Somerville Theatre bans (young) kids from entering after 6 pm. Let's discuss it here

[ron_newman]

This week's Somerville News has an article about the Somerville Theatre's policy of banning children under 12 8* from entering the theatre after 6 pm, even if they are accompanied by adults.

Is the theatre's policy a service to its customers who want a peaceful movie experience, or is it unfair discrimination against families with young children?

I'm posting this because we can have a more civilized discussion here than on the Somerville News blog comments. Ian Judge, the theatre's manager, reads this community, so we may be able to provide useful feedback to him here.

* Edited 11:55 am to add: I have a serious factual issue with this article. It says the policy applies to children under 12, but the theatre's website and exterior signs say it's for children under 8. That's a significant difference -- maybe significant enough to change people's opinions.

Second edit, 3 pm: Ian Judge has clarified that the theatre's policy is to exclude children under 8, not 12, from entering after 6 pm. He had made an erroneous statement to the News reporter which very unfortunately made it into the published article. Also, here is Ian's response to the specific incident detailed in the News article.

Comments

[jadelennox]

Or possibly, it's the hostile environment for families with older children made by businesses who don't like children and the patrons who support those business models?

[wallacestreet.livejournal.com]

No, at least among our friends, that doesn't seem to have been a concern, while there is a lot of angst around school. I also don't think that businesses' attitudes toward kids have much effect at the critical time when families are leaving the city, i.e. when the kids are 4, 5, or 6; they're still too small to go out on their own at that point.

Honestly, Davis Square is much more kid friendly than the suburbs. Once they're old enough (say 7+ depending on the kid) they can walk or bike themselves to all sorts of fun things like daytime or evening movies, their friends' houses, parks (but not a skate park unfortunately), ice cream, comics store, whatever. On the other hand, in the suburbs you're essentially dependent on your parents for transportation to the good stuff until you or your friends learn to drive. As long as it's safe, the city is much more fun for kids (the country might not be too bad either, but the suburbs seem to me to be the worst of both without the advantages of either).