Movies and Parenting

I think it's safe to say that with the arrival of our daughter Josephine approximately ten months ago, my movie watching habits have changed dramatically. Where in the past I would be watching almost a movie a night, with more on the weekends, now it's a lot less.

I don't write this to say that I miss watching movies. I'm writing this to point out a few things that happen when you have kids in your house. Granted Josie is only ten months old at the moment, so I'm sure additions to this list will appear in the future. But so far, these are the things that I have noticed.

1. Parental Discretion

There might not be more room in hell, but the dead can't walk the earth just yet and the Terminator will have to be back after 8pm. While your baby is awake, it's going to be something kid friendly on TV. Doesn't explain why we watch reality TV though.

2. Attention

You finally got that movie you really wanted to see? And it is suitable for kids? You won't be able to watch that during the day either. You'll be playing peekaboo and have people crawling on you too much to pay attention to the movie. Rewind will be your friend. For a while anyway. Before you give up and decide to wait till baby's asleep.

3. How Long Is This Movie Anyway?

So now the baby is asleep and it's time to watch the movie. And also when you realise that the length of the movie is not the same as the time it takes to watch the movie. A movie that has a running time of 1h 30min might very well take closer to three hours to finish. With this pace Frodo's trip to Mt. Doom might very well take a week.

4. Volume

Also, when baby is asleep, you can't really have the TV blaring too loud. (Unless you live in a huge mansion where the baby sleeps in his/her own wing, then blare away.) Which can hinder your enjoyment of the movie somewhat. That Inception BRAAM! doesn't sound as impressive with the TV turned down. Which brings me to...

5. Movie-Watching Parent's Best Friend

Subtitles. That's right, kiddies. Less confusion during the movie. Everyone wins. Especially if you're watching the movie with the other parent. "What did he say?" "Something about the woman." "What about the woman, was it important?" "I don't know, I'm trying to watch the movie!" "Me too, that's why I'm asking!" Trust me, subtitles save relationships. If your movie doesn't have subtitles, save it for a time when you're alone. Which will probably be in about 18-20 years.

But these are just my observations, maybe some families are different. And as I said, I'm sure there will be things added here. I'm getting the feeling that in about five years, I'll be able to recite all of Lion King in my sleep.