Babies at movies? Would you use this?

Personally, I wouldn't use it. I'd rather rent a movie, or go to movies aimed at adults without my kids. A better idea, IMO, might be to offer childcare during some screenings. I also thought the marketing manager quoted was insulting towards SAHMs.

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Crybabies OK at Sandy theater

By Sean P. Means

The Salt Lake Tribune

Kristi Polatis has learned the hard way that fussy children and movie theaters don't mix.

"We quit going to actual mom-and-dad movies and just started going to kid movies," said Polatis, a mother of four living in West Jordan. Attending the James Bond movie "Die Another Day" last fall with her now year-old son, Polatis said, "I stood up in the most of the time."

And when a baby cries in a theater, another noise often accompanies it: the catcalls of other moviegoers. "You don't feel welcome, that's for sure," Polatis said.

A program starting Monday at Sandy's Megaplex 17 at Jordan Commons is aimed at letting parents with children under 5 see the latest movies -- as well as socialize with other moms and dads.

"For these mothers, who stay at home and have no social life and talk to their children all day, this is a chance to get out and say, 'I got to see the newest movie -- I didn't have to wait until it came out on video,' " said Natalee Flynn, marketing manager at Jordan Commons, who is coordinating the Megaplex 17's M.O.M. Club. (The initials stand for "Movies on Monday.")

The twice-monthly program that begins with Monday's 11 a.m. screening of "Freaky Friday" will provide an atmosphere for parents with babies to watch movies. Valet parking will be provided for strollers. Restrooms will have extra changing tables. House lights will be dimmed, but will remain on so parents can see their kids. The sound will be lowered, so babies aren't startled by the noise. Moms who nurse can feel less self-conscious because others will be doing the same.

And a crying baby in the theater won't be a big deal because "now you're going to have 50 babies crying at once," Flynn said. "It almost becomes white noise."

Megaplex 17, at 9335 S. State, will open its doors at 10 a.m. so parents can socialize. Flynn is organizing play-group activities and lining up businesses to give brief product demos.

Flynn said she got the M.O.M. Club idea from Reel Moms, a successful program launched by the Loews Cineplex Entertainment movie chain in October.

According to Kerry Fuhrman, marketing manager for Loews in New York, Reel Moms started after her boss's wife had a baby. "She said, 'I hate that I can't go to the movies anymore,' " said Fuhrman, who was given the charge to create a program for movie-loving mothers.

The first Reel Moms started in Manhattan and quickly expanded to 18 Loews theaters nationwide, with another dozen starting it by the end of September. (Loews, once a big presence in Utah, now runs only one multiplex here, the Layton Hills 9. Fuhrman did not know whether Reel Moms might be introduced there.)

Flynn said Megaplex 17 will modify the Loews concept for Utah audiences. M.O.M. Club parents can bring several children (kids 5 and under will be admitted free with a parent). Because those older children can recognize what's happening on the screen, M.O.M. Club will limit itself to PG and PG-13 movies.

Fuhrman said she was surprised by the overwhelming response Reel Moms has received.

"A lot of these markets, we didn't realize how big it would be," Fuhrman said. "They're just so happy that they can do something adult for a change."