and would sometimes refuse to let me into one 15's film but would let me into another film with the same rating.
.

Those were the days where kids had a bit more freedom. Loved highlander, lethal weapon and die hard films. Those were the days! watched the evil dead at 3 and had nightmares for 5 years after...... can still remember the nightmare quite vividly, would you believe its in black and white.....

ztoical

grindelwald wrote: »

No but look what happened to jamie bulger those kids are suppose to off got the idea of chucky,,,, eerrrr never watched those films.

That was something pushed by UK tabloid newspapers and had nothing to do with the case. The lead police inspector in the case said "If you are going to link this murder to a film, you might as well link it to The Railway Children" It was actually unlikely the boys had even seen the film.

If your kid is abusing your cat then it's one of the indicators of violent antisocial behavior in children and adolescents known as the Macdonald triad and has nothing to do with watching animated tv shows....if they start bed wetting and starting fires you might be in trouble

cynder

ztoical wrote: »

If your kid is abusing your cat then it's one of the indicators of violent antisocial behavior in children and adolescents known as the Macdonald triad and has nothing to do with watching animated tv shows....if they start bed wetting and starting fires you might be in trouble

Must say he is 3 and he has comprehension delay so he doesn't understand that he is hurting the kitty, he is looking for a reaction and thinks the reaction is funny.

He is also undergoing a full asd assessment and adhd will be assessed at 5 when he is at school. he is a very violent kid always hitting and punching but is also receiving help from the early intervention team including a educator, speech therapist and psychologist. his 3 with a mind of a 2 year old so don't go down the macdonald triad yet. it not as if he is trying to torture her, (throws balls at her, hit her with his light saver (star wars sword) shoots her with his toy gun (no projectiles) he will also pet her and say ahhhh kitty but his language is limited.

ztoical

grindelwald wrote: »

light saver (star wars sword)

lightsaber

cynder

ztoical wrote: »

lightsaber

Thats what i thought it was... (thats why i put star wars sword beside it) ah well....

ToniTuddle

grindelwald wrote: »

Must say he is 3 and he has comprehension delay so he doesn't understand that he is hurting the kitty, he is looking for a reaction and thinks the reaction is funny.

He is also undergoing a full asd assessment and adhd will be assessed at 5 when he is at school. he is a very violent kid always hitting and punching but is also receiving help from the early intervention team including a educator, speech therapist and psychologist. his 3 with a mind of a 2 year old so don't go down the macdonald triad yet. it not as if he is trying to torture her, (throws balls at her, hit her with his light saver (star wars sword) shoots her with his toy gun (no projectiles) he will also pet her and say ahhhh kitty but his language is limited.

Maybe don't let him see violent type films?
Not talking blood and guts here but the fighting types and scary scenery etc.

Just an idea.

grindelwald

grindelwald wrote: »

I watched Total Recall, Terminator, Saigon, Sipan, Full Metal Jacket, Jean Claude van damme films and Steven Seagal films and all Arnold Schwarzenegger films, from the age of 9, i watched nightmare on elm st at 14...... My daughters favourite film at 2 and a half was mummy returns 2.... my 4 year old and 10 year old have seen avatar......my daughter from the age of 8 goes to the cinema and watches the 12a films and at home some of the 15 films but depends on content. All my kids age 3,4 and 10 have seen all 3 mummy films.

Its not like i ended up a serial killer from watching violent films, anyone seen tom and jerry lately? now thats violent............

No one is saying that films create serial killers or will lead to antisocial behavoir. I grew up watching Van Damme and Arnie and from an early age Highlander and Robocop were two of my favourites. The point I was making was that the content of much adult films such as Kick Ass really is not appropriate for children.