It is increasingly common to hear of places where children are prohibited from entering according to their age. From restaurants that do not allow the entry of children under five to airlines with "child-free" areas, ninophobia is increasing.
In Mexico these days, social networks have broken out in a war of opinions due to the viralization of a story that has left many of us impacted: Children under 3 years old will not be able to enter movie theaters.
The news
Before sharing my point of view, I explain a bit the context in which we find ourselves:
15 years ago in Mazatlan, Sinaloa, a decree was issued prohibiting the entry of children under 3 years of age in all public shows that are presented in closed premises. But like many other rules, laws and decrees in Mexico, it only existed and no one was responsible for compliance.
The news was that a few days ago the City Council of Mazatlan sent an official letter to the film companies of the city to comply with that decree still in force and put up posters at the entrance of their establishments to indicate to families that the entry and permanence of children Under 3 years of age was prohibited. The diffusion of the trade went viral on Facebook, quickly reaching more than one million people.
How do Mexicans react?
Like most controversial news, opinions are divided. On the one hand, there are those who support that this decree is finally respected. On the other hand, we are the parents who feel discriminated against when reading this news.
Although this decree seems to be only valid in Mazatlan, the main concern of many people is that when they see it put into practice, other cities, states or the country in general, end up adopting the same measure.
And I, like many other mothers, want to explain something to me. Do not children have the right to go to the movies to watch one of their children's films? The measure is really absurd and discriminatory. We are at a time when certain groups ask for empathy, respect and acceptance, that the fact that someone refuses from children seems to me to be one of the most ridiculous and intolerant things I have heard.
Come on, I understand that You have to have common sense and you don't have to take a baby of weeks or a couple of months old to places like the cinema. Thinking about this, I think that would be the reason why that decree was made in the first place. Although many have prudence, there are other fathers and mothers who do not have it, and it has given them to go to the movies when the baby is barely a few months old. This is something that I do not understand. Can't we wait for the necessary time to go with him or understand that if you can't because there is no one to help us with the baby, you can't, period?
Although it is true that not because we are mothers we stop having social life, yes we must understand that after having children our routine changes and movie trips are one of the things we stop doing for a while, especially if we don't have someone who can take care of the baby for a couple of hours to go alone.
I am one of those mothers who thinks that the cinema is not a place for babies under 12 or 18 months, depending on the development of each child. At that age the majority still do not pay enough attention and the lights and sounds can be too stimulating or annoying for them.
It is not my intention to offend anyone, but I think that if we take them before that age it is more for fun for us and lack of consideration for them, because they do not even enjoy the movie or perhaps know where they are. I repeat, this will also depend on the development of each child, without a doubt there will be children who, after their first year of life, are able to attend a function without disturbing anyone. But I think that as mothers and fathers if we want respect, we must also give it.
It does not seem fair to me that due to the fact that some commit this imprudence, they grab evenly and prohibit the entry of all children under three years old. There are hundreds of children's films that are made thinking of children of all ages, so that someone comes to steal the excitement of going to the movies to enjoy them.
My experience in cinema with children
We took Lucia for the first time to the movies when she was about two and a half years old, although we had intended to do so since she was just two years old. At home we are fans of watching a movie on Netflix in the afternoon and as she already chose her own movies, we thought it was a good time to do a first test. That first film was also accompanied by my three stepdaughters of 6, 7 and 8 years. That's right, we were going with the full nursery. But the experience was very good, even much better than we expected.
Lucia loved the movie and was probably 80% of the time sitting in her seat. Of course he would occasionally get up and ask questions or shout of emotion like any girl when he sees a movie he likes. But in general, we never saw that it bothered anyone (I was very aware of that and the seats around us, in case of seeing a bad face) and enjoyed the experience very much. After all, the movie we were going to watch was aimed at children of all ages, including her. And I think that the success of that first trip to the cinema was precisely because we waited for her to have an appropriate age to go. After that exit to the cinema we have returned on another occasion and again everything went very well.
Now I think about the decree and I am sad to think that had that prohibition existed in my city, we would not have been able to have that beautiful experience. Yes, it probably wouldn't have happened much if we were waiting to see the movie at home. But what's wrong with going to the movies with our children, to see a movie made especially for them when they are already of an adequate age?
It is true that there are cinemas that have adapted sessions so you can go with your baby, however, this does not happen in all cities. I think if they are going to start with this kind of absurd laws, they should also offer other alternatives that are family friendly.
What do you think of this ban? At what age do you consider it appropriate for a child to go to the cinema for the first time?
Photos | iStock
Via | The universal
In Babies and more | Teta session: to the cinema with your baby, Cinebebés, to the cinema with babies and children
