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

[infinitemorning.livejournal.com]

And now the discussion has evolved into complete drama-llama bleating. No, this is not equivalent to racism or sexism. The Somerville Theater is clearly not intended to be a fun place to bring the kids in the evening. Sorry. There are plenty of theaters in the area that do not have such policies, and at least two (Loews/AMC Harvard Square, Loews/AMC Boston Common) are a short subway ride away from Davis Square.

So why begrudge the grownups of Somerville a place to go that's conveniently located and does not allow small children part of the time? No, I don't happen to think that we should ban all children from polite society, but you know what, sometimes I need some time away from the little buggers. Most of the other adult-only theaters I'm aware of aren't conveniently located for me. Why is there such outrage, such a sense of entitlement on behalf of Teh Childrens that I can't even have an adult-only theater experience a few hours out of the day?

Maybe 6 pm is a little extreme. Maybe. But then, if you work during the week and want to take the kids to the theater, maybe you could go to one of the weekend matinees. If kids want to go solo, they can go before 6 pm or -- hey, look at that, matinees! (And why exactly are you sending kids under 8 to the theater by themselves anyway?) Honestly, all the bitching over this has put me firmly in support of this policy when I was very much on the fence before.

Not every place has to be open to kids all the damn time. Deal with it.

[firepail.livejournal.com]

testify!

[purpless77.livejournal.com]

You've basically just put your own needs in front of someone else's. You're saying why should grownups be begrudged to go out of their way, yet in the same message you tell people with children or who care for children to take the subway with kids to out of the way theaters.
Why don't you go to the movies during school hours if you're so troubled by children in the theater? The argument goes both ways. I've gone to many movies in my lifetime and have only come across troublesome kids a few times all during children's films.

I can understand your point that not all places have to be open to kids all the time. But I remember being a kid and we went to films after 6pm. [after 6 was also after dinner] We were well behaved.

Instead of banning kids they should toss out the unruly ones. But they rather take the easy way out and further feed the issues in Somerville. As if it wasn't annoying enough that they raised their prices and started serving alcohol. Talk about catering the problem.

[infinitemorning.livejournal.com]

Because I WORK during school hours. And for the record, if the one theater in the area with adult-only showings was the Boston Common or the Harvard Square, I would be perfectly okay with that. The point I'm trying to make is that all three theaters are fairly conveniently located if you're traveling from Davis Square, and only one of the three bans children for part of their operating hours. Am I putting my needs in front of someone else's? Yes. Abso-frickin'-lutely. Because I'm just selfish that way. For a few hours a day, I like to attend to my own damn needs. I guess I'm just going to Hell for that one.

And for the love of God, can you stop harping on the alcohol issue? I don't drink, myself, but that's another service that, IIRC, has been lacking in this area. A lot of those adult-oriented theaters I mentioned? The ones that are, in the majority, not conveniently located if you're in and around Davis Square? They serve alcohol too. There's a demand for it. The Somerville Theater is meeting that demand. Nothing wrong with that, and I have yet to have any problems with drunks there. Some people actually can handle their liquor.

This is not the theater from your childhood. Well, kids aren't the kids from your childhood, TV shows aren't the TV shows from your childhood, and you can't get good penny candy anymore. Times change. Things change. Businesses change, particularly when they pass into the hands of new people who have sunk a lot of time and money into turning them around. The Somerville Theater is not a public service, and it is not your babysitter, and I don't particularly want it to be either of those things. Especially not the latter.