Almost 3 Year Old Ready to Go to the Movies??!!

You could go to a matinee. I think if it is a movie specific for kids then I wouldn’t worry about her making noise. My daughter sat through movies at 3, she gets antsy now if she has no interest.

Some kids yes and some no. My son never stops moving, but will sit in the theater and watch a movie. I would have never guessed in advance that he would have done that. We tried it all along also being prepared for only one of us getting to watch the movie while the other left with him. Now years later he still loves the treats of going to the movies.

I'll take my son to the matinee and sit in the back of the theater where he can stand up if he needs to. He loves to watch movies, but for some reason, even at home, he doesn't like to "sit down" and watch tv.

I would pay attention to how long she can sit still at home during shows or movies there and to how often she either talks to you or the screen. She may have a relatively long attention span but 1 1/2 hours is a LONG time for some kids to be still and pay attention.

My children are now in elementary school and I think they were both at least four before we went to the movies on the "big screen". I have been to movies recently where we sat near children that were not ready IMO. Getting up and moving around a lot (visual distraction for us) and asking LOTS of questions (why did he do that? who is that? or just plain talking during the movie), sometimes over and over and over. Now these were kids' movies but really, I think those kids were just not ready--I'd say they were each about 3 years old. And we did go to the early show (the earliest show of the day is the cheapest in our area) so perhaps if we had gone to a later show there may have been fewer toddler/preschoolers there.

I hope I'm not souding too harsh but if now's not the right time for her, there will be plenty more movies to see when she is a little older.

Does she talk to you throughout movies at home? Have you discussed with her what is expected at the movies (no talking, not being noisy with snacks (ripping bags and talking b/c of something dropped), etc)? If your daughter understands and is pretty good about being quiet at other appropriate times (at church for example) and mom is willing to leave if she doesn't do well... then sure. Let her take her. I'd recommend a matinee, though.

Mine weren't ready at 2, 2.5 or 3 to sit through a movie. I'm sure they probably *could* have with a lot of coaching from me... but I didn't see the need to try until they were a bit older and more able to understand the whole movie concept.

I take my daughter who just turned 3 and have been for almost a year. Shes not the most sedentary/well behaved of kids but she understands "shhhhhhhhhhhh" and will only peep maybe a few times during the flick. There will be another kid in there acting MUCH worse i guarantee it.

We took my daughter at 2.5 years old. The first time was at a theater that has tables and is a restaurant in the theater. We figured if the movie didn't hold her interest the food would. She loved it! (We saw Rio) The 2nd movie was at a regular theater and we saw Winnie the Pooh. That movie was much too slow for her and you could see her starting to get bored. 3rd movie was at a regular theater and she saw The Lion King and loved it and sat still the whole movie.

My advice is to take her to something exciting, not slow moving like Pooh, and for your mom to be prepared to leave the theater if your child isn't interested/can't sit still. As long as your mom doesn't mind, why not try it? She might love it!

We took my son right after he turned 2 ( got GC for b-day gift). I didn't think he would sit through a movie but thought, atleast not wasting our money. He sat though that whole movie ( never forget it, Sharktale). He didn't make a peep through the whole thing, watched & ate popcorn like a big boy.

Can she sit through a 1.5 hour movie at home? Some kids can go to the movies at a young age, others can't. My 3.5 year old hasn't been yet, but she is about ready.

if she can do it at home, then she can do it at a theater.

As long as she can do it at home. Be sure to get plenty of snacks for her.

At that age, the point is not whether they can sit through it and last for a whole 1.5 hours.
The point would be, if you want your 3 year old to go, what is the movie and is it appropriate and not 'scary' for your child, and even if your child can't be quiet or sit still the whole time... that they CAN leave. Anytime.
They don't have to stay... for the entire time.

And, does your 3 year old, even care about going to a movie theater???
My son at that age, didn't want to go.
He then went at 4 years old. He was ready.

When my daughter was that age.... she did go. But did not like it. Why? Well the movie theater movie, was TOO LOUD for her. And she has sensitive ears. She did not like it.
That's fine. We left. We don't have to stay the whole time.

Go by your child's cues.
Tell your Mom, that if your child does NOT want to stay for the whole thing, to leave. Hopefully your Mom is flexible enough with a young child.

Depends on the kid! Watching movies at home is nothing like watching at the theater. My girl absolutely cannot sit through a movie at home! If you're worried about it, you might start out at a dollar theater first, that way you're only out $1-3 for a movie if you have to leave! We took our girl to her first movie when she was only about 1 (and still nursing). She slept through most of it. There have been a few times where we had to take her out to "walk it off" (either outside the theater or just out by the ramp--out of other people's sight). For the most part, though, she's always done pretty good. She's almost 3 now, and the last 2 movies we took her to were "Puss 'n Boots" (yesterday) and "Contagion" (a few weeks ago, and I covered her eyes during the couple of gross scenes). She did great during both movies (we even got a few comments/compliments after "Contagion" from the people in front of us who didn't even realize that a little kid was sitting behind them)! I come prepared, though, and bring some distractions (candies, juice boxes, etc) just in case. I find that "hiding" the candies (M&M, reeses, whoppers) in the popcorn is one of the best distractions ever!

My child was terrified by the big noise, big screen, dark theater at that age. I was surprised, because was a confident little girl. We went to Nemo, and she didn't even make it through the previews. Note that while you may know what the movie is, you can't control the previews, and some can be very scary. Maybe they could enter the theater after the previews. Also, know that many theatres will give your money back after the movie starts, but before too much time has elapsed. Your mom shouldn't feel the need to keep her there if she is frightened, just because she has paid for it.

It's fine to try, but please tell your mom to be prepared to leave if your daughter finds the sound too loud (and most films are EXTREMELY loud these days, and I've seen it reduce kids to crying fits) or if she gets scared. At her age, something that would be fine on a small TV screen can be terrifying even if it seems innocent to an adult. So grandma should go in totally positive but also totally accepting that if your child gets upset, has her hands shoved over her ears, finds the dark theatre scary, etc., grandma will be willing to take the child out and not try to convince her to stay if she doesn't want to stay.

Someone said "nothing slow like Pooh" -- why ever not?? Something loud, long and super-fast may overwhelm her. The new Pooh movie in theatres was lovely and engaging and only about one hour long. My 10-year-old begged to go and loved it! By the way, if grandma is thinking "Puss in Boots" -- it's terrific and I loved it too but it's not really for children this young.

My eldest son was 3 1/2 when he saw his first movie (Ice Age 2 or 3, I dunno---a sequel with dinosaurs in it). He LOVED it! We made the act of going to the movie the event, not just the film itself. We got his booster seat, sat on an aisle seat, and shared popcorn, skittles, and a rootbeer (all 3 of those are rare for us!). He yelled at the squirrel thing at the beginning to "play nice" and he laughed and laughed the whole time. Had a great time! I loved watching him watch it. At the end, he got up and danced during the credits. It was nice. We did go to a matinee during the week (less people, usually just sahm's with little ones at kids movies), and we did get there in time to sit down and get "arranged" before the lights went out.

My youngest: he was 1 when he went to his first movie----Yogi Bear. That movie was a bit of a beating, but again, it was so much fun to watch the boys watch the movie. They got their little cups of lemonade, shared popcorn and M&Ms, and really as long as little guy had some food he was good to go. He wanted to get up about 10 minutes before the end of the movie, so I got in the aisle where noone could see me and paced with him. When the movie ended, I jogged up to my 4 year old and we left, everyone was happy. Again, matinees during the week are best if you're worried.

My husband took our daughter to her first movie when she was just over 2 years old (one of the Chipmunk movies) - and apparently she did just fine! She's now 4 and has been to a number of movies since and never has a problem staying in her seat and keeping quiet. She also understands what the rules are about how you behave in a movie theater. And there aren't as many distractions as there is at home ("Hey! There are my dolls! I want to play with my dolls now!"). But every kid is different - if your mom wants to try it, she can go ahead. The theater near us will periodically show kids movies early in the day on weekends that have already had their run in the theater but are not out on DVD yet. It's only a dollar per child and adults are free. If you have something like that available near you, it might be worth it, because if you end up having to leave, at least you are only out a buck.

I took my eldest daughter to the movies when she was almost 3... she did really good with it. You know your child better than anyone!

Helpful hint: don't buy drinks. Pick up a drink on the way out, but if you buy one for during the movie, you'll have to run with her to the bathroom at least 6 times ;)

I think it depends on the kid. My son is 2.5 and went to his first movie with Grandma this weekend (Puss and Boots) and sat through the whole thing which surprised me. Of course, he went with his 2 older brothers who were sitting the entire time so that is just what he did. A little apple juice and raisins were a good bribe too. But my son just started being interested in t.v. (only Curious George) but will sit and watch the entire episode.

I took both of my boys when they were 2. One saw Madagascar 2 as his first and the other Winnie the Pooh (followed by Cars 2 the week later). Popcorn and favorite candy help a lot! They had both also easily sat through feature length DVDs at home, so I thought they would be fine. As long as your mom is prepared to get up and go, they should have fun!

By the age of 3 all my grandkids had been to the theater numerous times. But it really depends on how your home is run. If they don't have TV at home then they may not be interested in it. If they are seeing something interesting to them it's not too long.

You can NOT compare home movie watching to movie theatre movie watching. My normally bouncy son will not only sit down but knows where to go get the booster seat and where we sit (on the isle.)

We started with "Yogi Bear" last year (he was just over 3.5 years old then) and have seen a LOT of movies since. Last summer I sat thru "Cars 2" EIGHT TIMES!

He tends to hyper focus and I have gotten up to go to the bathroom and my husband says he doesn't even turn his head to see that I'm gone. LOL!

I pack our snacks and sometimes we share a kid's sized popcorn and have a great time.

Took my son to see Cars 2 about a month before his 3rd bday and he did awesome. Make sure the movie is something she weill be interested in, get popcorn or snacks of some kind, an make sure you hit the bathroom before you go into the theater.My son only got out of his chair once about half way though and it was just cause he got so excited. All I had to do what sit him back down and he didnt move again till it was over.

I would definitely let her try and see how she does. My son is 3 at the end of November and we took him to see Cars 2 and he was okay. I had to get up a couple of times to take him to the bathroom and he walked between myself and husband. But all kids are different she might be able to sit quietly. Let your mom try if she wants but let her be aware that she might have to get up a couple times to go out. Good luck!